Page 12 of Edge of Heaven

“Another one bites the dust, eh?” A familiar voice speaks beside me, and I turn to Taryn in surprise.

“Something like that.” It’s relatively early, so I didn’t plan on running into anyone in the lobby. Especially not Taryn. “Where are you off to?” I ask, noting the rolling suitcase she’s carrying.

“Going home to L.A. for a week. I have a couple of auditions.”

I cock my head slightly. “You going to see Toby?”

Her eyes widen for a fraction of a second and then she nods. “I keep forgetting you know all the secrets.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure I don’t even know half of them,” I respond. “But I do remember the things we talked about.”

“You, uh, you haven’t told anyone, right?” Her bright blue eyes meet mine worriedly.

I frown. “Of course not. You told me about him in confidence. It’s not my story to tell.”

“I…appreciate that.”

“Does Callum know?” I ask pointedly.

She nods stiffly. “Yeah.”

“Well, good luck with the auditions,” I say after a moment of awkward silence.

“Thank you.”

Our eyes meet once again, and I really wish I could read minds. There’s something in hers that’s hard to decipher. Worry. Fear. Anxiety. Whatever it is, it’s not good.

“You okay, Taryn?” I ask finally.

She huffs out a little laugh. “I’m going to say no, even though I’ll deny it to anyone else.”

“How come?”

“How come what?”

“Why would you deny that you’re going through something?”

“I can’t afford to do anything that might…upset Callum.”

I stare at her for a moment, the alpha protector in me threatening to rear its ugly head. There’s something going on with her, and she’s afraid. I don’t know what exactly she’s afraid of, but I have a deep, burning need to find out. Especially if it’s Callum she’s afraid of. It’s one thing to be unhappy—it’s something else entirely to be afraid.

“Shuttle’s here—I have to go,” she says, breaking the spell and hurrying outside.

I hesitate for a fraction of a second and then follow her.

“What are you doing?” she asks in confusion.

“I’m going to ride to the airport with you.” I shrug. “It’s a free shuttle and it’ll just bring me right back.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“But I want to. We never get a chance to talk, so this’ll give us the time to catch up.” Before she can protest, I take the steps into the van two at a time and sink into the closest seat.

Taryn gives the driver her bag and then follows, hesitating for a beat before sinking down beside me.

We’re the only two people on the shuttle, and I can almost see the tension drain out of her as we pull away.

“You’re definitely not okay,” I say quietly.

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