Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 41105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 206(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 206(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
I pull out my phone and scroll down to my mother’s name.
Taking a deep breath, I hit call.
It rings once.
It rings twice.
I’m considering hanging up and reaching out to Kylie again, but her voice stops me mid-thought.
“Autumn?” she asks. “Autumn, is this you?”
“Yes…” I manage. “It’s me, Mom.”
“It’s good to get a call from you.” She sounds like she’s crying, too. “Are you alright?”
“No,” I admit. “No, I’m not alright. I need to come home. Can I please come home?”
“Of course you can, hun. When are you thinking?”
“Within the next four hours,” I say. “Depending on any delays or weather issues… I’m at the airport now and I’m going to get a last-minute flight.”
“I’ll head to the airport now,” she says. “I’ll be waiting to see you. I love you, Autumn.”
“I love you, too, Mom. Thank you.”
“Always.”
I end the call and wipe my face. Walking away from the kiosk, I approach the ticket desk instead, sliding over my driver’s license and requesting a ticket.
“Must be your lucky day.” She smiles at me. “There’s a first-class seat left. Want it?”
“Yes, please.”
I request to check my bag and then I head to security, ready to leave Seattle—the city that broke my heart twice—far behind. Forever.
End of Episode 23
Things Left Unresolved
EPISODE 24
Ryder
That same night
My private jet’s engines rumble low, preparing to carry Adeline to London, but the plane hasn’t moved.
I sit in the backseat of the SUV with the window cracked, hands folded tightly in my lap, watching the sky start to pink at the edges. The tarmac lights blink steady in the fading dusk, and beyond them—nothing but the horizon swallowing what’s left of the day.
Autumn left without looking back, without a single shred of acknowledgment that everything she has now—everything she’s survived—was because of me.
And she thinks she’ll find better…
Somebody who won’t just promise to protect her—but actually can?
I clench my jaw at the thought.
There’s not a man alive who would take a bullet for her faster than I would. Who’d burn a city down before letting her die. And yet she walked away like I was the danger, like I hadn’t bent every rule in my world to make space for her in it.
Brushing away the thought, I notice the engines are still idling. No movement.
What the hell is the holdup?
I shove the door open and step into the wind, striding toward the stairs just as the pilot descends in a rush, his face pale.
“What’s the problem?” I ask.
“Miss Rochester is a lot worse than usual, sir,” he says, a bit breathless. “She won’t calm down, and she won’t buckle in. I thought it was just nerves, but... you should see her.”
I look past him, up the stairway and toward the cabin window.
Adeline’s face is flushed, red and streaked with tears, her palms pressed flat to the glass. She’s sobbing—heaving—her body curled toward the window like she’s trying to break through it.
Fuck.
Without another word, I take the stairs two at a time and move straight to her.
She throws herself into me before I can even kneel down.
“Please don’t make me go back,” she cries, voice shaking against my chest. “Please, Daddy. Please.”
I close my eyes as the guilt punches through me, hard and hot.
“Okay,” I say, rubbing her back. “You can stay here.”
“Forever?”
I look at her face, never wanting to see her this upset again.
“Yes.” I nod, knowing it’s reckless.
“We’ll figure something out,” I whisper, lifting her into my arms and carrying her down the steps and back home where she belongs.
Fire crackles in my main room’s hearth around midnight. The flames cast dancing shadows on the wood grains of the violin.
Adeline is softly snoring in the room right next door, but I can’t sleep.
I’m done even trying.
Pouring myself a second glass of whiskey, I contemplate running through the jobs that need to be done this weekend, but I know it’s pointless. I’ve run through them over fifty times already and there’s not a single flaw. Not a single second or gap for human error.
It’s all tracked, perfect, just like usual.
Knock. Knock.
I look up at the entry doors and see Chester.
“Mind if I come in?”
“Not at all,” I say. “Just shut the door to the ante-room if you plan on smoking.”
“You read my mind.” He walks over and glances at Adeline for a few seconds before slowly pulling the door shut.
Taking out one of his preferred Cubans, he lights it and puffs a large “O” toward the hearth’s mantle.
“I’ll save you the suspense,” he says, taking another drag. “Miss Jane is safe and sound.”
“Thank you.”
“No one followed her—except two of your guys, and the only people waiting for her at landing were her parents.”
I nod, wanting to press him on whether he made two of our guys remain there until we’re sure she’s in the clear, but I hold back.
“You don’t have to pretend to be completely done with her, for my sake.” He looks at me. “They’ll keep a safe distance and make sure she’s in the clear until you want them to pull back.”