Page 167 of The Wrong Play

“No,” I whispered, trying again. Click. Click. Nothing.

I slammed my palm against the steering wheel, panic clawing up my throat as I stared out the windshield, and the rain that had just started to fall. My car had never had issues before. This wasn’t happening.

I tried again. And again. Each failed attempt sent me spiraling further into despair.

I couldn’t stay here. Ihadto go.

Abandoning the car, I grabbed my bag and ran through the rain. The bus stop wasn’t far—just a few blocks away. My only chance. My legs burned as I sprinted down the sidewalk, dodging pedestrians, my breath ragged. Every time I slowed, Callum’s voice echoed in my head. “But if you really love him,you’ll leave him before he gets caught in the crossfire.”

Tears blurred my vision, mixing with the rain pelting my face as I reached the bus stop. I fumbled to check the schedule, my fingers shaking so badly I could barely read it.

I had to get out. Before it was too late. Before Jace found me. Before Callum destroyed everything.

Clutching my bag tighter, I swallowed back the sob threatening to break free.

I didn’t have a damn clue where I was headed—just away. The bus stop squatted under a flickering streetlight, a rusted bench and a graffiti-smeared pole marking the edge of nowhere. My sneakers scraped the cracked pavement as I dropped onto the seat, the cold seeping through my jeans like a punishment.

The wind sliced through my jacket, whipping my wet hair into my face, but I didn’t bother fixing it. I just needed to go—somewhere, anywhere, away from the shitstorm I couldn’t seem to escape no matter how hard I tried.

Callum’s voice clawed at my skull, digging in deep, ripping at every weak spot he’d ever found. I’d shut my phone off, killing the lifeline to Jace, because one buzz from him and I’d break. I’d run right back, and he’d be screwed. Callum would see to that.

The street was a ghost town, just the low growl of traffic in the distance and the occasional skitter of trash across the asphalt. I pulled my knees up, hugging them tight, my breath hitching as a sob finally escaped my chest.

I’d left him. Jace. The only person who’d ever seen me—really seen me—and I’d had to leave him. My chest burned, the ache spreading, so violent, I wasn’t sure I could survive it.

But I had to do it. He deserved more than my chaos, more than Callum’s venom poisoning his life.

Headlights slashed through the dark, and I stiffened, squinting as a Jeep screeched to a halt across the street. My heart slammed into my ribs. No. Fuck, no. The driver’s door banged open, and Jace stepped out, his frame taut with rage. Even from here, I could feel the anger rolling off him, those brown eyes gone black with something feral. He slammed the door, the crack cutting through the sound of the rain hitting the pavement, and stormed toward me, every step the stalk of a predator.

“Riley,” he snarled, voice rough and low, slicing through the wind. “What the hell are you doing?”

I scrambled up, my bag tipping over, pulse pounding in my throat. “Jace, go back home. Please.”

He didn’t slow, closing the gap until he loomed over me, a wall of fury and muscle blocking out the light. Up close, he was all heat. His jaw locked tight, a muscle ticking under the strain. “Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded, his eyes drilling into mine, sharp and unyielding.

I stumbled back, my sneakers catching in a crack as I sat back on the bench. “Away. I—I can’t stay.”

“Why would you run? Why would youleaveme?” His voice was agonized, disbelieving that I could hurt him like this.

I stared at him through my tears, my throat burning, my chest caving in. He stood there, soaking wet. His hands were clenched at his sides like he was trying to hold himself back from shaking me, from gripping my face and making me look at him the way he always did—like I was something he refused to let slip through his fingers.

But he didn’t know.

He didn’t know what I’d done.

And once he did, once I said the words out loud, I knew he’d look at me differently. He’d see what Callum saw—what Callum made me believe.

I sucked in a breath, forcing the words through my tight throat. “Jace…I—” My voice cracked, and I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment before forcing myself to look at him. “I didn’t leave because I wanted to. I’m leaving because I have to.”

His brows furrowed, frustration flickering across his face. “The hell you do! Why would you have to leave?”

I let out a shaky breath, tears spilling faster. “You don’t understand. I’m trying to protect you.”

“From what?” His voice softened just slightly, but the intensity in his eyes didn’t waver. He dropped to his knees in front of me, gripping the bench on either side of my legs, locking me in place. “Riley, what the hell is going on?”

I choked out a broken laugh, tilting my face to the sky, my vision blurring with rain and tears and exhaustion.

Sucking in a deep breath, I forced myself tolookat him, to let myself feel the weight of what I was about to say. I wiped at my face with trembling fingers, my voice barely above a whisper.“Before I came here…before I met you…there was someone else.”

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