Page 68 of Boots & Scars

He looked at me for a long moment, weighing his next words carefully.

“To be honest, I would have killed him myself,” Walker admitted, a grim look settling on his face. “If I knew…” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Where is she now?”

I remained silent, holding his gaze, refusing to give anything away.

“Goddammit, Sinclaire,” he spat out. “You aren’t going to take advantage of this?—”

“You think I would actually do that?” I asked, my voice hard.

“I don’t know what you would do,” Walker replied, his eyes piercing through me.

“You really think I’m that much of a monster?” I leaned forward, feeling the anger boiling beneath my skin.

“I saw what you did to Matthews,” Walker said. “And what you did to this kid?—”

“You said you’d do worse,” I growled.

“Maybe so,” he admitted. “But you being around her… Let’s be honest, Sinclaire. You’re not going anywhere. You’re a degenerate who likes the smell of blood. And that girl…” He wagged a finger at me, like a disappointed parent. “You know you’re just going to drag her down with you. I’m asking you, as someone who regards her as a daughter, don’t.”

“You think I don’t know that?” I stood up abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. “Trust me, I’ve tried to push her away, but she looks at me like… like…”

I couldn’t finish the sentence. My throat felt tight, and my chest ached with the weight of unspoken truths. In my head, though, it was clear as day: she looked at me like a man, not a commodity or a monster. She saw someone who deserved the light in her eyes.

Walker’s expression softened slightly, but he didn’t relent. “Sinclaire…”

“Save it,” I interrupted. “I know what she deserves better than anyone.”

He sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his temples again. The tension in the room felt suffocating.

"Based on the report I received and what you've told me, I'm giving you a pass," Walker said, his voice heavy with reluctant authority. "You're not in violation of anything. You're not fired. But stay away from her. Holly will be back in a couple of days, and then things can go back to normal."

“Are we done here?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

Walker nodded.

My body was tense with pent-up energy, and I left his office without another word. As I walked through the corridors, the weight of his words settled over me like a suffocating blanket.

The problem was that nothing could go back to the way it was before. Everly had changed everything.

When I stepped outside, the cold air hit me like a slap, jolting me back to reality. My thoughts churned as I made my way back to my car. The engine roared to life, and I gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to calm the storm inside me.

I drove aimlessly for a while, my mind racing with conflicting emotions. Part of me wanted to go back to Everly, to hold her and never let go. But another part knew that staying away was the only way to protect her from the mess that was my life.

Eventually, I found myself parked outside an old diner on the outskirts of town. It was a place I used to go when I needed to clear my head. The familiarity brought a strange sense of comfort.

Inside, the smell of greasy food and coffee filled the air. I slid into a booth at the back, away from prying eyes. The waitress, an older woman with kind eyes and tired lines on her face, brought me a cup of coffee without asking.

“Rough day?” she asked as she set the cup down in front of me.

“You could say that,” I replied, offering a weak smile.

She nodded sympathetically before leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I stared into the black liquid, watching as it rippled slightly from the tremor in my hand. How had everything spiraled out of control so quickly? One minute I was living in a numb haze, going through the motions of life on autopilot. Then Everly appeared like a flash of color in my grayscale world.

Now everything felt upside down and inside out.

I took a sip of coffee, letting the bitter taste ground me for a moment. Walker's words echoed in my mind:Stay away from her.But how could I when every fiber of my being screamed otherwise?

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