Page 32 of Emmy's Ride

“Yes.” Her voice didn’t waver. “I took a week off and my time is almost up. I have a job, Austin. People depend on me. I can’t stay here, spinning my wheels, waiting for something to change when we both know it won’t.”

My teeth ground together. “That’s bullshit, and you know it.”

She huffed, standing now as if she couldn’t sit still anymore. “No, it’s reality. I came here to find Luke, and I’m still going to search for him. And so will you. But I can’t stay.”

She turned thinking that was the final word, and the conversation was done.

Like hell it was.

“You called me a coward last night,” I bit out, making her stop dead in her tracks and turn back. “Said I was running from something I wanted. That I wasn’t brave enough to stand up and take it.”

Emmy’s spine went rigid, but she didn’t turn around.

“Well, guess what, sweetheart?” I continued, rising to my feet, stalking toward her, wearing my nakedness arrogantly. “This morning, you’re the one being a damn chicken.”

Her eyes dipped, taking me all in. She licked her lips and forced her gaze upward before her shoulders stiffened. “Austin?—”

“No.” I stepped in front of her, forcing her to face me. “You can’t stand there and tell me last night meant nothing. That this thing between us isn’t real.”

“I never said it wasn’t real. It was always real. At least to me.” There was anger in her voice, but pain too.

“Then admit it. Admit you still love me.”

A muscle in her jaw ticked. Seconds stretched between us.

“I love you. I never stopped loving you.”

The words fell from her lips in a whisper, honest and unguarded. But almost instantly, her expression hardened again.

“But it doesn’t change anything,” she repeated, quieter now, like the confession had drained her. “It just means my heart is going to have to heal all over again when I walk away. And I will walk away, Austin. I don’t want this life. I don’t want to worry about getting a phone call telling me you’re dead.

I stared at her, fury and frustration twisting inside me.

She loved me. She still loved me, but love wasn’t enough. She was leaving. I wanted to grab her, shake some damn sense into her. Wanted to demand that she stop pretending like what we had could be so easily set aside.

But I didn’t.

Instead, I exhaled, forcing myself to swallow the words that burned my tongue. Because if I knew anything about Emmy, it was that she didn’t respond to force. She had to choose to stay. And until she did, all I could do was make damn sure she knew exactly what she was walking away from.

I tried to shove down the frustration burning through me. “You’re not leaving.”

Emmy’s brows shot up, arms crossing over her chest. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. There’s still a threat. You were nearly caught in the middle of a goddamn brawl, and we still don’t know who took Luke. Until we do, I’m not letting you walk out of here like everything’s fine.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “You can’t keep me here, Austin.”

“I damn well can.”

She scoffed, shaking her head. “Austin, I have a job. A life. I can’t just put it all on hold because you suddenly decided to play protector.”

My jaw ticked. “This isn’t about me suddenly deciding anything, Emmy. It’s about the fact that someone out there is responsible for what happened to Luke, and if they find out you’re digging, they could come after you next.”

“I have to leave, Austin.” Her voice cracked. “Not just for me—for my patients. They’re expecting me back, and I can’t just disappear.”

“Your patients aren’t the ones with a target on their backs,” I ground out. “You are.”

She shook her head slowly. “This isn’t fair.”

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