Page 73 of Fallout

“Will you sit?”

Her body felt twice as heavy. He rotated a chair, and she slumped into it. Jasper sat near but not touching her.

If only she could put her head on her arms and cry until she fell asleep. “I don’t know how to do this.”

“I’m not sure that’s true.” His voice was soft.

So soft.

He got a handful of tissues from a box on the table.

She was a mess. He would wonder if she was like his mother, and whether he’d have to manage her outbursts forever. She didn’t have the right to act like his mother. Their struggles were different.

“I can’t tell you that we’ll find him.”

She pressed the ball of tissue to each eye.

“I can’t promise everything will be okay.” Jasper leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “But I’ll be here with you for all of it. Everyone on your team will do everything they possibly can to get him back.”

“They’re not my team.”

He frowned. “No? That wasn’t what I just saw. All those people who respect you, who let you lead them. They’re here for you. The same way you’re here for them.”

“Is this a ‘stronger together’ pep talk?”

His lips curled up at the edges. “Only if it’s about you and me. And your baby.”

What did that mean?

“But we can talk about that when we get Simon back.”

Destiny had to say, “Thank you.” He’d been here for her. Things weren’t okay, but he seemed to want to weather her storm, and she was grateful.

“I told you I wanted to stay, and I meant it.”

She’d thought he meant at the penthouse when they’d hung out. Did he really mean longer? Maybe even…

Forever.

THIRTY-TWO

Jasper pulled into his driveway. Night had already fallen, but he’d had the outside lights on a timer since winter started. Destiny stirred in the passenger’s seat and woke up.

She looked around. “I thought we were going to my place.”

He’d said they were going “home,” he just hadn’t said whose home they were going to. “I thought you might want to be somewhere you can rest.”

“I should be working.”

“You can work from here.” He pushed open his door. Maybe she was just grumpy when she woke up. Considering how he’d had her up on a pedestal for months—maybe years—it might be good for him to find a flaw in her. She was still amazing, but now she was a little more human.

He opened her door for her.

She climbed out. “Sorry.”

Jasper chuckled. “It’s a stressful situation.”

Simon was still missing, and he and Destiny weren’t out on the streets with the rest of Vanguard looking for him. The small lapping sound of tiny waves on the lake was a comfort he didn’t know he’d needed.