Page 13 of After All The Wreckage

“I’m not good company at the moment, and I doubt Hallie would like you riding my bike.”

“I told her I’m getting my own as soon as I get my license,” I said, putting my hands on my hips. His eyes followed the motion, slowing on the skin exposed by my cropped sweater.

He looked away, throat bobbing, and I wondered… wondered if he saw me as something more than a little girl. It didn’t matter. He’d go back to college, I’d go back to high school, and we’d go years without seeing each other again. But we had this moment. This moment right here, and I wasn’t letting him leave without me.

“Please, Gage,” I said, trying hard to keep the whine out of my tone.

“Fine. Grab the extra helmet,” he responded with a chin nod to the shelf behind me.

I smiled, scurrying to grab the helmet before he changed his mind. I stood at his side while I tried to hook the strap, and when I struggled to tighten it, he leaned in to help. His fingers brushed along my jaw, and electricity zapped through me—sudden and fast like the lightning that was threatening to course through the sky.

He drew back, wiping his hands on his jeans before pulling on his helmet.

I climbed on the back and slid my arms around his waist. When he started the engine, it vibrated through my body. Thetingle joined with the energy I felt drifting between me and Gage, settling low in my stomach. He revved the engine and a laugh escaped me. When he turned his head sideways, the grin I saw through the visor took my breath away.

Then, we were out on the road, leaving the cobblestone streets of Cherry Bay and the trees hinting at fall behind us. We cruised along the winding roads at the edge of the Potomac. The air was full and thick, the breeze carrying the humidity along with it. The waves crashed on the shore as if the ocean was trying to dig itself into the land. The smell of the silver maple and sycamore trees mixed in with the dankness of the water. In front of us, lightning zapped, crashing to the ground in a magnificent display. It was near enough that the thunder chasing it boomed around us, shaking the earth.

I loved it. Just like I loved Gage when I shouldn’t.

I tightened my thighs around him, flung my arms into the air, and let out a scream of exhilaration and joy and freedom.

His deep laugh joined my cry, the wind whipping it away, leaving the remnants to mix with the intense emotions of this moment. The memory we were making felt huge. Monumental. Irreplaceable.

But fleeting.

Somehow, I knew enough to savor every second. As if I knew the truth. As if I knew it would be the last time I saw Gage Palmer for seven years.

And by that time, my entire world would have changed.

And his too.

CHAPTER FIVE

Gage

DEAR HEART

Performed by Nate Smith

PRESENT DAY

The Prince Darianwas packed to capacity. The cherrywood bar top allowed me to easily slide the drink over its lacquered surface to the woman sitting across from me. She didn’t fit in with the college students elbowing their way through the space behind her, looking more like one of the professors who’d made the mistake of coming in on the wrong night. She glanced my way with a flutter of lashes and a raised brow. Her aura all but screamed lonely and available. Once upon a time, I would have spent the night flirting with her, and it would have ensured a huge tip, if nothing else. But these days, nothing seemed to appeal to me.

River joined me, toting a rack of clean glasses still steaming. I didn’t have the money to hire an official barback, so Audrey,River, and I split the role, keeping the bar stocked as well as serving drinks. As we unloaded glasses, my phone buzzed, and I looked down, hoping it was Monte. Instead, it was some damn social media alert. I hadn’t heard from my brother since this afternoon, and my insides were crawling.

“Still no word?” River asked.

I shook my head. I’d promised myself not to be a helicopter parent, but it was damn hard. There was a heaviness in my gut that spoke of a thunderstorm brewing. The feeling clung to me in a way I couldn’t shake.

“If it wasn’t for the dreams, I wouldn’t be worried,” I replied.

River and Audrey both knew about Monte’s visions. I’d had to tell them the truth back when the FBI had knocked on my door, and I’d needed them to take care of my siblings while agents had questioned me. But we rarely talked about it. It was a darkness we all pretended wasn’t there.

“He tell India the truth?” River asked.

“He said no. But what the hell is she going to think if he wakes up screaming?” Not only screaming but trembling as images of blood and death chased him.

“She’ll think he had a nightmare,” River said with a shrug.