From Darkness (Hearts & Arrows Book 3)(31)

That look hit her in the heart, reminding her of the time when she’d believed he would have done anything for her, the time before he’d abandoned her. And that feeling of longing flared into anger.

“I said I was fine, and I meant it.” The words were short and final.

He watched her, and when he spoke, his voice was a little softer, as if she were a wild animal. “Okay, Jo. I just wanted to talk—”

“Christ, Jon. Take a hint. I don’t want to talk about anything you want to talk about.” She gripped her phone in her fist to stop her hand from shaking.

Jon’s voice dropped, and a hint of irritation flickered in his tone. “Listen, I know you don’t want to talk about us—trust me, I got that message loud and clear—but that discussion will happen at some point whether you want it to or not. We have unfinished business, and you can’t ignore it forever, not if I have anything to do with it.”

She scoffed, but he didn’t give her time to respond otherwise.

“But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. I want to know what you think happened to Anne.”

The sound of Anne’s name from his lips was more than she could handle.

Breathing his air was stifling enough, but to discuss Anne with him was out of the question, beyond what she could bear. She wasn’t strong enough to hold herself together for that conversation.

But he wouldn’t take no for an answer. She knew him well enough to know that for certain. The only way out was to run.

She turned without responding, but before she could take a step, he hooked her arm in his big hand, the sensation warm and comforting and absolutely heartbreaking. Because he couldn’t comfort her. She would break completely.

She set her jaw and glared at him, hating him for everything he made her feel, hating him for everything she couldn’t have.

“Josie, you weren’t the only one who cared about Anne. I worked with her just as much as I ever worked with you. She was my friend, too, and I want to know what you think happened to her. I’ve been looking, searched every lead I could find, which is nothing and you know it. And you and I both know you have information, information that, if you decided to share, I could maybe use to help you.”

Her cheeks burned as she jerked away from his hand, her voice trembling, her control gone. “Yeah, well, you fucking left us here. Some friend. I could have used your help, you know that? Maybe if you had been here, maybe if you had been on it with me, we could have nailed Rhodes before he got to her. But no, you were off playing house with your baby and your girlfriend. You never even looked back at what you’d left behind.”

The wounded look on his face was almost worth her pain, but she couldn’t even find it in herself to be satisfied as she turned to walk away.



The words Jon wanted to say climbed up his throat and stuck there.

Don’t let her leave! his mind shouted.

He reached for her again. She blocked his hand and knocked it away, turning to him again, accusing him with nothing but the look on her face.

His hand stung from the contact, and he looked down at her tearful eyes with an aching chest and said with his voice like sandpaper, “Josie, I’m sorry—”

“Don’t, Jon. Just don’t.”

He stepped closer, begging, “Please, Josie. Let me help. Let me in.”

“Never again. Leave me alone,” was her answer.

And she flew out of the station, her red hair swinging behind her like a pendulum, marking every step until she was out of sight.

Jon’s mind twisted around the exchange, shaken as he made his way toward the exit. Once again, he found himself smack in the middle of the worst possible outcome. He couldn’t reach her, couldn’t appease her, couldn’t soothe her. When he’d left, he’d thrown a grenade into the foxhole, and she was in so many pieces, he couldn’t put her back together. She wouldn’t let him get close enough to try.

He’d foolishly thought he’d gained ground, but he’d been wrong, so wrong. And that conversation had set him back by miles.

Jon’s eyes were on the ground, turned so far inward that he slammed shoulders with a cop walking by. When he snapped to and noticed who it was, he realized the collision had been no accident.

Josie’s brother, Paul, glared at him, jaw muscles twitching. “What’d you say to her?”

Jon smiled cheerfully, playing the jester as always. “Heya, Paul. I’m good. Thanks for asking. How are you?”

Paul’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Don’t be a dick, Jon.”

Jon took a wild shot, hoping he’d catch Paul off guard. “Who’s Rhodes?”

Paul folded his arms across his chest, his eyes somehow narrowing even more, his irises barely visible. “Corey Rhodes? She told you about him?” He fired the questions like nails.

Bingo.

“A little. What have you got?”

“Like I’d tell you, asshole.”

“Look, I don’t want to upset her, but she won’t even talk to me.”

Paul pointed at him. “You don’t have any right to talk to her.”

Jon shook his head. “Everyone keeps telling me that. Thing is, that won’t stop me from trying.”

Paul paused for a beat, watching him with suspicious dark eyes. “What’s your angle, Landreaux?”