He stood then, and my heart pumped so hard a wave of nausea swept over me. Slowly approaching, as if knowing I was about to disappear like I’d done three years ago and every day since, he continued. “But none of that is true. You don’t have to carry the burden of her death anymore. Let go, Tarik, or you will never leave this hell on earth you’ve created for yourself.”
Carefully, he reached out and clasped my shoulder, that soulful gaze seeing into the very heart of me. My eyes burned when his filled with unchecked tears. My voice shook, but the words needed to be said. “She’d be alive if not for me. If I’d come home on time, she wouldn’t have worried and gone out looking. I—I killed your daughter.”
“No,” he said firmly, even as tears tracked down his cheeks. “No one could have stopped that. Sometimes evil wins the day. Sometimes—” He stopped, dragging in air. “She wouldn’t want you to suffer this way. She’d want you to live. She’d want you to chase after that girl you let slip through the door because, Tarik, she’d want you to be happy.”
My tears finally spilled. They fell in droves and I couldn’t stop them.
Leilani’s father drew me into his embrace and I stopped fighting. I allowed the tears to soothe the rage heating my blood, a balm to the guilt and shame I had inflicted on myself. The pain was still there, the ache of losing someone too soon, but the torture I’d put myself through . . . washed away.
“I did fail you in one huge way, Tarik,” he said, voice muffled where his mouth rested on my shoulder. “I never told you that I’d forgiven you. That I never blamed you. When you left, I thought you needed space to cope with the pain. I’m sorry, my son. I’m sorry you carried this burden on your own.”
We stayed that way for several minutes, soaking in the silence. Healing. My mouth opened, then closed. Opened again. “Thank you, Liam.”
He chuckled and I frowned, pulling back. His eyes were ringed in red, but . . . lighter as he said, “I haven’t heard you say that in three long years.”
I huffed a weak laugh, dragging a sleeve across my face. “What, ‘thank you’ or your name?”
“Both.” He laughed. I joined him, at first ashamed that I was laughing so soon after remembering Leilani. But I set the feeling aside and allowed myself to feel something new: peace. I took a breath, filling my lungs to capacity. The air tasted different. Sweet. Clean.
He clapped my shoulder again and gave me a shake. “Now, enough of the past. I’m not going to stand by and watch you ruin your future. And that’s exactly what you’ll be doing if you don’t exit through that door in the next few seconds.”
My heart rate picked up. Reagan. “But—”
His hands gripped both my shoulders now, squeezing. “Don’t make me look like a fool, boy. I placed a sizable bet on you two getting together, and I will not lose.”
I choked on a laugh. “Bet? With what? It’s not like you have any money.”
“Chores,” he growled. “I have to clean the dishes and scrub the toilets for three months if I lose.”
Gross.
“You’re cracked, old man.”
“I’m going to crack your idiot skull wide open if you don’t get out of here in five seconds. Now go!” He shoved, sending me staggering back.
I shook my head, walking backward. “Have you been working out, pops?”
“Three seconds!”
Smirking, I yanked the door open and bolted into the dusky evening, my heart filled to bursting. Just as quickly, I jerked to a stop, heart sinking. Reagan. I had no idea where to find her. She could be anywhere. Searching the immediate surroundings, I spied her friend, Nevaeh, lounging on a stairwell as she smoked.
She pointed north. “She went to the old ruins. Look for a collapsed building that has a three-headed mermaid painted on the side.” As I stepped in that direction, she added, “Oh, and Tarik? If you break her heart, I know where you sleep.”
I thanked her, then took off at a jog, betting she would follow through with that threat. How did she know who I’d been looking for? Was I that obvious? Maybe to everyone but Reagan, that is. I stuck to the growing shadows, keeping both ears open for the boom of dragon wings. The last thing I wanted right now was an Alec confrontation. Without Reagan holding me back, I didn’t know if I could restrain myself from killing him. Or maybe I’d settle for tearing off his—
All thoughts switched off as I caught sight of her. She was tucked into a dark corner shielded by the partially collapsed floor above, perched on a heap of filthy rubble, her body curled into a ball. My chest tightened to the point of pain. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t do this. Straightening, I forced my legs to carry me toward her, up and over debris, around potholes. I halted a few yards away, unable to close the gap.
She must have heard my approach. I didn’t want to spook her, so I’d been extra loud. But she didn’t lift her head from her raised knees.
My pulse hammered in my throat as I struggled with what to say. How could I undo all the damage I had caused? She probably hated me now. I would hate me now. I would have kicked myself in the balls, if that were possible.
I took a tentative step forward and her shoulders stiffened. I froze. Would she run? Would she flee this city and never come back? At the thought, pain
