I slid the Jack and Coke to the woman a few seats down and turned back to Crosby. “This sicko, Bell, myself, take your pick.” Apparently, it was an equal opportunity day for my anger. Yet I didn’t have a right to it, not where Bell was concerned, at least. I’d left her when she needed me most, and I knew a big part of her pushing me away was because she didn’t trust that I was going to stick around a second time. Didn’t trust that I would be there if she needed me now.

“You love her?”

Crosby threw out the question so casually, it took me a second to really take it in, but when I did, my muscles locked. “I’ve always loved her.”

Crosby arched a brow. “That’s a hell of a thing to realize.”

“Not like that.” My feelings for her had morphed over the years, sure, but the thing that was crazy was that they’d grown even while we were apart. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but those feelings had always been there, steadily chipping away at my resolve. She’d always been the thing that tempted me to return. Even through my fear that she blamed me for the accident, I’d get hit with a memory of the two of us, the reckless kind, the kind that lit a fire in me to call her, to see her. Those reckless memories would almost bring me to my knees. I couldn’t count the times I’d picked up my phone and hovered over her name in my contacts. Yet I’d always resisted.

“So…” Crosby let the word hang as he popped a French fry into his mouth. “What are you going to do about it?”

Wasn’t that the million-dollar question? “It’s a precarious situation.” Who was I kidding? Moving Bell and me in the direction I wanted would be like trying to defuse a bomb with dozens of tripwires. One wrong move and I’d take us all out.

“Slow and steady, my friend, slow and steady.”

It wasn’t a bad plan. I knew the one thing I couldn’t do was retreat. When Bell pushed me away, I needed to stand my ground. I had to show her with my actions that I was here to stay. Pretty words weren’t going to cut it.

“Any updates?” Hunter appeared behind him, Ethan in tow.

I shook my head. “Not really. Kenna and Caelyn are up with her now, helping her clean up the mess. She’ll be okay. But right now, she’s freaked.” I surveyed the men around me. “We all need to keep an eye out.” The more people on the lookout for something suspicious, the safer Bell would be.

“How bad was it?” Ethan asked.