What if he’d Changed under Jess’s control and started burning everything?
Just the thought of what could’ve happened would haunt him.
Busted headlights feels like a tantrum he would throw.
Tawk was leaving, truly he was, but he had unfinished business to take care of before he blew out of this little town.
Aaron had to go. Tawk had to leave Tammy as safe as he possibly could, and some headlight-busting-no-hint-taking-Tammy-obsessed-asshole didn’t feel safe.
She’d already watched him nearly kill someone with his bare hands tonight. He wasn’t going to hold onto guilty feelings about what he was about to do.
She saw him as the monster already. Oh, he’d seen it written all over her face.
So…he would be the monster, but with good reason. No one was allowed to touch anything of Tammy’s. No one was allowed to cause her damage or scare her. Not even him.
Tawk eased out onto the main road out of the neighborhood and aimed his truck for the small downtown. Aaron would be in a hotel nearby, and there were only a few local ones in existence.
Hunting a threat would take the edge off.
Hunting a threat would make it a little bit easier to rip himself away from here.
Hunting a threat would make Tawk feel like he was doing something to protect her, and dammit he and his dragon needed to protect her.
A text lit up his phone screen and he looked at it with hope, wishing it was Tammy asking him to come back and talk.
It was Jess instead.I had to.
He huffed a hateful laugh and flipped his phone over so he couldn’t read her bullshit.
Everyone had a choice.
Chapter Twelve
“That’s you,” the girl behind her said, nudging her arm.
“What?” Tammy asked, pulling from her memory of Tawk’s agonized curse last night as he’d left.
“Tammy Ray Lynch,” the announcer called out in a firm tone. She must’ve already called her once.
“Oh, shoot,” she murmured as she made her way quickly to the stage. She climbed the stairs carefully in her heels and then shook the hand, and grabbed the diploma, and this was the moment, right? It was the moment she’d worked so hard for.
Up in the bleachers, the Cold Foot Crew was cheering their brains out, and Tammy gave them a little wave and a smile before she shook the other head professors’ hands and made her way down the other side of the stage.
She’d seen her parents before the ceremony, and they were all excited and happy, and the Cold Foot Crew was here to support her, even Jess after whatever that weirdness was last night.
Her cheering section was the loudest of anyone she’d seen walk the stage.
But…
Tawk wasn’t here.
She kept getting angry with herself for caring so deeply. She’d just met him. She was being ridiculous.
The rest of the ceremony dragged by. She was early in the alphabet and had to wait for a while before she could toss her cap in the air and make her way toward the bleachers.
Harley reached her first and picked her up in a bear hug. “You did it!”
Tammy forced a smile and hugged her tight around her neck, and then moved to Timber, Sasha, and Katrina. The guys were next, and then between Cash and King, she could see her parents making their way to her.
