Page 54 of Avery's Hero

With a frustrated growl, he shoves up from the bench. “Look, I need to go. He’s going to be tearing this town apart in a fit of rage. I don’t want to see him or talk to him.”

“He’s going to be tearing the town apart because he’s worried about you.”

The tall, muscular kid strides away, but surprises me by stopping. His long legs carry him back to me. “You said you were sent to a school. What happened?”

I’m shocked by the violent surge of emotions in my chest. It takes a few seconds to get my breath. “My father didn’t want my brother and me anymore?—"

He interrupts me, “Your brother went too?”

“No. My brother was turning eighteen in less than a month. My dad just kicked him out. He knew that Gunnar would never stay at the school.”

“But you did?”

My heart flutters weakly as I fight the tightening in my throat. Biting my lip, I nod. “I had no choice, until I got kicked out.”

He lurches toward me and sits on the bench, his attention hyper-focused. “Why did you get kicked out?”

I’m shaking inside now. Every horrible memory unfurling inside of me, coating me with black, evil slime.

“A bully,” I say with a shaking voice. “A bully made my life hell. And his father turned the story on me. The administrators of the school are… were corrupt.”

Lincoln’s dark eyes bore into me. I know that, just like his father, he has the ability to see far, far deeper than I want him to. “Something terrible happened, didn’t it?”

I’m frozen. The deer in headlights. Unable to speak. Unable to breathe.

He grunts, “Fuck. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m okay,” I say it aloud to hear myself say my own mantra. The only thing that helped hold me together all those years ago.

“What school?”

He deserves the truth from me. For an agonizing few seconds, I can’t speak. “Allamance,” I whisper.

His eyes burn darker. “That’s the same one he’s sending me to.”

I nod. “I know. I saw the brochure on your father’s desk.”

He lets out a rough breath. “I won’t go.”

“I’m going to try to convince Brock not to send you.”

“Good luck with that.” He stands up abruptly and gives me a final look. The expression on his young face is far too old for his years. “Don’t waste your breath. And don’t let Brock fool you into thinking he cares.” Then he turns, his shoulders locked tight and strides away, disappearing into the crowd of oblivious people on the boardwalk.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

It takes for-fucking-ever to get through traffic and into a parking lot near the boardwalk. How the hell did tiny Lynn’s Cove get so much damned traffic? It’s like the universe is conspiring to keep me from getting to Linc.

I slam my truck into park and leap out. But it’s too late. By the time I reach the boardwalk, my son has disappeared into the throng of people. “Great, justfuckinggreat.” I scrub my hands through my hair and throw a pleading glance at the sky. A little help here would be nice.

Any day now some guardian angel can show up and tell me what to do, because I’m obviously making a giant hairy mess of things.

After returning to the truck to slam the door closed, I walk toward Avery. My stomach is clenched in an invisible fist. She didn’t deserve my asshole attitude, but I’m on a thin, razor edge right now.

The closer I get, the more my scowl hardens. Her shoulders are slumped, her hair covering her face, but there’s no mistaking the fact that she’s crying.

Damnit. She’s caught in the wake of this disaster.

When I walk up, she doesn’t raise her face to me.

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