Page 85 of Penn

King and Stone are there first, hands on my shoulders, trying to bring me back.

“Penn,” King says sharply. “Look at me.”

I do, but there’s a thin red film over my vision. My blood feels like it’s boiling.

“You gotta pull it together. She’s going to need you.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, fighting the urge to put my fist through the nearest wall.

“She lied to me,” I say through clenched teeth. “She said she was sick, which is why she stayed in Pittsburgh, only to gobehind my back and do something I specifically told her not to do.”

“Don’t make any snap judgments,” Boone says quietly.

“She’s still alive,” North adds. “That’s what matters. You can sort that other shit out later.”

I rake a hand through my hair, every emotion in me battling for dominance—rage, fear, betrayal.

“She could have fucking died,” I rasp out, my voice shaking with anger.

“But she didn’t,” Rafferty says.

“She lied to me,” I snarl.

Rafferty smiles at me sympathetically. “And I bet she still trusts you enough to believe you’ll show up for her now.”

I force myself to breathe.

One second.

Then another.

I’ve been alone for so long that my first instinct to shut down and barricade myself from the hurt is taking over. Things are so much easier when I’m alone.

I swallow hard and look at the agent. “How fast can you get me back there?”

“There’s a Jameson jet on standby,” he says. “We can have you in Pittsburgh in about ninety minutes.”

I nod, heart still thundering in my chest. I press a hand to the back of my neck, still feeling the weight of what just happened.

“Get me to the airport,” I tell him.

CHAPTER 30

Mila

By the timePenn pulls into the garage, I’m already bracing for what’s coming. The sound of the metal door rolling upward seems like a bad omen. I can’t even begin to imagine what’s going to walk through that door, but I know he’s not going to be happy. He’s not going to be grateful that Jace is in custody and will likely be charged with attempted murder, along with a variety of lesser charges, including stalking and harassment. Penn’s probably not going to be relieved I’m safe, although a tiny bit beat up, and he’s not going to be grateful to my brother for stopping any further carnage when he attacked Jace after he shot me.

Jackson is still sitting at the kitchen island, Willa nursing a cup of tea beside me on the couch—both of them quiet but keeping me company since I got home from the hospital.

It wasn’t bad. Not really. After the initial fear subsided, the remaining buzz of adrenaline kept the pain to a minimum. It was as Greer said… a graze wound to my upper arm. A few stitches. A lecture from every single Jameson agent about risk and luck and doing stupid shit for the right reasons. It was not part of the game plan that I divulge Jameson was there. It was decidedly the factor that pushed Jace over the edge, angering him so much that he shot me. So yeah… I’ve already been chastised by no fewer than four agents, including a blistering from Kynan when it was all said and done.

A fucking banner day.

When the mudroom door opens, my entire body tightens, causing a tiny throb in my arm where a small bandage covers the wound. Willa puts a reassuring hand on my leg and whispers, “It will be fine. Let him rant.”

She knows just how pissed he’s going to be. Someone called her when I got to the hospital and then she was there, watching the emergency room doctor work on me and holding my hand. She knew I was thinking about doing this against Penn’s wishes, and we spent a lot of time talking the last few hours about how to make this right. I obviously owe him an apology, but I do not regret my decision.

It’s over because of what I did.

---