Page 37 of Emmy's Ride

I didn’t hesitate. The answer was simple, yet difficult. “Stability. A safe place. People who won’t give up on them.”

Austin held my eyes for what felt like forever, then leaned back with a sigh. “That’s a damn shame,” he muttered.

I frowned curious why he thought so. “Why?”

“Because no one gives a shit until it’s too late,” he said. “Then the world acts surprised when they end up in trouble.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

Austin’s gaze flickered toward the window. “Somebody needs to step up.”

I studied him carefully. He wasn’t just making conversation anymore. He was thinking. And knowing Austin, once he got an idea in his head, he wouldn’t let it go.

I wasn’t sure why, but for the first time in a long time, I felt hopeful.

Hope was dangerous, though. It crept in when I wasn’t paying attention, whispering promises I’d be foolish to believe. Sitting across from Austin, watching him consider something bigger than himself was enough to make that dangerous hope unfurl inside me.

I was getting in too deep. I had to stop.

Austin was still the same man. The same man I had walked away from, the same man who would always belong to something greater than just the two of us. I couldn’t let myself believe, even for a second, that this time would be different.

By the end of the day, my resolve was slipping. I rubbed at my temples, fatigue setting in. I had seen six patients back-to-back, and yet the only thing occupying my mind was the man sitting in my waiting room.

The man who, like clockwork, stepped into my office the second my last patient left.

“You ready?” Austin asked, his deep voice filling the quiet space.

I closed my eyes for a second before meeting his gaze. He looked at me the way he always did—like he saw too much.

My expression must have given me away because he narrowed his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

I inhaled slowly, bracing myself. “I can’t go back to the compound with you.”

Austin stilled. “The hell you can’t.”

“I can stay with Maya?—”

“No. You’re not staying anywhere but with me.”

I pushed back from my desk, standing. “Austin, I can’t keep doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“This.” I gestured between us. “Falling back into old patterns, into you. It’s messing with my head.”

He stepped closer, forcing me to tilt my chin up. “And what exactly is happening in that head of yours, Emmy?”

I swallowed hard. “I’m wanting things that can never happen.”

“Like what?”

I shook my head, feeling exposed. “It doesn’t matter.”

“The hell it doesn’t,” he growled. “Tell me.”

I hesitated, the words lodged in my throat. But Austin wasn’t the kind of man to let things go. “I want you, Austin. And not just for a night, not just for stolen moments. I want things I can’t have.”

Then, without warning, Austin turned and locked the office door.

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