Page 27 of Broken Halo
If love makes you stupid and cuts this deep, I want no part of this shit. It fucking hurts in a way I know for a fact these wounds will bleed for an eternity.
* * *
I’ve compartmentalized every memory that has to do with Ellie Montgomery. It took years, but I did it. Every touch, stolen glance, and twist of my heart—I’ve rolled it into one collection and separated it from everything else.
Life with Ellie.
Life without Ellie.
I split my existence in two and it worked … eventually. I did it on my own, with the span of the entire US-of-fucking-A between us, and some days, even that wasn’t enough. My time with her might’ve comprised a small piece of my miserable time on this earth, but it far outweighed the rest of my existence. By a landslide.
From the day I first laid eyes on her to the day we lost everything, and even when I found out she’d betrayed me, I’ve felt more than most people do in a lifetime.
Is this what it’s like? After working for years to bury a memory, only to have it dredged up again?
Fuck. It’s just as raw as it was then.
“Dammit, Ellie. Answer your phone. I have information on your in-laws and I need to talk to you about it. If you’ve hired another firm already, you can turn around and fire them. Call me back.”
I press the button on my steering wheel to disconnect the call and press go on a number I’ve never called before.
His voice clips through my car after the second ring. “Pettit.”
“This is Trig Barrett. You’re renting office space from Ellie?”
I swear I hear him sit back and relax, his voice a mix of curiosity and amusement. “Trig Barrett. It’s been a while. Can’t say I missed you since you’re counsel to my soon-to-be wife. It means she’s staying out of trouble.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t say the same for her sister.”
“I know. Did Jen give you the information I sent you on her dead husband’s parents?”
“Yes.” I pull through the gates to leave Ellie’s neighborhood since I just got done banging on her door for the second time in a matter of twenty-four hours. She’s either doing a bang-up job of ignoring me or she really is out looking for an attorney. “That’s why I need to talk to her. Jen mentioned you rented the upstairs of her new building? Is she there?”
“How am I supposed to know if she’s here?” he asks and I swear I hear a smile in his voice. “It’s not like I’ve got a tracker on her or anything. I can barely keep up with my fiancée.”
I don’t have time for this. “Look, she won’t answer my calls—”
“Jen told me. Can’t say I blame her,” he interrupts.
“Are you shitting me?” I bite and turn toward the interstate. Looking for Ellie Montgomery in the DFW metroplex isn’t going to be easy.
I hear boots echo on wood floors. “I am absolutely not shitting you. She’s going to be my sister-in-law as soon as I can make it happen, and from what I’ve seen, she’s hell on wheels. I do not need Ellie or Jen pissed at me.”
“Fuck me. I cannot believe we’re doing this. Look, Jen basically threatened to castrate me if I don’t fix Ellie’s shit and fast. Can you just check and see if she’s there?”
“She’s here,” he says.
I merge into traffic. “You’re sure?”
“Man, I’m looking out the window and her car is parked right next to my truck.”
“Don’t let her leave. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
He has the nerve to laugh. “I barely have control over one Montgomery on a good day. I won’t pretend to be able to make Ellie do anything she doesn’t want. I’d drive fast if I were you.”
I disconnect the call and hit my gas, not wanting to admit how right he is. As I race toward the woman I’ve done everything in my power to put out of my head for a decade, unanswered questions nag at me like a virus.
But first, priorities. Ellie and I need to discuss her in-laws—she’d better be ready to spill.
