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Driving the coeous as I passed two police cruisers exceeding the speed limit by at least fifteen miles per hour When I finally reached the station, I ran in long enough to drop Tyler’s keys on his desk and to grabback on the road for Colorado Springs The plume of smoke from the warehouse loomed in my rearview mirror as I left Estes Park I dialed Tyler’s nu four times before the voiceI’d had while watching ht fires separately before, but this felt different That feeling had made me jump in the truck with Tyler before, and the farther away I drove, theit felt

I concentrated on Falyn and the kids The thought of Hollis and Hadley’s excited reaction was an easy distraction The coether and ht Falyn left in the forefront of one The babysitter had backed out, and if Ellie hadn’t called Falyn last ht was a stroke of good luck ended up being the worst night of one on a date; it had been even longer since I’d seen Falyn interact with any other men besides my shift partners My jealousy had never really been under control, so when a youngerand s her hoht process Falyn tried to talk sorier By the tirabbed her ass, I was already beyond reason I attacked I beat the hell out of him He went to the ER, and I went to jail

The uys tried to bail me out several times without success Falyn wouldn’t answer otten horipped the steering wheel It whined under the pressure ofdespair I felt co home to an empty house were still fresh The panic I felt after our first phone call, upon recognizing I couldn’t beg, de ho your heart out in the open for someone else to protect or traiveness, and I still didn’t know if she illing

My phone rang, and I pressed the button onwheel The display already told uard, worried she would tell ed her mind "Falyn?"

"Dad?" Hadley said

"Hi, pumpkin! Hoas the last day of school?"

"It sucked"

"Again?"

"I got in trouble" She sounded disappointed in herself, and I i over her chubby cheeks She would startto sprout up three or four inches at any moment She was already taller than Hollis was, but he would overtake her in high school I wasn’t happy that she was growing up so fast, but at least she would be back in Estes with her friends

She sniffed "Hollis got into a fight today"

"Don’t worry, Hadley It’s going to get better I pro to make sure of that"

"How?"

"You’ll see Put Mom on the phone"

"Hello?" Falyn said I was sure the conversation with the school about both kids hadn’t been easy

"I’ll be there in less than an hour," I said