Page 184 of Ignite

Years of grief.

All of it.

Ripping from me like a scream I’ve held in too long.

“Hallie, what happened? I’ve been worried sick,” Lily whispers, her fingers running through my hair.

I shake my head.

“I—I can’t talk about it.”

She leads me inside.

I’m still covered in dirt.

Still in this fucking lace lingerie.

Still shattered. With my heart left in those woods.

Chapter 66

CONAN

“Get the fuck off me!” I shout, shaking the three men from me.

They tighten their restraint, my arms locked behind my back.

“Hallie!” It’s a desperate cry.

The disappointment on her face.

Not hurt or upset.

I fucking gutted her. I let her down.

And now? She’s gone. It’s all my fault.

I sink to the dirt and they let go, and my chest heaves.

“Fuuuuuck!” I scream at the top of my lungs.

Balling my fists, I smash them into the ground. Over and over again, hoping I’ll be able to feel something. Just anything.

Physical pain mutes the emotional turmoil.

But it doesn’t work. It never comes. I’m completely numb.

There was life before Hallie. It was dark, but it was bearable.

Then there was life with Hallie, where for the first time I started to picture my future with a goddamn smile on my face.

Life after losing Hallie? I don’t know how to do it.

Is this just how I will live now? Empty? Like I’m missing the other half of my soul?

I will never love again. There is only one woman who owns my heart. I had my chance at happiness, and I fucked it up.

“Conan!”

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