I left Becca’s house feeling triumphant. We had a letter from her explaining what had really happened and stating that she would sue the Register if they went forward with Rob’s version of the story. We also had a copy of her restraining order that proved that Tim, by bringing Rob to Austin, had violated that same order and put Becca at risk from a potentially dangerous and obsessed stalker. I was eager to get back to the hotel and send my editor a copy of these statements and a copy of the article I had written, to replace what I hoped would be a shelved piece on Nathan Ryder. The rest of the world could write thousands of words on him, but my professional relationship was officially severed.

I couldn’t wait to tell him.

But when I got back to my hotel after Mandy had dropped me off, I found that I didn’t have to wait. He was sitting outside my hotel room. And he looked furious.

“Nathan—” I approached him cautiously, my heart sinking in my chest.

“You went to see Becca?” he demanded, his face stormy. “Don’t deny it, she called me and said a journalist and photographer had been there to see her. When she described you, I realized what an idiot I had been.”

“Nathan, let’s go inside.” I didn’t want to have this conversation in the hallway, but he ignored me, his expression twisted with anger.

“I thought we had gone beyond all that.” His voice began to grow louder. “I thought that I could trust you.”

“You can trust me,” I insisted, pulling at his sleeve. “Just come inside and let me explain.”

He yanked his arm away. “This whole time you’ve been lying to me.”

“No!”

“Last night.” He could barely speak. “Last night meant something to me. Was it just part of the job for you? Get the dirt on Ryder, a bonus if he’ll fuck you?”

I flinched as if I had been slapped.

“As if you haven’t been doing the same to me,” I snarled at him. “Doing everything in your power to keep me from doing my job.”

“Well, it looks like you’ve done it. Gotten the on-the-record interview you wanted,” he shouted. “So why don’t you take the crap you dug up and go back to Houston where everyone will applaud you for what you’ve done? Maybe they’ll even give you a promotion.”

“Fuck you.” Tears crowded my throat, but I would not let him see me cry.

For a moment his eyes filled with the same tenderness I had seen the night before, when we had been tangled together in bed, his kisses soft and sweet. When things had been perfect.

“Sophie, I—”

But I didn’t wait for the rest of it as I scrambled for my door. I slammed it behind me and waited until I could hear him walk away, counted to ten and then burst into tears.

* * *

As it turned out, sending the article about the shelter and the information about Tim’s piece wasn’t nearly as satisfying when your heart was totally broken. I managed to dig myself out of my fog long enough to drink a celebratory toast of mini-bar whiskey when I heard that Tim had been fired. And not just for trying to publish an article with no substantiated facts, but also for not caring about them, as he had admitted in his rant towards me, the same one I had recorded and transcribed, both included in my email to Mike.

But the victory felt hollow, especially when tomorrow came. It was finally time to leave Austin and head home. Mandy and Chris both came to give me a send-off. None of us said a word about Nathan, who I hadn’t heard from since our fight in the hall.

“I’ll send you the photos next week,” Mandy told me, giving me a hug. Mike had been thrilled with her initial photographs, but wanted to see the versions with the players before he signed off on the new article. “We’ll miss you,” she whispered.

Chris didn’t say much more, just gave me a hug as well.

I shoved my brand new suitcase—another unpleasant reminder of the mess I was leaving behind—into my beat-up car and got in. I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to go back to my soon-to-be empty apartment and a job that I wasn’t even sure I was excited for anymore. But I didn’t have anything to stay for.

Mandy leaned in my car window and gave me another hug.

“It will be OK,” she told me. “And I’ll see you soon.”

I had cried too much in the past few days, I wasn’t going to cry now. So I pasted a big fake smile on my face and waved out the car window at Chris and Mandy until I could no longer see them in my rearview mirror. Then I aimed my car towards Houston and got the hell out of Austin.