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I grit my teeth and stare at the wall behind him. “So what? We just walk away?”

Lachlan leans forward, elbows bracing on the island. “Wouldn’t you to protect her?”

I don’t respond. I can’t. The silence between us is thick. Heavy with guilt and a longing that makes my chest ache. I’m ready to rip my ribs open and claw it all out just to calm the pain.

And maybe that’s what breaks me.

The knowledge that I have no choice. I will never be the reason she’s dragged through the mud. I won’t be the cause that breaks her. It’s an acknowledgement I already had in the truck on the drive back, but hearing the words out loud, the rational thought verbalized, I will never be selfish with her.

“We let her go.”

It’s a statement, but Lachlan nods wistfully. “We let her go ... after tonight.”

My gaze meets the other man’s and an understanding forms between us. A silent agreement we both know is wrong, but there is nothing else.

We finish our drinks and make our way upstairs to the pintsized destruction curled up in a bed much too large for her. Neither of us speak when we undress and climb in on either side of her. It shouldn’t be so easy to fold her between us. We’re not small men, but she fits like she was made for us.

I breathe her in, brush a kiss to the top of her head and close my eyes.

We’ll let her go in the morning.

CHAPTER FIVE

EVERLY

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ONE WEEK EARLIER...

“Which level of murder is accidental?”

I drag the phone higher between my ear and shoulder, balancing it in place while rifling through my bag for my blasted keys. It wouldn’t be so bad if the sun wasn’t baking the top of my head.

“Manslaughter, I think. Why?” I mumble, dragging out my unsanctioned novel and setting it on the hood. My wallet follows. “Who are you threatening to kill now?”

I hear their faint jingle somewhere at the very bottom and dive after it.

Lauren groans in my ear.“It’s not a threat. It’s a promise.”

My fingers close around the bits of metal. My dad’s old fishing keychain digs into my palm as I scoop them out.

“Promising to kill someone isn’t an accident.” I drop my book and wallet back into my bag. “That’s just plain murder and usuallyfrowned upon.”

The soles of my flats stick to the scorching asphalt as I struggle to get into my car. Despite the early hour, the day is already proving to be insufferable. Waves of heat lift off the pavement, giving everything a faint mirage effect that I’m not appreciating while I throw open the car door.

Ten thousand degrees of heat slaps my face. The cabin is a sealed tomb of rancid heat baked with the stench of overheated leather, stale sweat, and sunbaked dust. My thighs stick to the seat where my sundress doesn’t cover my skin.

A hiss escapes through my teeth as I collapse inside against my will, choking on the heat, lungs clawing for air that feels boiled. Sweat beads at my temples, sliding in rivulets down my back. I scramble for the window button and watch with dismay as it whirs down at a snail’s pace.

I’m panting by the time I get the key into the ignition. The metal slips between my sticky fingers but I give it a twist.

“Why is it so difficult?”Lauren is saying as I’m mounting the phone to the dash.“If you use the last of something, put it on the list to get ordered. I made a spreadsheet. A very detailed inventory rundown to go through every day and calculate what needs to get ordered and when. But no one uses it. Like they just want to live in chaos.”

I say nothing as she continues running through a list of grievances I can recite from memory. I take the time to unearth an elastic from my bag and scrunch my hair up into a messy knot at the top of my head; anything to get the strands off my back.

Mayor Ferguson isn’t a stickler on dress code, thankfully. As long as we’re dressed moderately decent and professional, he’s willing to overlook little things like a messy bun. I honestly should have pinned my hair up from the start, but I can fix it once I get to City Hall.

“Everly?”