Page 157 of Here and Now
I think about all I’ve lost. My son. My family. My home and the man I love.
I’ll never see Miles again. I won’t get to tell him how much I love him and we wanted to live with him.
I replay our first date. The way he packed the food up and left so we could get Kai. The first time we made love and his tenderness. The moments when he made me feel safe, loved, and important. He would’ve been the one. I know it in every fiber of my being.
I wanted to make Ember Falls my home, because Miles is my sanctuary.
The life we could’ve built fades into the background.
I thought I knew heartbreak before, but it was nothing compared to this. To lose both of my loves in one moment.
A hand touches my shoulder and I gasp, looking up into the senator’s eyes. “It’s time to talk.”
Before I can say a word, a door flies open and the bodyguard lifts his gun. When I turn to see who it is, my stomach drops.
“Miles,” I breathe, and pain tears through me for a whole new reason, because in his hand is the fucking book.
thirty-four
Miles
She’s alive.
Seeing her face, that she’s breathing, is a relief like I’ve never known. I prayed we weren’t too late. That I could set things into motion, and it seems I’m just in time.
I shake the book in my hand, bringing the attention to me. “Hello, Senator,” I say evenly.
“You’re the boyfriend?”
“Yes, and also the owner of the book you’re so desperate to find.”
I assess the room, taking in the dead body on the ground across the way and Penelope’s red-rimmed eyes. There’s a mark on her face, and I instantly see red. Someone fucking hit her.
He’ll pay for that.
Her lips are parted, and confusion fills her beautiful eyes. “Miles? What are you ... ?”
I take a step and the dickhead with a gun shifts. “I wouldn’t shoot me since I’m not an idiot, and you should know there are contingencies in place if that happens.”
The senator lifts his hand and the bodyguard steps back. “You have contingencies?”
“Yes, I’ll warn you now that if I’m not walking out this door with Penelope and Kai in ten minutes then everything in this book, all the names, dates, locations of bodies, and all the other fun things that are in here will be blasted out in an email to fifteen differentnews agencies. There will be no rock you’ll be able to hide under. No corner of the world where this won’t touch you. So I’d put that gun down, and let’s discuss the options,” I say, stepping farther into the room.
They have no idea that Ainsley’s newspaper already has the contents of this book, and there will be nowhere they can escape this, but I bluff until I have Penelope out of this room.
It’s clear that this doesn’t sit well with him as he shifts and waves his hand, indicating his man should lower the gun. Once that’s out of the way, I walk over to Penelope and pull her up against me.
“Are you okay?” I ask softly.
She nods quickly. “Kai,” she breathes.
“He’s fine,” I whisper. “Trust me.”
I heard him screaming, assuming they were together, but when I opened the door, there was only one man, who had Kai in his grasp, and I didn’t hesitate. I was able to take care of him quickly and grabbed Kai, sending him to Quinn, who was waiting two doors down.
Once I knew he was safe, I came to get Penny.
I return my attention to the matter at hand. “This book was an interesting read. I can see why you were so eager to get it back.”
