“And?”

“She won’t survive another setback.” I swallowed the threatening emotion in an attempt to let the anger resonate.

“Taylor?”

“I’m here,” I said hoarsely. “Joseph?”

“He’s fine. He’s actually with Nina and her brother tonight. I had a job.”

“That’s okay, that’s good.” I stomped down the guilt at abandoning him. But he was safer without me.

Cedric kept me in the present. “You want to tell me what your plans are?”

“Nope.”

“Taylor, I can be on a plane in a few hours. Don’t do this alone.”

In a blatant attempt to change the subject, I gave Cedric some truth. “I regret not leaving Dyer with you.”

He paused, and it made the distance seem more endless between us. “But you wouldn’t have loved me. You would have resented me eventually.”

I gripped my phone and sank into the stiff seat. “You’re probably right.”

“You’re an impossible woman, Taylor. But I think that’s what I love about you. You can’t be tamed.”

“I can’t lose you too, Cedric. I can’t.”

“You won’t.”

“If the past has taught us anything at this point, we know there are no guarantees. You can’t make me that promise.”

More silence.

I sighed. “How the fuck did it get to this point?” Cedric stayed mute as I rambled through my thoughts. “Why would he go through all the trouble with Laz if he was just going to let me die?”

“I hate the motherfucker, but I don’t think he had anything to do with it.”

“Even so, he’s been watching me since we started. If he didn’t do it, he knew it was going to happen, and he let it happen.” I didn’t bother filling him in on the fact that he’d warned me if I got in the way he’d do it himself. It only made me more of a monumental fool.

“Ask him, and don’t be polite about it.”

“I don’t intend to. I’m such an idiot. I’ve destroyed everything I worked for. And for what?”

“Would you give yourself a break? You had started this before Amber came back, before you knew about Joseph. And before you knew the extent of who he was.”

“I still don’t know who he is, but I should have ended it.”

“And he wouldn’t have made it in time to get you away from Laz.”

“Laz wasn’t going to kill me.”

“Are you sure?”

I let out an ironic chuckle. “Do you see the pattern here?”

“This isn’t funny.”

I grinned. “It is a little.”

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