Kissing Avery was one of the best feelings I’ve had in a long fucking time. Watching her run away though, that was pretty goddamn rough.

I don’t know what’s going on with her. I know how I feel, and I feel like I need her. She’s my best friend, the mother of my child, and although I haven’t spoken to her in five years, I still feel like she’s the only person that really knows me. Maybe she only knows the guy I used to be, and not the man that I’ve become, but still. That’s closer than anyone else in this world.

I can’t imagine she actually wants to have something with me. I know I’m innocent of my crimes, but her family hates me. They’re probably the reason she didn’t talk to me. I can understand that, she had to do what was best for herself and for Max. I’m glad she played by their rules actually, because it meant that my son was raised in a comfortable household and given everything he needs.

I would hate it if she risked that just for my sake. Max is more important than me, more important than her, and I’m happy she chose to sacrifice having anything with me in order to protect him.

At least that’s what I’ve been assuming. But what if she just didn’t want to talk to a criminal, even an innocent one?

The thought keeps nagging me as I drive across town, heading about forty minutes away. I keep seeing the look on Avery’s face as she pulled away from my kiss and left my apartment: pure shame and confusion.

But despite that, every other time we’ve been near each other or spoken, I still feel it from her. I see the way she looks at me, her smiles, the way she leans toward me when I’m speaking. She looks at me the same way she used to, all those years ago, and I can’t help but think she still wants me.

Too many layers, too many years, too much confusion. It’s distracting me from what I really need to be doing, which is finding the person responsible for the death of Lucinda Chavez. And by extension, I’ll find out who fucking framed me.

I pull up a short gravel driveway and park outside of a small ranch home. It’s surrounded by woods, and really it’s in the middle of nowhere. It took me a while to even find it, backtracking and going in circles, but I’m finally here. It has to be the right place.

I climb out of the truck and walk up to the door. There’s no number or anything, so I just knock and hope for the best.

After a minute, a man answers. He peers out at me through the screen, a small frown on his face. He’s older, probably mid-sixties, but still in good shape. He’s grizzled, smells like smoke, has piercing, intense eyes, and the bearing of an ex-cop. I notice it right away.

“Yeah?” he asks.

“Sir, are you Jason Slick?”

He sighs. “Come in.”

I’m surprised when he pushes open the screen door. I follow him through his house toward the kitchen. His place is small and the smell of smoke increases as I head inside. The carpet is thick, brown, and stained in places. There are some pictures on the walls, but mostly the place is empty, except for a television, a couch, and a computer in the corner.

We go into the kitchen and he nods at the table. “Take a seat.”

I slowly sit down, not sure what to expect. “Sir, my name is Luke—“

“I know who you are,” he cuts me off abruptly. He takes a cigarette out of a pack and lights it up on the gas stove. When he’s done, he crosses his arms and watches me for a second. “I was expecting you,” he says finally.

“Ah, you were?” I ask him, totally thrown off.

He nods. “You’re looking into your case. I figured it was only a matter of time.”

“Why?”

“What man in your position wouldn’t?” He shrugs, takes a drag. “I don’t know how much I can help you though, kid.”

“As far as I know, you’re the only honest person working my case,” I say, learning toward him. “You’re the only person that knows anything at all.”

“Could be.” He just watches me with that gaze. I can tell he’s done this before, or something like it. I realize suddenly how incredibly outmatched I am.

“I have some questions for you, if you’d be willing to help. And I think I can help you, too.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Help me?”

I nod. “I learned something about the case.”

“I’m not working it anymore, kid.”

I hesitate. “It’s not solved yet.”

“I was hired to prove your innocence, not find out who actually did it.” He takes a deep drag again. “I did my job, and now I’m done.”

“Who hired you?” I ask him directly.

He shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m done with this, kid. I only invited you in out of courtesy.”

“Toward whom?”

“Toward you.” He watches me carefully. “I was a detective once. I ran into some hard times, did some things I’m not proud of, and had to leave the force. So I feel for men like you, men that get caught up in the system, chewed up and spit out.”

I feel like he’s told this story a thousand times, too. “So then you should want to help me.”

“Only to a point.”

“How did you find that hard drive?”

“Got a tip.”

“From whom?”

“Can’t say.”

“Why not?”

He sighs. “Look kid, I can’t help you, okay?”

“What do you know about Dominic? He’s a security guy for the Walker family, right?”

He looks surprised at that, but he quickly gets himself under control. But that slip tells me a lot, and I suddenly have hope that I’m on the right track.

“I think you should get going,” he says, standing up straight and stubbing his cigarette out on the countertop.

I slowly stand up. “You can help me. I know you know something. The Walker family’s involved here somehow.”

He starts walking toward me, and I head back out through the living room. I pass through the front door and he pauses there, looking at me as I walk down the front porch steps.

“Be careful,” he says suddenly. “I don’t know if the Walkers are involved for sure. But they’re the kind of family with the resources and the connections to make your life very, very difficult.”

“Thanks,” I say. “And if you change your mind, come find me. I’m not gonna stop.”

I get a smile out of him. “All right, kid. Good luck.” He shuts the door and disappears back inside.

I walk slowly back to my truck, get in, and start the engine. I sit there for a minute, digesting what just happened.

I’m disappointed. I don’t know what I expected, but I hoped for more. He knows something, I’m sure about that, but I don’t know what. There was a moment of recognition when I said Dominic’s name, and that comment about the Walker family there at the end suggests he suspects them as well. Everything’s pointing toward them, but I don’t know why.

I know they dislike me. Mainly because I’m a Harper, and the Harpers are a bad family, but also because they’re close with Avery’s family. The Walkers hate me because the Sellers hate me, and I can’t help but think it’s all mixed up somehow.

He’s right, though. They do have the money and resources to make my life difficult.

Problem is, they may already have fucking done that. I’m not so sure I’m afraid of what else they can do.

I should stay away from Avery, mostly just because I know I shouldn’t risk my son’s position with them. He has a good thing, with her family. But that’s just not how I work. He’s my son, and I can’t just let him go.

That’s how people are. We do the wrong thing, the fucked up thing, because we can’t help it. Sometimes love and family and desire overrides logic and reason, and we’re stuck with it, all those emotions overwhelming everything else. I know I’m swept up, but I’m not stopping.

As I head back to town, I let my thoughts drift to Avery, and what I want from her. I picture how I’ll kiss her, slowly undress her, feel her body again, feel that skin I’ve missed so goddamn badly.

As I pull into the back roads I’m so familiar with, a big dark truck suddenly comes up behind me. I haven’t been paying attention to where I’ve been going, so I’m not sure how long it’s been there. But suddenly it’s filling my rearview mirror, and getting closer all the time.

“What the fuck?” I say softly. I slow down a bit, roll down my window, and wave my arm. “Go around if you want to be a fucking prick.”

I wave my arm a couple more times, and the truck’s engine suddenly revs. It moves like it’s about to pass me, but at the last second it turns and slams its front into my rear and my truck goes spinning out. The last thing I know, I hear glass crashing, and the front of my truck slams into a light pole.