Page 237 of Saving Her

I grind my molars as I skip the video back and forth, trying to get a clear view. I relay letters and numbers through clenched teeth, and hope they’re the right ones, before pressing play on the video.

I scrutinize every aspect of the pixelated car. The busted headlight. The dents and scratches. Every detail counts.

“Jesus Christ.” I hit the slow-motion button and watch the replay of Hunter and Sarah walking across the lawn to the front of the house. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

“What is it?” Decker moves to my side, staring down at my Mac. The car creeps onto screen at the same time as Hunt knocks on my front door.

“They were right there.Right fucking there. All they needed to do was look over their shoulder and none of this would’ve happened.”

“If you want to see it that way, you could also say this never would’ve happened if you didn’t cozy up with my sister and take her back to your house in the first fucking place.”

I ignore the throb reigniting in my head.

I count to ten.

Breathe.

I do whatever calming voodoo I can muster to keep my ass on the bed instead of launching my knuckles into Decker’s face.

“Does it show him following Penny after she left?” he mutters.

I keep every muscle clenched while the video continues.

My fingers twitch as I watch the desolate street, not a single vehicle passing before Penny runs from the house. She’s frantic, and I have to fight a wince at the pain in her features. The painIcaused.

She scrambles into the black Suburban in my drive and doesn’t stop when Hunter and Sarah come rushing after her.

The seconds after she speeds away make me furious. As my friends reach for their phones and pace my front lawn, the green sedan drives by, following less than a minute behind. He must have circled the block and been watching the house.

“He wasright there.” I jab a finger at the screen. “If Hunt was paying attent—”

“It’s not Hunt’s fault.”

I scoff. “No, it’s mine, right?” I shove from the bed, my brain screaming in protest at the sudden movement. “This is all on me.”

“I didn’t say that.” Decker relaxes, settling into calm superiority. “But it sounds like you think so.”

Fuck him.

Not only for the judgment and the threats. Fuck him for nailing exactly how I feel.

It’s my fault for not realizing Robert had found her. It’s my fucking fault for not confirming he was dead in the first place.

I should’ve been all over this. I should’ve fucking known.

“Do you really blame yourself?” He shakes his head and scoffs. “Do you seriously think you could’ve stopped this from happening?”

Without a doubt, if I’d been on the top of my game. If my focus had been aligned.

But instead of protecting Penny I endangered her. Became distracted by her. And even now, with one of her friends dead and another injured, I don’t think I can regret falling for her.

“You couldn’t have seen this coming. Torian told me Robert was dead. ThatallLuther’s men were taken care of. Get your head out of your ass and realize you’re no better than anyone else. You couldn’t have predicted this. You’re just as helpless as the rest of us.”

“It was my job.”

“Yeah, well, it was my job to find her in the first place. She’smysister. So quit the pity party.”

Is that it? Is all this macho hostility because I found her instead of him?

---