Six days after I returned to Austin, I climbed out of my Shelby, clutching the gift basket like a life preserver. Under the best of circumstances this wouldn’t be easy. But doing it now, with my heart shredded to pieces, what was I thinking?

Closure.

With or without Logan, I needed it.

Reflexively, my hand crept to my heart. The heaviness in my chest felt a lot like mourning. Only not. Because there was hope. Logan had given me that. A promise that something brighter lived beyond the darkness. Even if he couldn’t be a part of it.

A car door slammed, and I straightened my spine, shifting my attention to Daryl who was taking his sweet time walking up the long drive. Behind his sunglasses, I could see his eyes darting around, assessing for threats.

“How did it drive?” I asked, my gaze drifting to the truck parked behind the Shelby.

Daryl handed me the keys with a grim smile. “Like a dream.”

Fingering the R on the fob, I shifted my feet. “I don’t know how long this is going to take.”

“No worries. I’m not going anywhere.”

It was true. After the Paris fiasco, I couldn’t shake Daryl with a stick. He’d insisted on coming to Austin to help me deal with the fallout from the press and all the extra attention. It had taken Mac less than twenty-four hours to launch an offensive. His latest tall tale involved me turning over the unreleased Damaged songs to Logan to use on his “new album.” Though Mac had never come right out and said the word “solo,” it was implied.

That was another reason I was here. To dispel the rumors face-to-face with the one person most directly affected.

You can do this.

My confidence wavered as I climbed the steps. Before I lost my nerve, I rang the bell. Slow, heavy footfalls sounded behind the door. And then he was in front of me, framed in soft light like an angel.

Miles.

Just seeing him brought me back to that night. And I guess it was the same for him, because he swayed in his spot.

“Belle.”

Belle, where are you?

Rhenn’s voice drifted on a breeze. And maybe Miles heard it too, because he cocked his head in that way he used to when he was poised behind his drum kit, waiting in the dark for Rhenn’s signal to begin the show.

“Hey, Miles,” I managed over the lump of tears clogging my throat.

He smiled, soft and wistful. And then he lurched forward, the brunt of his weight on his cane as he enveloped me in a one-armed hug. “It’s about time you got here.”

Miles smirked, fingering the little bow on my present. “A gift basket? Seriously? What’s in here, like, crackers and—” He dipped his head, poking at the cellophane. “Olives? You brought me olives? What the fuck?”

Sinking back into the leather sofa, I glanced over the offering with a frown. He was right. It was stupid. Miles was like a brother to me, and after five years of distancing myself, this was the best I could do. Gourmet snack food.

“There’s other stuff in there too,” I said weakly. “I picked up some of those English shortbread cookies you like.”

He perked up. “Walkers?”

I nodded and gave him a meek shrug.

“Fan-fucking-tastic! I love those things.” He waggled his brows, and then in his best fake British accent, he said, “Let’s have some, shall we?”

My heart throbbed painfully as I watched him tear open the wrapper. Why did I stay away so long? But I knew. Hell, we both knew. Even sitting here brought the most painful memories to the surface.

Miles handed me a cookie, and I flinched as my thoughts shifted to Logan. You taste like cookies. It was like my past and my present were locked in a battle for equal footing. Balance.

“Thanks.”

Miles relaxed against the cushions, hauling his bad leg onto the coffee table. “You’ve been a busy little bee, haven’t you?”

His tone held no censure, but still, I squirmed. “Yeah. It’s been …” My tongue tied as all the adjectives found their way to my lips. Wonderful and magical and painful. And everything.

Miles nibbled his cookie. “Well, spill it. I’m all ears.”

I longed to keep it superficial. To fall into an easy conversation about music and Europe and the weather. But that’s not why I was here. I shifted my gaze to his leg, then over to the bar in the corner with all the empty shelves that once held every brand of liquor under the sun.

“You first. How’s everything going?”

He shrugged. “Fair to Midland, as Paige used to say.”

Her name slipped easily off his tongue, falling into the yawning cavern between us. Standing at the edge, my toes dug into the uneven ground.

“How was rehab?”

Brows drawn together in an angry slash, he spat, “It was fucking rehab, Belle. How do you think it was? If you want to get real, let’s get real. Why are you here?”

Cheeks flaming, my gaze skittered away. But everywhere I looked, there were things I wanted to avoid. Photos and trinkets and pieces of our shared history.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly as I met his gaze. “Really, Miles … I’m so sorry … for everything.”

With some effort, he put both feet flat on the ground. I thought he might get up and leave me here, locked in this room with all his pain. And I couldn’t blame him.

Instead he scooted closer and slid an arm around me. “Still carrying that guilt, Belle?” He drew back, looking down his nose at me. “Two martyrs aren’t enough?”

I blinked at him. “Huh?”

“What are you apologizing for? You didn’t do anything.” He inhaled a controlled breath. “I told you to come and see me if you ever wanted to know the details about that night. But you never did. Instead you just … disappeared. If you want to be sorry for something, be sorry for that.”

Like me, Miles had never done an interview about the accident. All of his recollections stayed locked up in his head. And every time he tried to speak to me about it, I shut down. Until one day, I just stopped talking to him altogether.

Snaking an arm around his waist, I held on tight. “Tell me. Start at the beginning and don’t leave anything out.”

His heart pounded against my ear, mimicking the sound of thunder that followed me into my nightmares.

“All of it?” he asked.

I nodded, and when I squeezed my eyes shut, I was there in the field, rain soaking my skin and smoke filling my lungs.

“The voices. That’s the first thing I remember. Rhenn’s and yours. Paige was … she was already gone. The rain … I’d never felt rain like that. And there was so much of it. I think it was the adrenaline, but I managed to push myself up. I was an equal distance between you and Rhenn. But I knew if I went to him first, he’d chew my ass for not making sure you were okay. So I made a choice.” His voice cracked. “I couldn’t … I couldn’t see anything, so I didn’t know he was so bad off. I managed to get to you pretty quickly. You were babbling, but I thought you were going to be okay. I don’t know why … I just felt it. My leg though, it was hurting so badly by then. And I …”

“You couldn’t move.” I slanted my watery gaze to his, my throat so tight I could barely get the words out. “And I asked you to. And I’m sorry. It’s my fault that your leg is so fucked. If I wouldn’t have begged you then maybe …”

His eyes turned soft as he peeled back the hair sticking to my face. “Is that what you think? That’s awful selfish of you.” I hiccupped, my response coiling around my tongue, but Miles pressed a finger to my lips. “Rhenn was my best friend. You didn’t have to ask me, Belle. I would’ve gone to him anyway. Even if it cost me a leg, or an arm, or my fucking life. I would’ve gone. And it was worth it,” he gripped my chin, and looked deeply into my eyes, “to be with him at the end.”

I heard the words, but my brain shut down. And then I was shaking my head. “But he was … I thought he was …”

Dead. I’d always believed it.

“He was pretty far gone by the time I got to him.” Miles went on, eyes unfocused and tears falling freely now. “I told him you were okay. That you were going to be okay. And he smiled at me, Belle. It was so sweet, that smile. And then he said …”

Sobs wracked Miles’s thin frame, and I scooted closer, burying my face in the crook of his neck. “Please tell me. I need to know what he said.”

Miles pressed a kiss to my forehead, and I felt his lips curve. “He said … ‘What a ride. I wish I could see how it ends.’”