Page 59 of Montana Memory

“A devenomized snake,” I finally said, my voice rough. I only knew because Lachlan had sent me over the full file. Again, it had been one of the things I’d wanted to talk about with her tonight. She’d wanted to start tackling her life and figuring out a plan. She’d wanted as many details as possible.

She dropped her hands, eyes wet and glassy. “Does that make a difference?”

I stood, slow and deliberate, leveling her with a look. “Yeah. It does.”

She let out a humorless breath, shaking her head. “Hunter, don’t.”

“I’m serious, Jada.” I took a step closer. “You could’ve done worse. Youdidn’t. You made sure Kenzie wouldn’t be hurt.”

“That doesn’t make it okay.”

“No, it doesn’t,” I agreed. “But it tells me something.”

She swallowed hard. “What? What does it tell you? That I was a lunatic? That’s what it tells me.”

“It tells me that, maybe, even at your worst, you were never vicious.” I studied her carefully. “You wanted Kenzie gone, but you didn’t want herdead. If you were truly that person, you wouldn’t have stopped where you did. And you definitely wouldn’t have stopped Alan from killing her.”

Her jaw clenched, her fingers gripping her sweater like it was the only thing holding her together. “I was still a terrible person, Hunter.”

“You were manipulated by a man who used you and made you think you had to do those things to keep him.”

Her eyes flashed. “That doesn’t change the fact that I did them.”

“No,” I admitted. There was no way around that, and I wouldn’t try to convince her otherwise.

“It doesn’t matter,” she murmured. “I can’t stay here. Not after everything.”

Something twisted in my chest. I’d spent three years drifting since I got out of the Army, taking jobs that kept me moving, avoiding anything permanent. I never needed a home base, never wished I had one.

Until now. Until this woman. For the first time in a long time, I wished I had something solid. A place I could take her that wasn’t here, where she could feel safe but also where she wouldn’t feel like she had to stare down her mistakes every second. I wished I had a house of my own and a support network to offer her, but I’d been running as fast as I could from those things.

My cell rang, breaking the heavy silence. I glanced at the screen.Jace.He was calling, as scheduled, with more info about Jada. I wasn’t sure this was the best time.

I swiped to answer and put it on speaker. “Hey, brother. We might need to reschedule.”

“Everything okay?” Jace’s voice was somber.

“Yeah, just have some other things we need to take care of.”

Jada shook her head. “Is he calling about me?”

“Yes, but?—”

“It’s okay, Jace,” she interrupted. “Tell us what you found. I’m done hiding from myself.”

“All right, let’s start with the good news,” Jace said. “You’ve got a decent savings account. Nothing huge, but enough to float you for a couple of months if you keep expenses low. Longer if you don’t have many bills.”

Jada blinked, clearly caught off guard. “I didn’t expect that.”

“Yep,” Jace confirmed. “Also, your car is fully paid off. And your apartment lease? Month-to-month.” A brief pause. “From the looks of things, you were planning on moving soon.”

Jada tightened her arms around herself. “I was?”

“That’s what it looks like,” Jace said. “You hadn’t put down a deposit anywhere else yet, but you were definitely in the process of shutting things down.”

Jada let out a breath, her expression unreadable. “Okay,” she said slowly. I could tell she was trying to process it, trying to hold on to something solid.

But then Jace sighed. “That’s where the good news ends. The hotel you worked public relations for fired you. I didn’t dig into that since I’m assuming that happened because of not showing up for work.”

---