Page 92 of His to Burn

“You never struck me as a country girl.”

“I’m not, but that—well, that’s a long story. Anyway, my uncle, he’s there.”

“Then that’s where we should go,” Jack said.

I caught his eye. “We?”

It was the last question I wanted to ask, but ultimately, it was the only one thatmattered.

Jack shifted, and for one of the few times I’d known him, he looked uncomfortable, had an energy that was almost nervous.

It was gone in an instant.

“I have a brother. Evan. He’s sixteen. Look, Asia, I have to?—”

“I get it, Jack,” I cut in.

But that didn’t stop him.

“I have to get Evan, but I’m not going to leave you in this city. And it’s too dangerous to try to take you with me. Nebraska’s more than a thousand miles away,” he explained.

“Do I get a vote?”

“No.” His immediate response left no room for argument.

I broke his gaze, but then looked at him again.

“I’m not sure if my uncle would welcome me,” I admitted. I already shared my deepest vulnerability—so why not share this?

“He will,” Jack said like he had any idea what he was talking about.

“You don’t know Levi Griffin.”

“I know you call him family, so he wouldn’t turn you away,” he replied.

I fell silent.

What was there to say?

Nothing but the truth: I failed Uncle Levi, failed the man who loved me more than anyone else in the entire world. Failed the man who spent years helping me become a person good enough to call him family.

And maybe now, after everything, I’d done the one thing he’d never be able to forgive. I’d always been too chickenshit to ask.

Despite Jack’s efforts, I might not ever find out.

“Well,” I said, “if you think he can accept that I?—”

Whatever that great emotional moment was going to be was lost on the sound of an explosion.

Explosion?

I looked at Jack, but he wasn’t looking at me. Instead, he stared at the floorboards. Or more accurately, the smoke that rose from the floorboards.

Then he was on his feet and moving.

“Grab the bag,” he said.

I moved on instinct. I was surprised how natural it felt. On the first day, Jack placed strategic caches throughout the house.