Page 64 of The Two Last Moments

Lark nods. “Thank you, Danny,” she whispers.

She’s said those words to me many times, and I always get a little mushy inside. I like making her happy. Giving her the things she asks for.

But that’s not enough. It’s never been enough when you consider the kinds of things Lark is facing. I’m still searching for the right words when she gets out of the car and heads for the house.

What do I do?I ask myself again.

I blow out a breath, running both hands through my hair, and then tug at the cord of my necklace.

I don’t see Lark when I get inside. She rushed ahead of me. But she’s not getting rid of me that easily. After I check that all the locks are secure, I head to her room to look for her. Lark’s door is partway open, giving me a view of inside.

She’s packing clothes into the WOFD backpack I gave her.

“Whoa, what are you doing?” I ask, stepping into her room.

She stuffs a sweatshirt into the bag. “I can’t stay here anymore. Not after what we found out.”

I follow her into the bathroom, where she picks up her toothbrush. “No way. You’re not leaving like this.” If she truly wanted to go, I would let her. But like this?

I amnotallowing this to happen.

“I can’t stay under Nina’s roof knowing what I might have done.”

I put my hand on her arm, stopping her. “And what exactly is that? We didn’t get any answers earlier. We have no idea what really went down.”

“We know I probably sent those emails to Nina about Travis.”

“It’s possible. Or it could’ve been someone else. That’s a big leap to make.”

“How is it justpossiblewhen those emails were written at the café where I hung out all the time, and then I showed up here onyourstreet? I was trying to get money from Nina. Tell me some other way to explain it.”

I have all kinds of doubts about what’s really going on here. How Lark and Travis could be connected. But I have no doubt whatsoever about her character.

From the moment I met her, Lark has shown me who she is. Whenever she runs, it’s because she needs an escape. She needs help. It’s not her fault she grew up in a screwed-up family. None of us can help the way we’re born.

“If you’re searching for an explanation,” I say, “I can give you one. And it’s just as plausible as yours.”

She’s scowling, turned away from me. I walk around her until we’re face to face. “You never wanted to help your stepbrother. And when you tried to put a stop to…whatever it was he was doing, he hurt you. You needed a way out, and you knew Cam couldn’t protect you. So you ran here to West Oaks. We don’t know why, exactly, but we have no proof whatsoever that you wrote any emails to Nina. For all we know, you’d never heard her name before you showed up on our street.”

“But I brought the danger with me.”

“And I’ve tried to keep you safe. I’ll keep trying. I’m nowhere near done.” I cup my hands around her face, tilting her head so her eyes meet mine. That wild, rich green. Those eyes that make me feel alive. Like I could doanythingso long as it was for her. “Maybe you were always supposed to end up here with us. Withme.”

“But what if I only ran away because I did something terrible?” she whispers.

“Even if you did, you’re not that person now. Lark, I wantthis girl. The one right in front of me.” I drag my nose over her temple, inhaling her. “I want this girl so fucking badly.”

She sucks in a breath. “I want to be that girl. I want to believe she’s real.” Her body shivers against me. “I want to be…good.”

I bite back another groan. She doesn’t know what that honesty, that vulnerability, does to me. I need to kiss her. It’s not a choice anymore. I need to kiss her like my heart needs to keep beating.

My lips brush her jaw. Soft presses to her skin. Her scent fills my nostrils, heady and intoxicating.

I told myself this couldn’t happen because I was supposed to look out for her. But that hasn’t worked either. The only way I can think of now to protect her, to care for her, is to pull her into my arms and keep her as close as I can.

“I care so much about you, Lark. Don’t run away from me. I’ll believe enough for the both of us.”

“Show me?”

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