Page 20 of The Last Call Home
“What is it?”Nysa asks.
“Of course he knows,” Gale says.“He’s a good sheriff.Ledger still can’t comprehend why he left his other job and came to this town, but at least he’s better than the old guy who used to run the town.”
“Yeah, he is good,” I agree with her.He thinks he’s good, but I’m better.
“What is it?”Nysa insists.
I shake my head and wave a hand dismissively.“Nothing.I’m just very disappointed in all of you.”Lifting my chin, I add, with a touch of dramatic flair, “You ...I thought we were my friends.My besties.”
That should be enough to convince them that I’m sulking over the whole nobody-told-me-what-was-going-on situation.
Am I actually hurt?Probably.But now isn’t the time to dwell on that—not at all.There’s something bigger to deal with.
I finally see them.
Everything that’s been hiding under my nose.I knew there were too many weird things happening, but I just ...fuck, how did I miss all this?
Now, every piece of the puzzle starts to click into place.I’ll dig a little deeper before I confront ...I’m not sure who yet, but I will be confronting someone soon.
ChapterSeven
Malerick
Why the fuckdid I agree to come to this town?No.The question is, why the fuck are the others waltzing in here?
First Cassian.Then, a few weeks later, Atlas shows up and opens a goddamn tattoo parlor like he’s reclaiming his youth and with a fucking wife.What part of stay the fuck out of Birchwood Springs did they miss?
I warned Atlas.Flat-out.“Don’t come here,” I said.Okay, it was more like, “Stay the fuck away.You’re not welcome.”It seemed more appropriate than giving him a warning.I mean, he should know what’s happening here.He helped us rescue Nysa from the Syndicate.But apparently, ink and impulse control are a bad mix.
Cassian?I never thought I’d see him again.Not in a million lifetimes.
After that ...whatever happened at The Honey Drop, I’ve been avoiding him.Okay—them.
Every time I drive by The Honey Drop, I speed up like it’s a fucking landmine.If I so much as glimpse Cassian on Main Street—hands in his pockets, mouth full of trouble—I vanish into the nearest doorway like a coward dressed in khaki and a badge.
Because I don’t want to have another encounter with him.This town is too small and too gossipy, and anything I do could jeopardize my mission.Is that true?I don’t know, but I’m sticking to that.
Delilah ...that’s another problem and a half.Am I attracted to her?Who wouldn’t be?She’s beautiful.I could say yes to her invitations.The woman is straightforward in what she wants, but the last thing I want is to give the Syndicate any weaknesses.My brothers, their wives, and my niece are plenty.Why show them that I have someone I love?
Not that I love her, but it’d be so fucking easy to fall for her.Do I want to accept her mother’s match-making schemes?Fuck yes.I wouldn’t want any other man to marry her, but I can’t put her in the middle of this war against Desmond Draven and his cronies.I have to beat the fucking Hollow Syndicate first.
Do I miss talking to her every day?Fuck yes.
I miss her scent.She smells like nutmeg, vanilla and something I can’t name—something that reminds me I’ve been sleepwalking for years.Her voice stays with me, even when I try to forget it.Even when I run.Especially then.
I hate how much I notice.
The way she laughs when she doesn’t want to.The way she stands a little too close, like she’s daring the world to flinch first.And that mouth—God help me, that mouth was designed for sin and sarcasm.
And then there’s Cassian.
Cassian is a riddle I once solved and promptly forgot how I did.He’s chaos in a leather jacket, haunted eyes, and a voice that used to calm my storms.He kissed like confession.He fucked like a dare.He left like it didn’t kill him.
But I still remember the nights we shared—when silence wasn’t empty, just full of things we weren’t ready to say.
We weren’t meant to survive each other.We were a collision, not a connection.We burned, we blistered, and we buried it.
At least, I thought we did.
