Chapter 5

His phone rang again.

Ava.

Caleb looked at the screen, then at me.

I waited.

My heart beat hard enough to hurt, but I kept my hands at my sides. Some foolish part of me still believed he might silence the call. That he might set down his jacket, place the rings back in my hand, and finally understand what I was asking him to protect.

He answered.

“Ava?”

The single word settled between us like a verdict.

I heard only pieces of her voice beneath the storm. The power was out. Something near the temporary window had come loose.…