DINA HAD PACKED FOR running and hiding, not backyard barbeques. Thank goodness Trevor had stopped off at Target to pick up something to contribute to the evening’s fare. She’d grabbed a sundress with straps—with bonus pockets—and a pair of flip-flops. She was working uphill with these people. She needed to put her best foot forward.

“Here we are,” Trevor announced.

He came to a stop outside a single story brick house. The homes along this lane were each unique. Different. These weren’t cookie cutter productions. They had character.

“My back twinges in remembered pain,” he said.

“Why?”

“They just moved into this place...four weeks ago?” He killed the engine. “Jenna was in a duplex, Alex rented a place in Keller. So they bought this place.”

“How long have they been together?”

“Oh...six months?”

“What?” Dina’s head whipped around and she stared at Trevor.

“Yeah. It’s taking some getting used to.”

He got out of the SUV, leaving her starting.

There was a story there. One Trevor wasn’t keen on telling her for some reason.

He opened her door and offered her a hand.

“They’ve been together six months, bought a house and are getting married next year. Do I have that right?” she asked.

“Yup.”

“You don’t want to talk about it, do you?” She took his hand and slid to her feet on the curb.

“Jenna’s like my sister, and no one is ever going to be good enough for her.”

“Is she just your sister?”

“Yes.” He frowned at her.

There wasn’t a hint otherwise on his face. No glancing away. No wince or involuntary sigh.

Trevor’s relationship with Jenna was exactly what he said it was.

Huh.

Interesting.

She’d been friends with boys growing up. Even the ones she was close to like Phillip and Little Tony never felt lie brothers. Hell, the older she’d gotten the less like a brother Dominick seemed. He’d become a bully and a tyrant in those later years when their parents didn’t try to hide their favoritism.

“Hey?” Trevor took her hand, bringing her back to the moment.

“Hm?”

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah.” She shook her head. “Memories. It’s been a long time since I went to a party.”

“Not to brag or anything, but Ransom parties can get pretty wild.” He grinned and offered her his arm.

She wasn’t wearing heels. The ground wasn’t slick. She didn’t need to hold on to him for support. And yet she slid her arm into the crook of his, like some old fashioned pair. Her parents had demanded a certain level of respect from the handful of boys she was allowed to date in her teens. They’d all had to come to the door, be introduced despite being the sons of friends or acquaintances. She’d always been home by eight or nine. But with Trevor these gestures were sweet.

“I think we’re the first ones here.” He peered up and down the street.

“Oh?” Dina tried to not let that intimidate her and failed.

After the brief meeting at The Love Barn, she wasn’t expecting for Jenna to welcome her with open arms. Dina was willing to bet this was more of a package deal scenario.

The smell of freshly cut grass mixed with something sweet wafted on the gentle afternoon breeze. They were having some kind of break in the kill-me-now heat. It was still hot, but she wasn’t going to die.

Trevor opened the front door without knocking.

“Hello? Drink delivery?” he called out.

A dog barked in reply.

“In, in, in!” Jenna called out.

Trevor hustled her over the threshold as a large German Sheppard bounded toward them.

Dina cringed and took a step back.

“Genghis, sit,” Trevor barked and side-stepped in front of her, as though he sensed her intimidation.

The dog slowed, but didn’t stop. His ears were up, tail wagging.

“Genghis, you’re a brat.” Trevor went to a knee and the dog finally stopped, sniffing at Trevor.

“Sorry, I was just putting him outside.” Jenna scurried through the open living room toward them, still in her jeans and T-shirt from earlier.

“He’s okay.” Trevor glanced up at Dina and winked at her. “Genghis is a retired K-9 officer. He’s mostly harmless, unless you look at Jenna. Alex doesn’t like to hear that his dog loves her more than him.”

“He does not. I’m more lenient with him is all,” Jenna huffed.

“Alex here?”

“He’s getting the grill set up.”

“Okay, how about we trade? You take these and I’ll escort the brat dog here outside.”

“Deal.”

Jenna scooped the bags off Trevor’s arm while he grasped the big dog’s collar and led him toward the glass sliding door.

“Thirsty?” Jenna hefted the bags.

“Let me help.” Dina reached out a hand.

“I’ve got it. Come on.”

Jenna turned and walked through the living room.

Dina would have rather found an out of the way corner to hide in for the evening, but that wasn’t currently an option. Maybe once other people arrived, she could do everyone the favor and fade into the background.

The interior of the house was comfortable if a bit sparse. Then again, Dina did have the decorating sense of a magpie. Large, overstuffed gray sofas and armchairs created a seating area for at least ten people. The carpet was new and so plush Dina’s feet sank into it with each step.

The sliding glass doors let out onto a concrete patio sheltered on three sides by the U-shaped house. On the right was the large, country kitchen with a hall leading to one wing of the house. On the left a hall led to other yet to be discovered rooms.

Dina followed Jenna into the kitchen where she was stocking the fridge with the drinks Trevor had brought with them.

If Dina wanted to keep things good between her and Trevor, she needed to figure out a way to coexist with his pseudo-sister. Then again, how long was Dina staying? Did it matter if anyone liked her?

The idea of leaving Trevor and Ransom sent a pang of sadness through her. She might have picked the town at random off a map, but it had grown on her. Yes, she was only an observer, but she’d enjoyed the sense of familiarity everything had.

Jenna braced her right hand on the kitchen counter and faced Dina.

There was a decided shift in the air.

Dina fought the urge to take a step back. Her automatic reaction to flee wasn’t an option. She had nowhere to go, and deep down, she didn’t want to give Trevor up yet. Yeah, she still might have to, but Jenna wasn’t threatening Dina’s life yet. She could handle this.

“I owe you an apology.” Jenna planted her free hand on her hip and lifted her gaze to stare at Dina.

She—what?

“It’s...okay,” Dina said after the silence stretched on for a moment more.

“No, it’s really not.” Jenna dropped her hands and turned, leaning against the counter. “It’s just—Trevor is Trevor, and he’s always getting himself into shit he has no business being part of.”

Shit? What kind of shit?

Dina took a few steps into the kitchen.

“I overreacted, and I’m sorry,” Jenna said.

“It’s okay.” Dina stared at the hardwood floors. Before, when they’d been kids on the playground, she and Dominick were as close as siblings could be. Not anymore. She missed that. “I have a brother. I know what it’s like to feel protective.”

“We’re good then?” Jenna asked.

“Yeah.” Dina nodded and deep down she meant it.

She knew what it was like to be a sister. It was everything else that went with it she missed. If she could still have the family and the brother without the family ties that ruined them she’d take it. Dina missed having a place to belong. Watching Trevor and Jenna, seeing their lives, Dina wanted that. She wanted to belong somewhere.

“Okay, just to warn you, the guys are going to give Trevor epic shit about you. Please don’t take it personally. They’re all meat heads. Worse than teenage girls, I swear.” Jenna dried her hands. “I need to change. I want out of these jeans.”

“Why is Trevor going to get shit?”

“I’ll tell you while I change if you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.” Okay, so it was a little weird to Dina, but the last girlfriend she’d had was so long ago she was horribly out of practice being around other women.

Jenna led Dina down a short hall tucked into the other side of the kitchen. They passed a laundry room and the door leading to the garage before entering a spacious master suite.

“Almost everyone coming tonight is attached to SWAT and being part of SWAT means everyone busts everyone’s balls.” Jenna patted a tall, wingback chair. “Sit.”

“How are you part of the SWAT team? You’re a medic, right?”

“Yeah. I’m the team’s tactical medic. I go into all situations with them to treat wounded.”

“Do you carry a...gun or a shield or something?”

“Nothing besides my kit.” Jenna grinned. “I was an army medic. I wouldn’t say I’m used to it, I just...I’m used to it.”

Dina shook her head. She couldn’t imagine running toward bullets. Not with the things she’d seen.

“How are you liking Ransom? Besides last night. Sorry to hear about the break-in.” Jenna disappeared into a walk-in closet.

“Ransom’s been good to me. I’m still curious about why you wanted to warn me about tonight.”

“Oh! Right. Well, after the first time you two met Trevor asked a few questions, trying to find out more about you. The guys started calling him Romeo. Whatever they say tonight, it’s nothing about you and it’s everything to do with them living for the chance to give each other hell.”

Dina resisted the urge to fan herself. Given that The Hole was a local joint, she was willing to bet some of these guys had been there the night she went home with Trevor. They’d seen them together. Probably heard about it, too.

“I guess I deserve it as much as he does.” She could have been more mindful of where she went, what she was doing, but that night she’d acted out of loneliness. She’d wanted to connect with someone and Trevor had captured her attention from the first moment their eyes met. It was as though he’d looked inside of her and really seen her.

Jenna stepped out of the closet wearing an ankle length maxi dress in a purple and lime green print that seemed to move if Dina stared at it too long. Paired with Jenna’s blonde hair, green glasses and mischievous smile, it was a good look for her.

“If he’s Romeo does that make me Juliette?” Dina asked.

“Romeo and Juliette were kids who died needlessly. Be a...my Shakespeare knowledge is lacking. Be you. Ignore the guys. Come on, Scarlett and her cousins should be here soon. I’m supposed to show her stuff on Pinterest for the wedding.” Jenna barely muffled a groan.

“Do you not want to get married?” Dina asked before she could think better of the question.

“No. I mean, yes. I do. I just—weddings are a lot of work and between the hospital and SWAT there’s not much time for me and Alex. Add wedding to it and I want it over with.”

“Have you thought about a wedding planner? Or getting a bridesmaid to do it?”

“My bridesmaids are Trevor and my friend Sterling. They’re not exactly traditional bridesmaids.”

There was more to that story, but Jenna didn’t offer further commentary.

“If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know?” While I’m around. “I feel like I got a degree in wedding planning by the time I was eighteen.”

“What?” Jenna frowned at Dina.

“It was a trend when I was younger.” She spoke slowly, unsure of how much Jenna really knew. “A lot of the girls whose fathers worked with mine encouraged their daughters to get married as soon as they could.”

“Wait. Hold on. I need more information.” Jenna held up her hands. “Trevor told me a very little bit about...your history.”

“Hello? Jenna?” Scarlett’s voice carried through the house.

“Back here,” Jenna called out.

Scarlett came down the hall, a bottle of what looked to be wine in her hands. Dina desperately wanted a glass if they were going to play twenty questions.

“What are you two doing hiding out like this?” Scarlett glanced between them.

“Talking. Hey, thanks for coming.” Jenna folded Scarlett into a hug.

“Hey, Dina. Nice to see you again.” Scarlett had also traded jeans for a dress. It was a clear theme of the evening.

“Can I ask?” Jenna’s face scrunched up.

Dina knew what she wanted to discuss. It wasn’t hard to guess, and her knee jerk screamed No! But she’d already fessed up to her past. Maybe it was time to be honest about it all.

“I’ll answer what I can.” There were some things she didn’t want to talk about, but most of it was ancient history for her. She folded her hands in her lap.

“Oh, we need to pour for this. Hold on.” Scarlett scurried back into the kitchen.

“Want to go to the living room?” Jenna gestured toward the hall. “All of the guys will go outside, so it’ll just be us.”

“Sure.” Dina stood and together they joined Scarlett in the kitchen for wine pouring.

“So, correct me if I’m wrong, but your parents were some kind of mid-level mafia boss?” Jenna asked.

“Correct.” Dina took the offered glass.

“What?” Scarlett’s head whipped back and forth. “How do I not know any of this?”

“I’ve more or less been in hiding,” Dina said by way of an explanation.

“Because you helped put your parents in prison?” Jenna sipped her wine.

“Also correct.” Dina tapped her fingers against her thigh.

The events felt distant, numb. She missed having a family, but she didn’t miss her family. Mom and Dad would have been content with just Dominick.

Scarlett glanced at Jenna. The two shared a look Dina couldn’t possibly understand. It wasn’t unfriendly, but there were things they weren’t sharing.

“Well, that’s quite the story.” Scarlett clinked her glass with Dina’s. “I don’t know how you go from that to sleepy, old Ransom, but we’re glad to have you.”

“We were talking about weddings earlier, and you said your friends were mostly married by—what age?” Jenna braced her hand on the counter.

“Eighteen. It was this phase. A bunch of the guys Dad worked with all had daughters within three years of each other. They used to make us all sit at the same table, we couldn’t talk to anyone, then they started getting married to men they barely knew.” Dina shook her head. She’d narrowly escaped an unwanted marriage while still just a kid. “Even my dad was talking about it.”

“Your life could be a movie and I’ve heard like, a minute of it.” Scarlett grabbed the wine bottle and topped everyone’s glass off.

“Eighteen?” Jenna blinked. “I can’t imagine.”

“At eighteen you were signing up for the army.” Scarlett threw up her hand.

“That was different. I had to go through school first, and—”

“Oh, whatever. You were signing up to get shot at. You don’t get to point fingers.”

“Come sit.” Jenna waved them into the living room.

The three of them settled on the sofa and an arm chair. Through the glass doors Dina could see a gathering of men, each armed with a beer. Trevor wasn’t in sight, but she knew he was there.

“Well, I’m glad you and Trevor found each other. He’s the best guy to have around during a crisis.” Scarlett smiled, but it was a touch sad. “He really helped me when my mom died.”

Jenna reached over and patted Scarlett’s hand.

“And...just so we have it all out there, that’s why I acted the way I did earlier today,” Jenna said.

“I’m sorry?” Dina tilted her head. Were Trevor and Scarlett a thing? Had they been?

“Trevor...he had a tendency to get involved with women who need saving.” Jenna’s shoulders slumped, and she stared at Dina. “When I heard from Casey this morning, that’s what it sounded like to me.”

“Wait, I’m confused. Can you start over?” Dina leaned toward them.

Had she just heard them right? Was she some kind of damaged woman trophy being slid onto Trevor’s shelf?

“Trevor’s his father’s son. He wants to save everyone.” Scarlett shrugged.

“Most of his girlfriends sort of fall into his lap and hand him their problems,” Jenna said slowly.

“He was the same in high school.” Scarlett nodded. “We started dating—I use that term loosely—the week after my Mom died. It seemed like as soon as I got to be okay with her death, poof. He was out of the picture.”

“I didn’t mean that’s what’s going on here,” Jenna said quickly. She put a hand on Scarlett’s side and leaned toward Jenna. Scarlett jumped and began shaking her head.

“No. No, not at all,” she said.

“Trevor was very clear,” Jenna said in a lower voice.

Dina stared at the two women. She didn’t know how to respond to that bit of history. She hadn’t gone looking for Trevor to fix her, just fuck her. When she’d gone to his house it was out of desperation. She’d never expected him to take over, but now his actions made sense. This was what he did and everyone except her knew it.

“I need some air.” Dina felt numb. Dazed.

She pushed up off the sofa and set her gaze on the front door. The guys—and Trevor—were back there. She couldn’t show her face there. Right now she had to collect herself, to think.

“Dina...” Jenna called out, but she ignored her.

Casey’s reception made a lot more sense in that light. If Dina were him, she’d try to figure out the worst-case scenario the new problem girl could pose. Trevor hadn’t hesitated to drag his friends into her problem. They were probably used to it because they knew him.

Everyone here right now knew, too.

He was trying to fix her. Like a project he’d taken on to do on his nights and weekends off work. It was his style. His thing. His hobby. It wasn’t about her or this connection she thought she had with him. He wanted to play the hero.

“YOU FINISHED YET?” Trevor cracked open another beer and shook his head.

“Not by a long shot, Romeo.” Casey grinned at him.

The guys were going to keep this going for quite a while. Unless Trevor did something really unfortunate like slip in dog shit during a call or something. At least the name wasn’t horrible.

“You know, I’m surprised she’s here. I thought she didn’t exist.” Val shrugged and rocked from side to side. He’d hit the beer pretty hard out of the gate tonight. Trevor doubted Val would be driving himself anywhere.

“Who are you talking about?” Benjamin Lively narrowed his gaze. “I gather Trevor has a new lady?”

“He does.” Sean grinned. He took some kind of perverse pleasure in Trevor’s situation. “And get this, she’s some sort of mafia don’s daughter. She was the star witness that put them in jail. I looked her up.”

“Okay, I think we’ve talked about this enough,” Casey announced

“Wait, that girl in there’s in the mafia?” Benjamin leaned closer, his eyes lighting up. Benji always did love trouble.

“Seriously, not cool.” Casey leveled a glare at both Sean and Benji. “I’m the responding officer. I can’t talk about this.”

Trevor nodded. It was true. They had to remember that they had civilians hanging out with them. Besides, Dina wasn’t comfortable talking about her history.

“Trevor?” Jenna leaned out of the glass door leading from the house to the patio.

“What’s up?” He took a few steps toward Jenna before her wide-eyed stare registered.

Something was wrong.

“Where’s Dina?” he asked for her ears alone.

He crowded Jenna back into the house and slid the door shut. The guys didn’t need to be privy to whatever else was going on here. Scarlett sat on the sofa, her eyes so wide they took up her whole face.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted.

“Where’s Dina?” Trevor glanced into the kitchen.

“She’s out front, but—Trevor.”

He didn’t need an explanation. Dina’s location was enough cause for alarm. She couldn’t be standing out on a street in full view of anyone driving by. They were miles away from her house, but that didn’t mean much in a small town.

Trevor opened the front door. The setting sun cast long shadows across the yard.

“Dina? Dina, where are you?” He stepped out onto the walk.

A long, leggy shadow stretched across his path.

He turned, following it to the owner.

Dina stood behind the low boughs of a magnolia tree, one hand on her hip, the other on her face. Her back was to him. She had the most expressive shoulders. Tension hunched them and every few moments they trembled.

“Hey.” He laid his hand on her arm.

Dina jerked away.

“Hey, let’s go inside, okay?” Shit. What had Jenna and Scarlett said?

“I don’t want to go anywhere with you.”

“Okay, but you can’t stay out here.”

“I need a God damn minute,” she snapped.

“Then why don’t you go to one of the bedrooms or the—okay.”

Dina stormed past him without looking his way once. Her flip-flops slapped the sidewalk hard enough he knew this fuck-up was his fault. Somehow. Maybe he’d drank that first beer too fast?

Trevor followed her back inside, pausing to glance up and down the street.

Nothing stuck out to him. They were probably fine. Just fine.

Now to deal with what had set Dina off like that.

He entered the house and closed the door behind him. Once again Dina was nowhere to be seen. Jenna and Scarlett stood in the middle of the living room clutching wine glasses and staring at him.

“What happened?” He needed to get to the bottom of this and Dina clearly didn’t want to talk to him.

“It’s my fault,” Jenna blurted.

Trevor was seriously regretting downing that first beer as fast as he had. He crossed to the sofa and sat, the women joining him.

If Dina needed a minute, the least he could do was figure out what he’d done wrong.

“I was apologizing. We got to talking and I could see what you meant about her.” Jenna’s free hand fluttered as she spoke, like some kind of drunken butterfly. “I was trying to say I made assumptions about her, given your history, and I think she took it the wrong way.”

“She took it the wrong way,” Scarlett said.

Jenna turned toward Scarlett, pinning her with a glare. “If you hadn’t led with the high school story, we might have smoothed it over.”

“I just—you’re right. I open my mouth and the wrong words fly out.” Scarlett sighed.

Trevor sifted through their words for the facts.

Jenna had informed Dina about his track record with women as a way of validating how Dina was different. Scarlett dredging up a few weeks in high school when he’d been there for her hadn’t helped the case given how intensely private and cautious Dina’s life had been for the last eight or so years.

“Where is she?” he asked.

“Laundry room,” Jenna said.

“Tell the guys to stop talking about her. Especially Benji.” Trevor couldn’t take words back and he couldn’t change what had been said or his past. He just knew that things with Dina weren’t like before.

He pushed to his feet. Yeah, pounding that first beer as a bad idea, but he couldn’t help that now, much like the rest of his past. He strode through the living room and kitchen to the laundry-slash-mud room. The door was shut but the light inside was on.

“Dina?” He tapped on the door. “Can we talk?”

Silence greeted his request.

He turned the door knob. It met with no resistance. He pushed against it and the door swung open.

Dina stood with her back toward him. Her hair was wound up in a bun, leaving her neck exposed. Her shoulders sloped, the straps of the sundress barely hanging on. The cheerful floral print was at odds with the mood rolling off of her. He shut the door behind him and leaned against the washer.

What did he say to her? How did he begin to make her understand?

“I’m your project.” She wasn’t asking a question.

“No. No, you’re not.”

“Do you or do you not date women with problems? Is this not a reoccurring thing with you?” She turned to face him, arms wrapped tight around herself.

He was afraid to touch her for fear that she might break apart.

And this was his doing.

Shit.

“I can explain—”

“Which means it’s the truth.”

“But not with you.” He held up his hands.

“Not with me? Really? With all my shit, everything that comes with me, and I’m not one of your projects? Is that what gets you off? Playing the hero? Praying on women at their weakest?” She edged closer that inner fire of hers building until she was almost right up on him. “I trusted you.”

“It’s not like that.”

“The hell it isn’t.” She vibrated with rage, hands balled into fists, her eyes flashing with pain.

It would be easier if she’d punched him rather than stare at him like that, with her anguish on display.

“When I saw you in the market I didn’t know any of this. When we started talking, I thought that whatever bad shit you’d run from was in the past. Who you were, what’s going on now, it didn’t factor into us.”

“Us.” She rolled her eyes and turned from him.

“Hey.” He grasped her elbow. “Don’t do that.”

“I need to leave. I need to get away from you.”

“Dina, can we please talk about this?”

“You’ve made me into the town’s sideshow, Trevor.” She pulled away from him, retreating a few steps to the other side of the small room.

“No.” He braced his hand on the washer and the folding table, then hung his head forward.

How did he make her understand what was inside of him? He didn’t have words for this, but he could tell it was different. It was a knowing. A feeling. The instinct that came with understanding people.

“You don’t need me,” he said.

“What?”

“You don’t need me.” He lifted his head and looked back at her. “Do I have a tendency to see a woman in trouble and...take them on? Yeah. I do. Did. It’s been a while since I did that. Two, three years? But, you don’t need me. If I hadn’t lived close, if we hadn’t crossed paths at the market, you’d have gotten out of this one on your own. This is different.”

“Or is that what you want to tell yourself?” she asked softly.

“What? You don’t think you’d have slipped out of town without those two guys getting wind of you?”

“I’m not staying here. Everyone in this house thinks I’m your next project.” She closed her eyes.

“Fine. We’ll go.” He dug in his pocket for the keys then held them out to Dina. Two beers in and a hot head meant he wasn’t good to be behind the wheel.

She took the keys and stared at them like she didn’t know what to do with them.

Trevor reached past her and unlocked the side door. He’d text Jenna to come lock up after them. There was no need to drag Dina through the house if she was wound up like this. He pushed the door open.

“What am I supposed to do with these?” she asked.

“You’re driving.”

“Where?”

“To the cabin. Go on.” He risked nudging her to get her going.

Dina stepped out, and he followed, pulling the door shut behind him.

She stared at the side of the house. There was a brittleness to her that he wasn’t prepared for. Even when she’d cried and seemed at a loss for what to do, she’d held herself together. There was a strength to Dina he wasn’t sure she was aware of, and now that was gone. Because he was an asshole.

“Come on.” He gestured toward the sidewalk but didn’t dare touch her again for fear she’d break apart.

She remained out of reach and a step ahead of him all the way to his SUV.

Trevor got in the passenger’s side. He was fairly certain he’d never sat on that side of the vehicle before. While Dina adjusted the seat he plugged in the address for the Jones family property. That done, he sat back in his seat and kept his mouth shut.

How did he make her understand a feeling?

She steered the SUV onto the street, moving at a crawl.

“How do you drive this thing?” she muttered.

He didn’t think she’d appreciate an answer, and right now his mind was preoccupied.

When Dina had walked into The Hole wearing that red dress he’d been drawn to her. Over the course of a couple drinks she’d been confident and intelligent. He hadn’t caught a whiff of a problem off her and he typically could diagnose issues in under five minutes. The only time during their night when he’d seen under that mask was in the shower. He’d chalked it up to too many drinks and post-sex emotions, but when he’d woken up and she’d vanished—that was when he’d become worried.

He’d gone and stuck his nose into her business when she hadn’t asked him to. Then he’d made it his job to dig into her past, uncover her secrets until their paths crossed again.

Maybe he was the problem here, rooting around where he wasn’t wanted.

“Where are we going?” Dina asked as the city limits sign whizzed by.

“The Jones’ property.”

“Why are we going there?”

“Because the Jones’ own, I think sixty acres. You can get lost on their property.” He turned and admired the trees.

Ransom was about as far west as real trees grew. Not many miles past the Jones’ land and the trees were either decorative or the kind of low growing scrub of the arid region that eventually turned into the desert out west.

Dina kept going with only the sound of the navigation system to break up the silence.

Why did he do this? What was his problem?

He’d wondered what made him tick, what inner drive he had that set him down this path time and time again. Was it nature or nurture? Something deeper? Or was this just his ego talking?