Page 105 of Rulebreaker

So, so much.

So why does it feel like something’s missing?

Angrily, I shove the thoughts away, kiss him back.

But, as I’ve discovered with West, he’s too damned smart. So even though the kiss is good and hot and could definitely tempt me into forgetting everything about myself, including my name, he pulls back.

“Not tonight,” he murmurs.

“I’m—”

Another brush of his mouth against mine, this one comforting. “It’ll hold, sweetheart. And we’ll pick things up on a night that doesn’t have so much history.”

Have I mentioned how much I like him?

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“I’m not.” He opens my door and nudges me toward the seat. “Go home and get some rest. We’ll pick this up another time.”

“Text me?” I ask softly as I buckle in.

“Always.” He closes the door, steps back, and waits.

For me to driveoff.

But instead of going home, I find myself steering toward a quiet corner of town, up a winding road, and into…

A cemetery.

There wasn’t enough of Colt left to have a true burial. But Atlas insisted on a plot here, insisted we have a place to go.

And tonight, I need to say goodbye.

Give myfinalgoodbye.

So I park, climb out of my car, and use the flashlight on my phone and the illumination of the moon overhead to pick my way to Colt’s grave.

My throat is tight. My eyes sting. Words bubble up in my throat but don’t come out.

Because I don’t really know where to start.

Before I can, I hear a soft rustle, and my gaze is drawn to the side, to the large old-growth trees and the shadows they’re throwing.

I expect to see a raccoon or a bird picking across the grass.

Idon’texpect the shadows to materialize into a person.

Fear grips me, and I stumble back a step, preparing to sprint to my car.

But even as I prepare to lift my foot, I can’t actually make it move.

Because there’s something familiar about the person.

Theman.

I squint, trying to make sense of what’s before my eyes.

And then he steps into a shaft of moonlight.

I waver on my feet, shock rippling through me because I can’t be seeing what I’m seeing. It doesn’t make sense.

It’s not possible.

It’s—

“Colt?”