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Chapter 17

Hewit

By the time we get back to Briar End Lane, I’ve already decided what needs to happen.

I need to leave. It’s the only way to keep her safe, even though it’s going to tear my fucking heart out.

Not tonight. I’m not that much of an asshole. But soon. Tomorrow, maybe. Whenever I can pack what I need and make whatever arrangements I have to make.

Karloff gave us a way out. I’d be a fucking idiot not to take it.

I unlock my cottage and step inside, holding the door for Nora. She walks past me without a word, and I know immediately that she’s sensed my intentions and is pissed.

That still takes some getting used to. Her emotions don’t sit inside me like my own. There’s a difference, a faint edge that tells me the frustration tightening my chest belongs to the woman currently removing her coat with considerably more force than necessary.

Nora hangs it on the hook as I shut the door and misses. It slides to the floor. She stares at it, then leaves it there.

That tells me everything I need to know.

I head for the kitchen.

“Don’t.”

I stop.

I don’t need to ask what she means, but I do anyway. “Don’t what?”

“Disappear into your own head and come out ten minutes later with a decision you’ve made for both of us.”

I turn. Nora stands in the hallway with her arms folded beneath her breasts, chin lifted.

I drag a hand through my hair and look toward the window. “The distance makes sense. Karloff said it would weaken the connection.”

“I heard him.”

“It’s the only option that doesn’t involve gambling with what happens when I bite you.”

Her expression doesn’t change. “So that’s it?”

“No, dammit, that’s not it! But I’m trying to keep you safe.”

“By leaving me?”

“By not turning you into something you never asked to become.”

Her eyes flash. “And what if your leaving is the thing I never asked for?”

“Nora—”

“No.” She takes a step toward me. “You’ve been doing this since I met you. You decide what’s best for everyone, then call it protection.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Isn’t it?” She closes the remaining distance between us. “You hid from Reid for years because you decided he was better off without you.”

My jaw tightens. “This isn’t about Reid.”

“It’s exactly about Reid. You decided for him then, and now you’re deciding for me.”