But no, pushing him away was the right thing to do. Because look where his honor and steadfastness got him–tied to a felony burglary. An accomplice to a major crime.
Hayes was better off without me. He’d hurt, but he’d recover. He’d find someone else to love. That’s the kind of man he was.
And that’s when the tears finally fell. Thinking about Hayes moving on. Hating me and loving someone else. I covered my mouth to block the sob that erupted from my throat.
Oh God.
How would I ever make it through this? My heart would never know how to beat again.
HAYES
I didn’t go back to the house. Not right away. I couldn’t be around people. Instead, I got into my truck and drove.
Fuck, I had been played. I was so damn stupid. So love sick that I’d actually committed a felony last night for a woman who was a criminal.
A fucking criminal!
Had I wanted to believe her innocence so badly that I ignored all the evidence? Concocted a story that made her out to be a pawn where she was really the villain? Was I blinded because she was so beautiful?
She’d used me. Flat out used me.
Except…that wasn’t fair. She’d tried to keep me away. Many times. I was the one who pushed myself onto her. And she’d been clear about using me–for sex. Which I had willingly offered.
Even criminals had sexual needs.
No, making her out as the bad guy didn’t quite sit right, either.
But facts were facts. She’d been involved with Burns and her dad the whole time. Fuck, had the story she’d told me about her dad being held hostage been something she concocted to keep me from turning her in? Of course, it had. She’d even played on my heartstrings.
I had to accept the fact that I had terrible instincts when it came to women. Not only had I picked one who didn’t want me, but I’d picked a criminal.
Fuck. I slammed my fist into the steering wheel then turned the truck and pointed it toward the compound. I should just let this go. Let her go. But I wanted to see that video feed of Megan on her porch. Maybe I was a sucker for more pain, but I needed to see it with my own eyes. To watch the proof that I’d been fucking played.
When I got back, I found Kennedy in the command room.
“Show me,” I grunted.
He played the clip of Megan on her porch. When it finished, I said, “Play it again.” I watched it six more times. Memorized the brief glance she sent the camera as she spoke. Tried to reconcile this conversation with the woman I thought I’d known.
Tried to Figure out how I’d been so duped. Oh yeah, by sass and a gorgeous body.
“There’s something else,” Kennedy said.
“What?”
“This.” He scrolled back in the stored feed and hit play. It was the video of me leaving the house this morning.
“What is this?”
“Just keep watching.” He fast forwarded, then set it to play.
I watched as Burns, his two goons, and a third man–Megan’s father, by the looks of it–went into the house.
“Huh.”
“I know, right?” Kennedy asked. “If these guys are here…less than an hour before the call she made, then who was she talking to on the phone?”
“I dunno. The fence? If she’s in on it with the other three, she might be the ringleader of this group.”
A tight fist closed in my solar plexus.
“You think Megan’s the one in charge of Burns? I told you his rap sheet was a mile long.” Kennedy minimized the screen and turned and looked over his shoulder at me. “If she is, I’m really fucking impressed. What are you going to do?”
I scrubbed a hand across my face. Would I turn her in? It would mean turning myself in at the same time, which I was willing to do. I’d done the crime, I would take responsibility for it.
But the thought of Megan going to prison made me sick. She hadn’t hurt anyone, only stolen an ancient knife. Straight wasn’t going to go hungry because of what she did. Maybe he’d get better fucking security.
“Nothing. I’m going do what she’s been asking me to do from the start,” I said. “I’m gonna let her go.”
MEGAN
After a few hours of driving, I pulled off the highway and into Spokane. I had some cash, enough to check into a motel. I needed to lie low while I figured out what I was going to do.
I sat on the motel bed, hollow. I should take a shower. Or eat. Or brush my teeth.
But I couldn’t do any of those things. I couldn’t seem to even move from the edge of the bed. Lost.
I looked at my phone. My dad had texted, asking where I was.
There were messages from Hayes from earlier in the day, but then they stopped. He must’ve figured out I was gone.