Chapter 16 Jason #2
Buff looks up first. “You look like you won the lottery and got hit by a truck at the same time.”
Froggy snorts. “Yeah. That’s what guilt looks like.”
I stiffen. “I didn’t—”
“You did,” Froggy says flatly. “And we’re screwed.”
My stomach drops. “What?”
Froggy snatches a thick manila envelope and hurls it at me like it’s a live grenade. I catch it on instinct.
It’s heavy. Legal-paper heavy.
“Congratulations,” he says, bitterness dripping from every syllable. “You fell in love with someone who’s loaded.”
I’m stunned. “I’m not—”
But the lie dies on my tongue as something cold and merciless unfurls in my chest. Awareness. Certainty. The truth I’ve been outrunning until this exact moment. My heart sinks like a stone. I am falling in love with her.
I flip the envelope over but refuse to open it and invade her privacy.
What does Froggy mean? My heart kicks hard against my ribs, a hot, sick surge of panic rising up my throat. He has to be mistaken. She lives simply.
A pulse of something fierce and choking lodges under my sternum.
My voice scrapes out rough. “Where did you get this?”
“Under her tablet,” Froggy says, not even pretending to look ashamed. “You know, the one she uses because she can’t fucking see? Yeah, I looked under it. Don’t worry, she didn’t notice. Apparently, she got a fat fucking settlement for her accident. I’m talking mega bucks.”
My fists curl so tight the paper crinkles, my nails biting crescent moons into my palms. “You went through her things.”
“Of course I fucking did. I wanted to see who you were losing your balls over.”
“Say that again,” I breathe, far too quietly. Because if he does… I don’t trust myself not to shift.
“We need this,” Froggy snaps. “This is our shot. Our way out. Fake IDs, new passports, clean names, a safe country. A life without running. And all we need is—”
“No.”
My voice comes out low, cold, final.
“You don’t even know what I was going to say—”
“You were going to say we need to use her,” I growl. “Rob her. Scam her. Hurt her.”
Buff lifts a tentative hand. “What if we just ask her? She’s very nice.”
Neither of us look at him.
Froggy explodes. “We don’t ask humans for help! We take opportunities before someone else kills us! Have you forgotten the bounty? The hunters? The fucking Eustace twins?”
“I’m not touching her money,” I snarl.
Froggy steps forward, eyes burning with fury and fear. “You’re betraying us. Us. For her. For a blind human woman.”
“She’s not—”
The words choke out, splintering in my throat. Because none of the endings I could give that sentence are safe. Or true. Or small enough to fit in my mouth without breaking something open.
“She’s not what?” Froggy snaps, stepping closer. “She’s not a mark? Or she’s not just a human to you?”
The air goes razor-thin. Buff stops breathing.
Froggy’s heartbeat spikes. Mine stutters, then slams because there it is, the truth I’ve been running from, circling, burying under instinct and duty and every reason we should’ve stayed away from her.
She’s not a mark. She’s not just a human.
She’s not disposable. She’s not part of the job.
She’s Violet.
And that realization slices through me with terrifying clarity, leaving me exposed.
“Holy shit,” Froggy whispers. “You are in love with her.”
My jaw clenches hard enough to crack.
Buff murmurs, soft and certain, “He is.”
“No.” My voice rings hollow. “I… no.”
“You are,” Froggy says, and this time there’s no spite. Only terror. “And you’re going to get us killed.”
“I won’t hurt her,” I grit out.
“And I won’t die for her,” Froggy snarls.
He storms off, and halfway through the first stride, his body explodes into motion. White fur tears through skin, bones reshaping with a crack that echoes through the trees, and then he’s gone, bolting into the forest in a flash of rage and panic.
A furious howl rips from him, raw enough to shake the branches.
Buff watches the white blur disappear into the trees, then gives a long, weary exhale. This isn’t the first time he’s watched Froggy self-destruct.
“He’ll cool off,” he says quietly.
I don’t answer.
My knees give out, and I drop onto a fallen log, elbows braced on them. Violet’s scent clings to me, embedded in my lungs, ghosting across my mouth. It’s everywhere. And fuck me, I don’t want it gone.
“I can’t betray her,” I say quietly.
Buff sits beside me, resting his arms on his knees. “I know.”
“He thinks I’m choosing her.”
He tilts his head. “Are you?”
I stare at the dark line of trees hiding her house. My chest aches like something inside me is cracking open.
“I don’t know anymore,” I whisper. And that’s the truth. The terrible, impossible truth. Because choosing her means betraying my brothers. And choosing them means breaking her. And choosing neither… means losing everything.
“I don’t know,” I repeat, voice breaking. “But whatever I choose, someone gets hurt.”
Buff nudges me gently with his shoulder. “Maybe you don’t have to choose.”
“Don’t I?” My voice is raw. “Froggy’s right. We’re running out of time. Hunters are getting closer. Borders are tightening. We need clean identities, real resources, and a safe place. And she doesn’t deserve to be dragged into this.”
Buff shrugs. “Then don’t drag her. Stay with her anyway.”
I stare at him.
He gives me a small, sad smile. “You’re already gone for her. Froggy sees it. I see it. Pretty sure the fucking trees see it.”
I drag my hands down my face. “I care about her, Buff. I… if I stay, I could ruin her life.”
The fire pops, sending sparks spiraling upward.
For once in my life, I have no plan. No instinct. No clarity.
All I have is the lingering taste of her kiss, the echo of her laugh, the ghost of her touch. And the terrifying truth curling like a fist around my heart. I’ve survived hunters, exile, frostbite, starvation, betrayal, and war.
But I don’t know if I can survive losing her.