Page 159 of Ever With Me

I don’t want to leave her.

I can’t leave her.

She was there, on the sidewalk, crying.Sobbing.

And he was the one who’d hurt her.

His hand fisted, and he pounded it against the panel of the door, so hard that his hand throbbed.

Fuuuuuuuuck.But the pain wasn’t from his hand.

He wiped the moisture from his cheek, staring out the window.

The last time he’d left Maddie’s apartment this early had been a month ago. To the day, actually. He’d slipped out thinking he’d never see her again.

His first impression of the town—of her—had been so wrong.

Where once he’d seen bleak storefronts filled with fake charm, life now brimmed instead.

The grocer where he and Maddie had walked to get food to make dinner the other night.

The bakery where he’d bought Audrey a cookie.

The mechanic shop where his car had been fixed, with the dog that slobbered all over your shoe while you waited.

The café where the love of his life had stood in a damn booth and told the whole town to leave him alone.

Every inch of the town filled with the memory and fingerprints ofherand their time together here.

How can I leave her?

He had to. He had to protect her.

This wasn’t like fleeing Fountain Springs. And it certainly wasn’t anything like any other breakup in the past.

This felt more akin to tearing his soul from his body.

Goddamn Mike Valders.

He’d takeneverythingaway.

His sense of security, his hopes, his dreams.

Maddie.

Everything.

Bitter, acrid bile stung his throat.

I love her so much.

He would be damned if Mike ever hurt anyone he loved again.

Brooks picked up the phone and dialed Christine.

She picked up after the third ring. “You should know you’re one of the only clients who has the privilege of waking me at six on Sunday. What the hell is going on?”

Brooks cleared his throat, his voice sounding as raw as it felt. “Still have that friend at the FBI?”

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