Page 99 of Shattered Fate

“He was a good friend. I’ll never forget what he did for my family.”

Zane kisses my cheek, and once he and Stella are settled in the limo, Douglas retrieves my overnight bag from the trunk and sets it onto the snow-covered sidewalk. Their taillights fade into the dark.

It’s several minutes until the valet brings Gage’s truck around, and he asks Linc to hold Max’s award and he wraps his arms around me to shield me from the wind while we wait.

Gage boosts me into the passenger seat, whispering a kiss over my lips and shutting the door.

Linc climbs into the back and lets out a huge sigh.

I know how he feels. People can be so exhausting.

“I need to drop Pop at home,” Gage says, shifting into Drive and easing away from the curb. The car waiting behind us pulls ahead and parks in front of the doors.

Sitting sideways on the bench, I address both men. “Thank you for what you did back there, Linc.” His name feels odd on my tongue. It goes against all my manners not to call him Mr. Davenport even though he asked me not to. “Gage explained what happened. I’m sorry Senator Cook feels that way. He scared me.”

“I’ll keep him away from you.” Gage stops at a red light and squeezes my hand. “There’s no reason you need to see him again.”

I want to believe that, but I know it’s not entirely true. He’s married to Gage’s mother. That alone puts him in my path, no matter how occasionally that may be.

Linc lives in a small house located on a rundown side of town, and Gage parks in the tiny driveway.

He pats my shoulder. “You’ll be okay, darlin’. Gage will make sure.”

“Thank you. It was nice meeting you.”

“You, too.” Linc opens his door, and a burst of cold air blows into the truck.

I shiver.

“I’m taking the day tomorrow,” Gage says.

“Figured you would. Be careful.”

Linc slams out of the truck, and Gage waits until he’s unlocked the door and is stepping inside before he backs onto the street.

“I like your dad. He’s nice.”

“He’s nothing like Max’s dad. My mom always wanted the money, the status. I hope she married Rourke because she loves him, but that’s something I’ll never know. We never got along, and that could be why I never wanted much to do with Max. Maybe I always thought he was like Rourke and I subconsciously stayed away.”

“Was Rourke mean to you? When you were a kid?”

Gage lifts my hand and kisses my knuckles. “Never gave him the chance. I lived full-time with Pop, and Mom didn’t argue. I guess she thought a boy needed his father. I saw her on holidays, and Rourke was, and still is, in DC a lot. I think he flew in for tonight’s ceremony. Don’t know why the editor of the paper didn’t ask him. He would have made a more imposing figure up there.”

“I think Max wanted you to have this.” I cradle the award in my lap, the gold cool to the touch. I can understand why the editor compared Max to the crow. Max didn’t miss a thing.

“Hmmm,” he says, but nothing else.

Gage drives over the Renegade, the bridge empty, huge ice chunks floating on the inky black water. He parks at his apartment building and turns off the truck. It’s late, and the complex is dark except for a few security lights fastened to the building that flicker shadows across the snow.

I release the seatbelt and kneel on the bench. Gage sits back and regards me coolly, not knowing what I’m thinking. “I think Max wanted you to have that award, and I think he wanted you to have me, too.”

“You think Max gave you to me?”

I wobble across the seat, trying to be seductive, but I probably look like a tired drunk. It’s what I feel like. My bedtimes are consistent, and it’s way past when I take the medication Jerricka added to my list and go to bed. “Yes. He asked you to look out for me, didn’t he? What did you think when you first saw me?”

“You mean the night you and Zane came by my office to ask about Max’s funeral?”

I press my lips against his cheek. “No. On the sidewalk the day you scared the paparazzi off.”

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