Page 19 of Cold Foot Sentry (Wreck’s Mountains #6)

Tawk slammed his palm against the steering wheel and yelled. He was stuck at the goddamn stop sign at the edge of Tammy’s neighborhood.

He’d lived next to her for a couple of hours. He wasn’t freaking out because he’d set up territory that he was forcing his dragon to leave. He was in agony because he was leaving Tammy, and there was no use denying it.

What the hell was happening to him? He felt everything right now, for the first time in his life, and it was horrible. Tawk was drowning.

He chewed the corner of his nail and stared at that damn stop sign.

He pulled his phone up and looked at it again. She’d called him three times and texted him after he hadn’t picked up. He read the text again.

Someone busted out my headlights. Aaron was here tonight.

I told him to piss off. Busted headlights feels like a tantrum he would throw.

I tried to drive but it’s pretty dark without the headlights.

Would you mind giving me a ride home? I’m so sorry.

If you’re busy, it’s okay! I can walk! My house isn’t that far. Hope errands went well!

She must’ve just started walking when he hadn’t answered. That was on him. He hadn’t paid enough attention to his phone while he’d been moving out of the hotel.

He needed to leave. He knew he did. The selfish part of him wanted to stay here and ruin her life just so he could be near her, but he’d seen the slew of emotions run through her eyes tonight.

He’d felt how she hadn’t fought for him to stay.

She wanted him to leave too, and you know?

It was probably best that Jess didn’t have a dragon under her control until she figured out who the fuck she was as a witch.

Tonight was way too messy, and it could’ve gotten Tammy really hurt, or worse.

What if he’d Changed under Jess’s control and started burning everything?

Just the thought of what could’ve happened would haunt him.

Busted headlights feels like a tantrum he would throw.

Tawk was leaving, truly he was, but he had unfinished business to take care of before he blew out of this little town.

Aaron had to go. Tawk had to leave Tammy as safe as he possibly could, and some headlight-busting-no-hint-taking-Tammy-obsessed-asshole didn’t feel safe.

She’d already watched him nearly kill someone with his bare hands tonight. He wasn’t going to hold onto guilty feelings about what he was about to do.

She saw him as the monster already. Oh, he’d seen it written all over her face.

So…he would be the monster, but with good reason. No one was allowed to touch anything of Tammy’s. No one was allowed to cause her damage or scare her. Not even him.

Tawk eased out onto the main road out of the neighborhood and aimed his truck for the small downtown. Aaron would be in a hotel nearby, and there were only a few local ones in existence.

Hunting a threat would take the edge off.

Hunting a threat would make it a little bit easier to rip himself away from here.

Hunting a threat would make Tawk feel like he was doing something to protect her, and dammit he and his dragon needed to protect her.

A text lit up his phone screen and he looked at it with hope, wishing it was Tammy asking him to come back and talk.

It was Jess instead. I had to.

He huffed a hateful laugh and flipped his phone over so he couldn’t read her bullshit.

Everyone had a choice.