Page 90 of Midnight Between Us
“You never told me that.”
“That doesn’t make you a man.And I’m glad you got the fuck out of here when you could.He was never going to stop,” Malerick adds.“Not until one of us ended up dead.And you?You got out.That was the only win we had.”
“But I left everyone else behind.”I left her.I don’t say it out loud.
“You didn’t have a choice.Same as I didn’t when I left.We all left each other behind, Keir.We had to.Our father didn’t raise us.He tried to bury us.One by one.”
The words settle into my bones like ash.And still, it’s not enough to silence the guilt.Nothing is.
We don’t talk for a long time after that.
“Why did you come back?”I have to ask.“I know you said it was a good job, but you had a better job in the Bureau.”
“This one is better.Believe me when I say that the pension has a lot of perks,” he states, and it doesn’t make sense.
“You mean they give you the cruiser when you retire?”
“Hell of a car.”He smirks, but it’s not convincing, and I’m starting to think that there’s a lot more about this job he hasn’t told me.
For now, it’s totally fine.I’m done with uncovering secrets for the day, maybe the week.
“I’m heading back to town,” he suddenly says.“It’s time for me to go to work.You should finish those letters.”
I nod.
“You okay?”
“No.”
He nods like that’s the answer he expected.“Good, that means you’re not lying.That’s progress.”He taps his temple.“You should try therapy.It might help you before you meet your child.”
He claps a hand on my shoulder.It lingers for a second.Then he’s gone.
The silence doesn’t feel so hollow this time.Just still.I sit a while longer, then push to my feet, my knee aching with every step.I make my way back to the library.Back to the box.The next envelope is waiting—unopened.Unread.
I owe her this.
All of it.
ChapterForty-Two
Simone
After I calm down—well,after I stop sobbing, hyperventilating, and cursing Keir’s name under my breath—I check my phone again to see where we’re supposed to meet.
The address Del sent me isn’t hers.
I blink.Zoom in.Zoom out as I try to figure out where she is sending me.Before I can type a confused question mark into our group chat, I realized Nysa beat me to it.
Why are we meeting at Cassian’s place?
Cassian’s place?Yeah.Why the fuck are we?
I glare at the screen like it’s holding out on me.Nothing.Just the damn location pin taunting me with no answers.
They say curiosity killed the cat, but honestly?Curiosity is the only thing keeping me from dissolving into a puddle of existential dread right now after my conversation with Keir.So I latch onto it, cling to it’s the only thing keeping me sane, and try to make sense of why Del isn’t at her own house.
Then it hits me.Not like a soft realization—more like a rewind button that drags me back to the night when my life shift.The Moon & Maple Festival night, right after her cafe exploded, Cassian was with her.He held her as Malerick was dealing with the emergency personnel but kept checking on them.
