Page 71 of Stay for Me

Mags

Present Day. Hallow Ranch.

Goodbye,Firefly.

Goodbye, Firefly.

Goodbye, Firefly.

Goodbye, Firefly.

Goodbye, Firefly.

Hallow Ranch was my sanctuary, the only place I’d managed to find a simple shred of peace in this life.

Diana had been here since the beginning, coming and going as needed, leaving me breathless each time I saw even a glimpse of her. And as much as I wanted to follow her, to know her, to hear her voice or the harmony of her laugh…I couldn’t. My place was here, on this ranch.

I’d been here for over a decade now, never once leaving the property—until two weeks ago.

I’d left my sanctuary, crossing the property line, to protect the woman I loved, but also to break her beautiful, precious heart. I hated every moment of it, from the sharp intake of her breath and the confusion in her hazel eyes to the pain in her trembling lip, and the loss of her touch.

I was gutted by every damn second, but the words I’d just whispered to her on the phone a second ago threatened to pull me under, the darkness clawing at my skin, trying to get a solid grip.

She needed closure—a push to move on from what never could’ve been.

I needed a fucking drink or a bullet in my chest.

I bit down, grinding my teeth to the point of pain as I stared at my phone, Midnight huffing with impatience underneath me, shifting her weight. If it wasn’t for the work that still had to be done, I’d retreat—disappear for a few days on the mountain to clear my head to contemplate which one I was going to give myself.

A drink.

Or a bullet.

I’d spent the most of my life hating myself, but none of that could compare to the absolute hatred brewing in my soul now. Most days, I couldn’t stand to look at myself in the fucking mirror, and now? Now, I had to go on, knowing I’d broken something beautiful, something filled with nothing but light and goodness.

My Diana.

My fuckin’ firefly.

“Yo!”

My head snapped up, finding Mason atop his horse, heading in my direction.

Years ago, I wanted nothing more than to break the bull rider’s jaw for all the shit he’d put Kings through. The longer I’d spent on the ranch as Kings’ ranch hand, the more I grew to hate Mason fuckin’ Langston. Then, when he showed up here after the fire with a way to take down Moonie, his new wife in his truck, things shifted between the Langston brothers. There was a lot of pain there, sure, but I never fully trusted Mason until he showed me the kind of man he was underneath that cocky, bull rider exterior. Thankfully, he was the kind of man to risk everything for the people he cared about—including Kings.

Now, Mason had not only my trust, but also, my respect.

When he was close, I pushed Diana away, shoved down the pain, and lifted my chin. “Something wrong?” I drawled.

Mason’s eyes flashed under the shadow of his hat. “Gonna ask you something. and I need you to be honest with me,” he started.

I stiffened, not liking his tone but saying nothing.

He looked away for a moment, his jaw jumping. When he looked back to me, he hit me with it. “Are you still up for killing the twins?”

I blinked.

Mason took off his hat and ran his fingers through his sweaty, dirty blond hair. “Cause I gotta tell you, Mags, I’m game if you are,” he clipped, his nostrils flaring.

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