“You’re absolutely sure?”

I’d sat in the same steel chair for the last two hours. Detective Curtis Langley had kind eyes and a round, doughy face. He wore an ill-fitting brown suit and his tie didn’t quite reach his belt over his pot-belly. He’d been nice to me, taking his time with me. As soon as I’d told him what I was here about, he had quietly ushered me into his office in the corner of the police station away from prying eyes or second glances.

“Yes,” I said again, though the word started to burn in my throat.

“Miss Ballard.” He leaned back in his chair. “You’re not from Port Azrael.”

“I know that. Please, please, don’t give me this speech, Detective. I know what this means.”

“Do you?”

Spots swam in front of my eyes. It had been happening ever since Marcus said the words that shifted my world on its axis. Cory Kline was dead. Dead. I couldn’t stop seeing his swollen face as he took blow after blow from Junior DiSalvo.

“Look,” I said. “I’m sure. What I’m not sure about is whether Cory was alive when I left that alley. I think he was, but I don’t know. I didn’t check on him. I wish I could go back in time and be sure. I think that’s what’s going to haunt me for the rest of my life.”

Detective Langley reached across the desk and put a paternal hand over mine. “Don’t beat yourself up. You did the right thing. Staying out of that fight was the right thing. Coming here as soon as you heard was the right thing. The rest of it isn’t up to you.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep the tears that had been threatening to bubble up at bay. I could not, would not fall apart now. I had to see this through.

“Thanks,” I said. “And that’s really all I remember. It’s been a long day and I’d like to go home.”

Detective Langley let go of me and sat back again. “Sure. It’s just, I need you to be real careful, Miss Ballard. And I need to be sure you really are sure. Gino DiSalvo, Jr. has ... well ... he’s not without resources in this town. Did you know the FBI investigated his father for years? I’m not privy to the goings-on involving his son. But it’s just best to be careful.”

“Careful of what?” My blood pressure shot up again, making my head pound. I was tired, hungry, and feeling light-headed.

Langley spread his hands on the table. He shot me another kind smile and tilted his head to the side. “I just don’t recommend you discuss this with anyone else. Not your friends, family, certainly nobody at that bar.”

That bar. The pounding in my head intensified. Cups. Langley didn’t have to say it. It was folded up in the decision I made to walk into this police station and tell them what I knew about Cory Kline’s apparent last night on earth. No matter what happened, I was likely out of a job. God forbid if Junior or any of the others found out that I’d gone to the police. That was the worst of it. But I couldn’t go back there. Not ever. Maybe Junior hadn’t been involved with whatever happened to Cory in the end. I prayed he wasn’t. I just could never be sure about him again.

“What are you going to do now?” Langley asked. Maybe he was just good at his job, but it felt like he was reading my damn mind and it unsettled me.

“I don’t know.” It was an honest answer. It hadn’t fully sunk in yet, but I’d just blown up my life. Whether he killed Cory or not, rage rose within me for Junior DiSalvo. I’m not proud to admit it, but I wanted him to pay one way or the other for what he’d done. I just couldn’t stomach ever looking at him again let alone taking a paycheck from him. I’d never find another job that paid as well as Cups. I had about two months’ rent saved up, then I wouldn’t be able to afford my apartment anymore.

“Why don’t you let me arrange for someone to take you home?”

I shook my head and started to rise. “No. Thank you, but no. I’ll manage. If we’re done here, I’d like to leave. I’m worn out.”

“Of course.” Langley got to his feet and stepped around his desk. “At least let me walk you out.”

I thanked him. I started down the long hallway toward the bullpen and lobby and the front exit. Langley caught me gently by the arm and steered me in the other direction.

“This way,” he said. “There’s a back entrance. It’s quieter. It leads right out to the bus stop.”

His eyes flickered with what I read as nervous tension. It unsettled me. Either he was just legitimately trying to be nice, or Detective Langley was worried someone might see me leaving. It was in me to ask him if my fears were warranted, but my mind just couldn’t process any more for one evening. I let him lead me to the back entrance and out to the employee parking lot. Rows of black-and-white patrol cars lined the lot. Langley pointed to a gate in the northwest corner.

“Through there and half a block to your right. Though I really would prefer it if you let me drive you home.”

I put up a hand. “No. I’m fine. Really. I’m going to go home and try to get some sleep.”

“Good plan. I think this won’t seem so daunting after a good night’s sleep, Miss Ballard. In the meantime, will you at least take my card? If you think of anything or remember anything else you think might be helpful, call me. If you need anything, call me.”

I took his card and slipped it into my purse. He walked me to the northwest gate and stepped outside so he could see me as I headed toward the bus stop. Waving, I thanked him again and headed down the block. As I looked over my shoulder, Langley stood there with his hands on his hips, watching. He waited until the bus pulled up and I got on.

It was when I finally sank into the soft red leather seat two rows behind the driver that I quietly fell apart.

The battery on my phone had long since died when I finally made it into my apartment. Gordon didn’t even bother to wake as I flicked on the lights and plopped onto the couch. My feet hurt. My back hurt. A thin sheen of sweat covered me. After unlacing my tennis shoes and kicking them off, I buried my face in my hands and let the horror of the day fully wash over me.

Cory was dead. I didn’t know for sure whether Junior DiSalvo killed him, but my gut told me he had. I’d seen the look in his eyes as he hurt Cory. They were cold, dead, filled with evil that made me shudder even now.

Port Azrael was supposed to be my escape. Right now, it felt like a nightmare.

Heading into the bathroom, I peeled off my Cups uniform probably for the very last time and stepped into the shower. I wished I could wash away the last two days. I let the water run nearly hot enough to scald me, as if I needed my outsides to match the chaos I felt inside.

My skin felt raw and reddened when I stepped out and wrapped a towel around my body. Gordon had moved to the end of the bed and looked at me with his wide, green, luminous eyes. I sank next to him and buried my cheek into the soft fur of his back. He purred and rolled to his side, looking for a belly rub.

“We’re fucked, Gordon. Did you know that?” He pawed at the air but his lids had already grown heavy. In another few seconds, he’d be snoring.

I was bone tired, every muscle in my body felt as if it had been stretched taut. Still, sleep wouldn’t come. Hours ticked by and the stars faded as sunlight rose. The only blessing about the events that had just unfolded was the timing. I’d finished my last class two days ago. I only had one online exam and a paper to hand in by the end of the week and the semester was done. As I figured out my next move, at least this shit with Junior couldn’t mess up that part of my life.

Turning on my side to stare out the window, I weighed my options. Going back to Cups was out of the question. Never mind my own revulsion to working for Junior for one more second, there was a good chance he’d be charged with murder. It wasn’t just my life my statement had blown up. I felt terrible for Nikki, Kirsten, Marcus, and some of the other people I worked with.

I could stay in Port Azrael with the money I had saved for about six more weeks. But did I want to stay? Had those few horrible minutes in that alley soured everything about it for good? I could find another job but I’d have to count on probably half the money I made at Cups or less. I wouldn’t be able to afford the rent here past August. My head pounded at the other option barreling toward me like a freight train.

I could go back to Michigan for the summer. The thought of it made bile rise in my throat. Could I stomach my parents’ drama for three months to save up the money to come back to Texas? In theory, I supposed I could. But something else nagged at me. I knew how this worked. If I went back, even if I had the best intentions to leave again, it would be ten times harder to break free than the first time.

The tears finally came. They’d won. Everyone had been right. I didn’t belong here. Maybe everything they’d thrown in my face that last night before I packed up to go had been true. I couldn’t make it without them. I was too much a part of them. Ballards don’t leave.

“No!” Gordon, startled, jumped off the bed. I threw a pillow across the room and started pacing in front of the bed.

“No,” I said more softly. “I’m not going back. I’m not letting Junior DiSalvo or anyone else take my life away from me.”

I grabbed a fresh pair of workout shorts and pulled on one of my Texas A&M t-shirts. Though I hated it, running always cleared my head. I’d walk the four blocks down to the beach and let the Gulf air do its magic.

Gordon stared at me from beneath the nightstand, giving me a traitorous look. I reached down and scratched his head. I grabbed my phone off the charger. As usual, I had several missed texts and calls. Two were from my mother, one was from Detective Langley. He’d left a voicemail. I hit the playback button.

“Miss Ballard. I just wanted to check in with you to make sure you were all right. You were understandably shaken up last night. I do need you to do me a favor. I’m going to need you to stay in town for the next few days as we conduct our investigation. I promise I won’t involve you any more than necessary, but we might need a more detailed statement from you. Videotaped, preferably. Call me when you feel more settled and I can answer any questions you might have. Take care.”

My stomach flipped as he clicked off. My mother’s messages were her usual guilt trip about me coming back home. God. If she knew what was going on, there was a good chance she’d send my army of brothers out here to drag me back kicking and screaming.

I was just about to toss the phone onto the bed and leave it there when it vibrated in my hand. A number came up that I didn’t recognize. I almost didn’t answer, but curiosity got the better of me.

“Hello?”

There was a pause. A wrong number, maybe? My heart fluttered when he finally spoke.

“Maya.” Axle’s deep, gravelly voice heated my blood. My knees buckled and I sank to the bed.

“Good morning,” was all I managed to say.

“Is everything all right?” he asked.

How could he sense me falling apart from two simple words? I hesitated, searching for the right words to say.

“It’s been a long night. But I’m good.”

“I need to see you,” he said, his tone commanding.

Tears sprang instantly. Until this moment, I hadn’t realized how well a job I’d done holding it together. Now that I had Axle and his strong presence on the other end of the line, I wanted nothing more than to sink into his solid arms and forget about everything but the feel of his lips against my skin. That sensible part of me rang tiny warning bells inside my head.

Don’t do this. Don’t go to him when you’re this needy.

“I need to see you too.” I ignored the sensible part of me. God help us both.

“I’m on my way,” he said. “Meet me on the sidewalk outside your apartment building. I’ll be there in two minutes.”

It meant he was already on his way. He hung up the phone before I could even give him a definite answer. I laced my tennis shoes as quickly as I could and darted outside. I hadn’t even hit the parking lot pavement before I heard the familiar roar of Axle’s Harley.

He was waiting for me, sitting tall and strong in his seat, the sunlight reflecting off his aviator glasses. My heart lifted as I ran for him and climbed behind him, losing myself in the soft leather against my cheek as I wrapped my arms around him. He took my breath away as he revved the engine and sped away from the curb. In the warm glow of the Texas morning sun, Axle Hart felt like salvation.