Page 83 of Ache
Epilogue
TAGE
Eight months later
Iknow, I’m an asshole.
And this time, I totally care.
I thought I could do it. Give up the life. Be with Everly. Be normal. Somewhat. But as soon as the offer was presented, my intrinsic instincts kicked in. I didn’t give it a second thought. If I was really a changed man, I would have. I would have stayed.
But I’m a hunter by nature. The thrill of the chase gives me life. Maybe that’s why I pursued Ever. She was always a chase. Even when we were finally together. I was always battling Alec in some way or form. There was always a push and pull, a challenge. I’m not saying it’s right. I’m saying it just is. It’s who I am.
I found myself in the exact same situation as eight years ago. I needed to make a choice, and I went with my gut.
History repeated itself.
Everly means the world to me, no matter the circumstance. She always will. She was my first love. I was her first everything. No one can ever take that. Our memories. Our precious moments. But she deserves better. Someone, so much better than me.
Alec is that person. He’s that man. He can take care of her better than I ever could. He can hand her the world on a silver platter. He can also hand over his heart and his commitment. I’ve never been good at commitment, unless you count my commitment to duty. I’ve always been married to that.
It was my other first love.
It may be the only love I can ever hold on to.
The march winds whip in New York City, but the day is bright and clear.
I stand on the sidewalk in a baseball cap and denim jacket spying inside a storefront window. I haven’t been back to New York in eight months. I have scoured the world looking for Gunner, coming so close to catching him I could almost hear the click of the handcuffs. But he’s smart, and he has contacts coming out of his ass. I discovered he had his plan in motion for years. Coordinating the whole thing from the blind cover of his jail cell.
But I’m going to get him, even if it takes my entire life to do so. Like I said, I’m a hunter by nature, I live for the thrill of the chase, and I always get my man.
I watch covertly as the pretty redhead in the middle of the store smiles and laughs with a leggy blonde who’s sitting on a fancy couch outlined with gold leaf, sipping champagne.
She’s absolutely glowing, and it hurts my heart as much as it makes it fly high. That’s all I ever wanted for her. For her to smile just like that. Carefree. Untroubled. Lighthearted. Alec is doing a good job of making her happy.
Ever is dressed in a long, beautiful wedding gown that hugs her waist, with ruffles and sparkles, and all sorts of things I can barely describe.
She’s stunning, though. Every inch of her. Especially her long red hair. She dyed it back, and for the first time in a long time I see the true Everly. The mysterious being I fell head over heels in love with the moment I saw her.
My heart beat still accelerates and my pulse still pounds the exact same way it did that night. The first night I noticed her, gazing longingly through her bedroom window. Trapped. Alone. Sad. For a short time, I was her savior. And that short time I will always cherish. A sixteen-year old-girl taught me so much about myself. About who I am and who I could possibly be. She made me stronger, and she didn’t even know it. I didn’t know it either until I had to walk away.
I hold the pink piece of paper in my hand, shielded by the wind in my pocket. I swiped it back the morning after Alec, Everly, and I consummated our relationship. I just couldn’t part with it. Maybe it was a prediction of what was to come. I didn’t think I would leave her then, but I walked away so easily when offered the opportunity. Now, like before, this note is the last tangible thing I have left of her.
I’ll never let go of it.
Ever.
The blonde stands up off the couch and takes Everly’s empty champagne glass. She walks away, leaving Ever alone in the center of the room. She gazes dreamily at herself in the mirror. The long veil making her look like a tried-and-true bride. The most beautiful bride I have ever seen.
Alec is a lucky man.
As if spooked by something, Everly pauses, then slowly peers over her shoulder.
Anxiety smashes a hole through my chest like a sledgehammer.
I should move, hide, get the hell out of dodge, but I don’t. I stand my ground. And as if she senses exactly where I am, she looks directly into my eyes.
A connection that could cross seas and scale mountains passes between us.
