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I should demand to be let out of this truck, to go home and lock my door and pretend I never laid eyes on him.

But I can’t.

Because when I think about him, my cowboy Romeo, with his golden hair and haunted eyes and the way he kissed me like he needed it more than air, well, I just get weak.

I mean, I ache. Inside. For him.

Goddamn it.

I love him.

And yes, I’m scared.

Terrified.

But I’m not ready to give up the fight.

Not yet.

Because maybe, please God maybe, we’re not at the end of the story.

Maybe we’re just getting to the part where the heroine decides she’s not leaving the monster to fight alone.

Even if it might destroy her.

Or me.

Quitting is not something I’m accustomed to though, so instead of tucking tail and running, I decide to look at my problem head on.

“Avery?”

“Yeah?”

She turns in her seat to look at me, soft brown eyes catching mine with a flicker of warmth and curiosity.

Avery is, well, she’s beautiful in that earthy, glowing way. Like the kind of woman who gardens barefoot and still looks put together while wrangling a baby Grizzly and a six-year-old with sticky hands.

She’s been gently tearing her man a new one for letting their daughter run wild, but underneath the sass is something undeniable.

Love.

Fierce, burning, unapologetic love.

I envy it for a second.

Because I know exactly what it feels like to want someone so much it rewires your DNA.

“I changed my mind. I-I think I would really like to talk.”

She tilts her head. “Yeah?”

I nod, suddenly shy, but pushing forward anyway. “Yes. It’s just, see, I need to know more. About this. About what Kian is facing. Because if I don’t try to understand, I think I might go crazy.”

Tears prick my eyes, but I don’t duck my head. I need someone to bear witness to what I’m feeling.

Avery’s expression softens.

She studies me for a beat too long, like she’s scanning past the words and into my heart.