Page 113 of Give Me Redemption

“Jace?” she says.

“Was it all a lie?” I ask. It’s past midnight. I can’t sleep, but I can’t wake up.

I’m living in the worst nightmare.

“No,” she says.

I look down at the floor. “What’s your real name?”

“Harlow Dalton.”

“Harlow,” I repeat.

“Yes.”

Neither of us says anything else. We stay on the phone until I can’t take it anymore and hang up.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Jace

(Four days later)

I sit out on the covered balcony as rain falls. It’s been four days now. I picked up my apartment this morning, tossing the broken shit out into the hallway for the trash team to pick up. I fixed some eggs and bacon for breakfast and drank mostly water instead of beer.

I hear a knock on my door, so I stand up and walk back inside. I open the door and a woman stands on the other side, looking unsure. She’s pregnant.

“Jace Grant?” she asks.

I nod, puzzled at who she is.

“I’m Bla…” She stops herself. “I’m Rocket’s wife.”

My face grows grim.Oh my God.

“I’m sorry to barge in on you like this.”

“No, no. Come in,” I reply, opening the door wider so she can walk by.

She hesitantly looks around the apartment, and I thank God that I cleaned up. I no longer have a TV or coffee table, but at least the evidence of beer and broken shit is gone.

“Can I get you something to drink?” I ask.

“No, thank you. I’ll only be here for a moment.”

She takes a seat on the couch as I walk over, choosing to stand.

She shakes her head and chuckles. “Blake talked about you so much. It’s surreal being here.”

God, I almost forgot what his real name was. We called him Rocket so much. That’s just who he was to me.

“He talked about you a lot, too,” I reply, leaning against the arm of the chair and crossing my arms.

She smiles and then takes a deep breath. “I don’t want to keep you. I just know he would have wanted you to have this.” She reaches her hand out, and I didn’t even notice she was holding something this whole time.

It’s a necklace—his dog tags. I glance down at them before looking back at her. “You don’t have to give me those.”

“I know that,” she says. “But the man adored you, Jace. He thought you were something special.”

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