Page 142 of Trick Knot Treat

“You have two!” I scream at him. My spit hits his face. He blinks, and suddenly, he’s on his feet and yanking me out of the house. I expect him to retreat, but he doesn’t. He shakes; he takes a moment to call Spectre to him, but he looks around.

“I’ll check the river. You go see Clint.”

Yes! I grab him and slam our mouths together. Holding him hard, kissing him until I taste blood.

“Don’t give up,” I snarl.

“I won’t,” he says. “Fuck, I’m good. I promise I’m here. I’m with you, Jace.”

I reluctantly let him go and head down towards the beach and Clint.

He doesn’t look up when I sit beside him. Mack, Fox, and Katsu are close, keeping an eye on him.

“It’s over now, isn’t it? Was I too late?” He curls his arms around his knees and sobs.

Why are his clothes singed? And his hair? I reach out, touching his arm, and see a burn on his arm.

“Clint, what happened?”

“I got there, and Holly yelled at me, and we decided I was an idiot in, like, two minutes. She had a stalker, and she wasn’t telling anyone. The stalker saw Holly give me a ring and burned the house down. And my car. I have no identification, no money. They took us to the city. I didn’t even remember anyone’s phone number. My emergency contact is Holly. It took too long to get home. I tried. It’s over.”

I wrap my arms around him and pull him hard up against my chest, hugging him.

“Why is it?” I say before he even finishes.

“Because she’s gone.”

“So, we can only work with her?”

“How can we be anything without her?” He wipes at his tears, but he needs to sleep. I wish we had time. “We are a pack, all of us.”

“Because regardless of how we all feel, I love you. You love me. We have Felix, and he needs us.”

“Felix doesn’t need anyone.”

Pure frustration wells up. I grab him by his hair, yanking his head back so I can stare into his face.

“Of course, he needs us. Don’t be daft.”

Clint laughs bitterly. “He ran. I called out to him, but he was running.”

“Of course, he did. He doesn’t like being abandoned, and he struggles with his feelings. Despite everything, he is afraid of being alone. You know this because you have the same fears,” I say.

Clint chews on his thumb.

“Face it, we’re over.”

I punch his shoulder hard.

I stand up, staring down at him in disgust. “I told Mum it wasn’t over. That you were for me, and I was for you. I thought if I could just find you, that you’d be there, like you always have been.”

Clint gets to his feet and shoves me hard in the chest.

“I can’t always be waiting for you, standing here while you tell me no.”

“You don’t need to wait! I’m here. I’m telling you I’m fighting for you, for this pack. For this dream. I’m saying that you just need to look up, and you will see me here. Listen to me, you pain in the ass, I told Mum to fuck off!” I roar into his face.

Clint shifts his weight, and then he looks up.