Yet he didn’t seem to see a single one of them.

There was no interest in his eyes, no hunger, no lust. It confused me, because I’d seen those looks in my brother’s and cousins’ eyes when they saw a girl who interested them. But Ryan never responded. His body never reacted. And that made me irrationally happy.

But what scared me to death was how badly it was going to hurt when he finally did find someone he wanted to be with like that.

11

Ryan

My gut churned as everyone ate their breakfast. I’d been in Creswell Springs for a week, helping the MC and the sheriff get the extra security measures in place so that the schools would be safer—so that Nova would be safer since no one would permit me to put two of my own personal guards on her twenty-four seven.

But this was the last morning I could spend there before I flew back to New York. Things were piling up, and I had responsibilities that needed my attention. Which meant I had to get back, and I couldn’t take Nova with me. I didn’t like it, but I had to trust that her family would keep her safe until the end of the school year. Then she would be in New York with me, where she belonged, where I could watch over her myself.

Mom’s hand touched my back as she sat beside me at the Hannigans’ kitchen table, the look she gave me letting me know that she understood all the chaos that was storming around in my head. The truth was, she might guess how bad it was for me, but she didn’t fully understand the misery I was in. No one did, not even Nova.

And that was the way I wanted to keep it. It would freak her out if she knew that my every waking thought was about how to keep her safe. Now more than ever since Ramirez had sent two of his men to kill her. To make a statement to Pop and, more specifically, to me.

Ramirez was basically shouting at us that no one we loved and cared about was safe. What had once been a lucrative business arrangement between our families had grown sour over the past two years, but other than a few disagreements since our falling-out, no real trouble had followed the end of our partnership.

But the second he put Nova in his sights was the moment he’d put a price on his fucking head.

Nova yawned as she walked into the kitchen, her backpack already hanging off one shoulder. Dropping it on the floor by the door, she sat beside me and rested her head on my arm. “Can’t you stay just one more day?” she asked, her green eyes full of hope as she looked up at me through her dark-blond lashes.

“I would stay here until your summer vacation started if I could, but I have to get back.” I kissed the top of her head, like I’d always done, and heard her heavy sigh, knowing I’d disappointed her, but also knowing she understood why I had to go. But understanding didn’t make it easier for either of us to have to say goodbye.