Circle of Fire (Damask Circle 1)

She glanced down at the ring on her finger. For the first time, she noticed the design in its bezel: a hawk, etched over the shape of a heart. She twisted it around her finger gently and wondered why he hadn’t even come back for the ring. He obviously valued it.

“Ready to go?”

The nurse’s question jerked Maddie from her thoughts. She nodded a second time and hastily got off the bed, grabbing her bag and climbing into the wheelchair. The nurse wheeled her out of the room. Mack was waiting in the hall.

“Your truck is waiting out front, but I can arrange a driver if you don’t feel up to driving,” he said, falling into step beside the chair.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine.” She held out her hand and he shook it gravely. “Thanks for everything.”

He smiled. “The police will be in contact if we need any further information.”

She nodded. He’d already told her the case was basically closed. Eleanor’s death had ensured that. “You heading for home now?”

“I have two weeks’ vacation coming. Might stay here a while and enjoy some surf fishing.”

Maddie smiled. “I wish you luck.”

He nodded and waved good-bye, heading off down another corridor. The front doors slid open and the nurse wheeled her into the bright sunshine.

“Here you go,” she said, stopping the wheelchair. “You take care of yourself now.”

“I will. Thanks.” Maddie climbed out of the chair and hefted her bag into a comfortable position on her shoulder. Lifting her face, she enjoyed the caress of warmth against her skin for several seconds. After all the rain and gloom of the past few days, it was a pleasant change. And at leas

t it meant the roads would be dry. She wouldn’t have to worry so much about her brakes on the trip home.

She turned, wondering where her truck had been parked. Mack had said out front, but he obviously hadn’t meant directly out front, because it wasn’t here. But it took only a second to find it, parked five spaces down. And Jon was leaning casually against it.

Her heart leaped in sudden hope—and almost as quickly died. His face and his stance told her he hadn’t changed his mind. He still didn’t want her in his life.

She swallowed, trying to ease the sudden dryness in her throat. Then she swung the pack onto her other shoulder and walked toward him.

“I’m glad to see you,” she said, stopping several feet away—far enough to stop herself from reaching out to him, yet close enough to lose herself in the warmth of his eyes.

“I promised I wouldn’t leave without saying good-bye.”

She nodded. She wasn’t the only one who was keeping her distance. He stood with his arms folded across his chest, effectively keeping her at arm’s length.

Her gaze ran down the scar that stretched from the bottom of his eye to his chin. It was little more than a pale line and certainly didn’t mar the beauty of his features. “How are your other wounds?”

He shrugged. “I heal fast. All that’s left is the odd scar.”

“And your shapeshifting?”

His sudden smile held a warmth that made her heart ache. “My essence is a hawk. It’s not magic, but what I am. Eleanor could never take that away from me.”

She nodded and shifted her feet slightly. It was hard to keep her distance, hard not to reach out and touch him just one more time. Lord, they were acting like casual acquaintances, not two people who had battled against an ancient evil and won. And they certainly weren’t acting like two people who had shared their hearts and their souls in one brief night of love.

But maybe that was for the best. He didn’t want her in his life—he didn’t want anyone he cared about placed in danger. Even if she didn’t like his decision, she understood it. She’d made the same resolution after Brian’s death, and it had taken her six long years to see her mistake. Retreating had gained her nothing but loneliness, and it wasn’t until she’d met Jon that she had truly understood that. It was all in his court now. Any decision to change had to come from him, from his heart, and not from anything she said or did. She glanced down at her feet for a moment, blinking away the sudden sting of tears. She would not cry. This wasn’t a good-bye—just a temporary break. And whether it took ten hours or ten years, she would wait for him to come back to her.

And he would come back. He might be able to defy his heart, but he couldn’t defy destiny. They were meant to be together. Her dreams had told her that much.

She dropped the pack from her shoulder, pulled the ring off her finger, and held it out to him. “This belongs to you.”

His gaze didn’t waver from hers. “Keep it,” he said softly. “I have no further use for it.”

She could see the turmoil in the depths of his blue eyes. It bolstered her hope that he would come back. She wrapped her fingers around the ring, holding it tight. “Then I guess this is good-bye.”

He nodded. “I had your brakes fixed, by the way. I didn’t want you driving off a cliff on the way home.”