Jared closed his eyes, exasperated. “Maybe not to Ryan, but for someone that can’t pass his psych eval and is still in physical therapy, he was accepted into the the Providence P.D. without a hitch. It wouldn’t be hard for someone to connect Ryan to you, and anyone who could pose a problem knows you are a direct connection to me, and Claire…and Graham. This is not an innocent oops, Nina. This is a potential threat.”

“Everything is a potential threat to you people,” I grumbled.

“You people? Since when are we not on the same side?” Jared said, taken aback. He shook his head, and then headed to the house without waiting.

I followed in silence, cursing myself. An hour before, we had set the date of our wedding. Now I was getting the cold shoulder.

Bex sat the top of the stairs, cleaning his fingernails with a large knife, nodding to us as we passed. He was less of the boy I knew, and more like his older sister. Even Lillian’s unparalleled goodness couldn’t prevent Bex from losing his innocence.

Jared rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll er…I’ll see you in the morning. I’ve got some things to do.”

“You’re going to find Claire?”

“We need to talk.”

“Okay,” I nodded, wrapping my arms around him. He shifted, uncomfortable in my arms. “I didn’t mean it. I suppose I’m just surprised at your reaction. He’s not in love with me, anymore. I thought you’d be relieved.”

I gripped his t-shirt in my fists, bracing for him to pull away. Instead, he paused in thought, considering my words. “That means Ryan being Claire’s Taleh means something else, and we don’t know what that is.”

I sighed, irritated at his negativity. “Maybe it just means that they are supposed to be together. Like us.”

Several emotions scrolled across Jared’s face, finally settling on a mixture of relief and delight. He tightened his arms around my back. “You think so?”

“What other explanation is there?”

A wide grin spread across Jared’s face. “It doesn’t matter. I like that one.”

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

The One

“No way.”

“Way.”

“A cop?” Beth said, her voice raised an octave.

“One of Providence’s finest,” I replied.

She took a sip of coffee, and then shook her head. “I don’t believe it. Chad hasn’t said a word.”

“Ryan hasn’t told anyone.”

“He told you.”

My eyebrows shot up. An explanation consisting of Claire, explosions, and the ice blue eyes in Ryan’s memory would take the conversation to an unfavorable end, so I kept it simple.“Touché.”

The bell above the coffee ship door chimed, and we both looked up, waiting for Kim.

“Where is she?” Beth asked, disappointed.