Page 83 of Nothing To Lose
I stare at the stack of envelopes he's presented me with. And the check. The sight of it makes my stomach churn.
Tyler’s text flashes again in my mind.
I just need space.
Was that his way of saying goodbye?
It doesn’t sound like him.
It doesn’t feel like him.
What if it was real?
What if this is what he needs, and I ignore it?
What if I’m the one caging him now?
I don’t trust Talon, but what if I’m wrong? What if not honoring his request for space is what pushes him away?
But—California? It's all the way on the other side of the country.
Fifty thousand dollars.
My phone rings, Leslie’s name lit up on the screen.
27
TYLER
24 HOURS AGO
I haven’t even made it five feet past the lobby when I hear him call my name.
“Tyler.”
Not sharp. Not clipped and dismissive, like usual. Urgent. Unsteady.
Then he jogs to catch up.
Talon Valdin. Jogging.In public.
When I turn, his face is red, hair slightly out of place, like even gravity’s taken a swing at his composure.
“Wait,” he says, slightly breathless. “Tyler. Please.”
I stop. I shouldn’t. I know better. But I stop.
He takes a breath like it pains him. “You love this man?”
“More than anything.”
He nods slowly, carefully. “How much do you love him?”
I narrow my eyes. I know how my father operates. Every question is a chess move. Every pause is a trap.
Still, I answer. “Everything. I have nothing to lose if I don’t have him.”
He considers my words carefully for long enough that I think the conversation is over. Just as I’m starting to walk away again, he speaks.
