Being without Danny hurt. It physically hurt. I was afraid to turn on the news for fear I’d see some other awful salvo in the club war between the Hawks and the Saints. He told me to call him if I needed anything. At least a hundred times over the next few days I hovered my finger over his number on my phone screen. I just wanted to hear his voice. I just wanted to know he was all right. I never called. My head told me a clean break was the best for both of us. But my heart told me something else.

Ed Albright checked himself out of rehab after ten days. He walked into the office looking haggard and thin. Darlene nearly fell out of her chair. She didn’t say a word to him, she just slowly rose from behind her desk, grabbed her purse and walked out the back door.

“Oh, Ed,” I said. He plopped into his oversized leather office chair and stared out the window.

“I couldn’t do it,” he said. “Not their way. It never works, Beth. I’m better off on my own.”

He’d said all of this before. I wasn’t his mother. I wasn’t even his sister. All I could do was slide into the chair across from him and listen.

“Will you talk to Darlene for me?” he asked, eyes pleading.

I was tired. Just ... so tired. I couldn’t change Danny. I couldn’t change Ed. I could only change myself. “No, I don’t think I can do that, Ed. You know I love you. Both of you. But if you can’t dry out and stay that way, you finally really will lose everything.”

His eyes were bloodshot. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. I realized he probably saw something similar when he looked at me. “So let’s talk about something else,” he said. “I’ve heard you had some adventures of your own.”

“You heard what?”

Ed’s smile warmed my heart. It’s not one I saw very often these days. As much as I wanted to throttle the man for getting in his own way all the time, it was hard not to love him. He’d been there for me and took a chance on me when no one else would. I’d come to him with nothing, not even a background or a single reference. He said he saw something in me and gave me a job when I couldn’t even produce a driver’s license yet.

“Dark Saints,” he said. “You’re being careful, I hope.”

“Of course.”

Ed nodded. “So is that biker the past you ran from? Hell, Beth, that makes you more like my sister than anything.”

I smiled. “He’s part of my past, yes. But he’s not why I ran. And it’s complicated.”

“Good.” He rubbed his hands together. “It’s refreshing to have someone else make terrible life choices besides just me.”

“Very funny. And my life is just fine.” I meant it with a healthy dose of sarcasm, but the second my words landed, Ed’s eyes grew heavy again.

“Oh, Beth. I’m sorry. I know I’m probably going to spend the rest of my life, such as it is, saying that to people. I know I’ve mucked things up pretty good. How long before the work dries up?”

I started to sugarcoat it. I rambled off a bunch of clients and dates and facts that really didn’t answer the least of his questions. Ed knew it. He regarded me with those sad, keen eyes and settled back in his chair.

“How long, Beth?” he asked again.

I took a breath. “You’re finished, Ed. There’s nobody left. Your three biggest cases have already been reassigned. If they settle, I’ll probably be able to get reimbursed for costs, but you won’t earn a fee. You’ve got enough in savings for you to live off for a good long while. Not enough to cover payroll or your taxes for much more than a month.”

“So you’re out of a job. Dammit, Beth. I’m sorry. I know it’s not adequate, but I am.”

“I’ll be all right,” I said, though it rang hollow to both of us. Sure, I could probably find freelance paralegal work, but the chances of me getting something with full benefits anytime soon were slim. At least, there’d be nothing for me in Crystal Falls. My life as Beth Kennedy was over. It would be easy to blame Ed for that. Sure, he bore a large part of the blame, but this would have happened sooner or later. Maybe it didn’t matter anymore.

“Can you go back?” he asked. Ed’s question stunned me. One of his greatest strengths was reading people. He was downright eerie when it came to predicting how juries would behave. Now he’d trained his particular superpower straight at me.

“Go back to what?”

“I mean, are you done running? Now that your past has finally caught up with you?”

“I’ll land,” I said. “I always manage to. I’m honestly more worried about you and Darlene. I don’t think she’s going to stick by you through this one.”

Ed nodded. “I already told her not to. She came to visit me at the rehab place three days ago. I bought her a one-way plane ticket to St. Petersburg, Florida. Our cousin Joy has been bugging her to move out there for two years. You know that.”

Twin emotions flipped my heart: elation and sadness. Darlene deserved to live for herself. But I’d miss her. She’d been the closest thing I had to a mother pretty much my whole life.

“Maybe I should buy a ticket for you too?” he said. “Florida’s as good a place to start over as any, isn’t it?”

I laughed. “What, and leave all of this?”

Ed rose from his chair. He came around the desk and put a fatherly hand on my shoulder. I knew this was so hard for him. Just like Darlene, I couldn’t stay mad at him. “It’s time for you to go home, Beth. Wherever that is. And if it’s nowhere, build a new one. I’ll help you as much as I can. I do still have a few favors I haven’t called in yet. You’re good at what you do. Hell, you’re better than me. I’ve got a little money saved up. I want you to have it. You’ve earned it.”

I covered his hand with mine. “Ed, I can’t take anything more from you.”

“You haven’t taken enough. It’s been the other way around. You think I don’t know how much you’ve covered my ass over the years? This ship would have sunk a long time ago if it weren’t for you. Anything I can give you, you’ve earned. I won’t take no for an answer.”

Ed stepped back around the desk and pulled out his checkbook. I couldn’t breathe. He tore off a check, folded it, and handed it to me.

“Start over, Beth,” he said. “Someplace better. Now go on home. I plan on wallowing by myself for a little while.”

“Ed …”

“Don’t!” He waved a hand. “I’m not gonna hit the bottle. Darlene found it all and tossed it anyway. I just need to think and I need to be alone. I’ll check in with you in a couple of days. I promise.”

I rose and went around the desk. I kissed Ed Albright on the forehead then did as he asked me to. I left him alone. It wasn’t until I got behind the wheel of my car before I dared unfold the check he gave me. My heart dropped when I read the amount. He’d just given me fifty thousand dollars.

It was enough to start over somewhere else. Sean was dead. He couldn’t hurt me anymore. I could be Beth Wade again if I wanted. I could be Beth Kennedy.

I found myself driving around Crystal Falls. It was beautiful here. Quiet. Clean. The people of this town had embraced me. Not right away, it took time. I’d found a niche here. Now that niche was slowly closing. Ed was done. This time was different. It was different for Darlene too. She’d done all she could for her brother. It was time for her to build a life of her own. And me? It had been so long since I’d even asked myself what I wanted.

I found myself driving down the quiet little street I’d called home for nearly ten years. I pulled up to the curb across from my house and put the car in park. It was mine and yet, it had always felt transient.

When I closed my eyes, I could only see Danny. My body ached for the feel of his arms around me. He was the closest thing to home I had. But could I accept him for the man he was today? This war with the Hawks would end one way or the other. There might even be peace for a while. Then what? I’d spent the first twenty-one years of my life in Port Azrael. I knew what the Saints were. Could I let myself become a part of that life for Danny?

My phone vibrated in my purse. The tone was odd. Not a call or a text. I slid it out. A big, red warning sign flashed on the home screen. It was the app Paul Sauter had installed along with the security system. It meant something had tripped the alarm.

My heart popped into my throat. Mid-afternoon, I had the curtains drawn in the front room. I looked up and down the street. There were no cars or motorcycles out here that shouldn’t be. Was it a mistake?

I swiped open the app. Paul had it hooked up to three cameras inside the house. The kitchen, my bedroom, and the living room. I flipped the view from one camera to the next. The house was empty. I went back to each room, holding my breath. On the third pass, I saw it. At least, I thought I did. Just a grainy shadow, but it looked like something moved from the hallway into the master bedroom.

“Shit!”