Summer Sparrow (Jackals and Vipers Duet #2)

by Emmerson Hoyt

“I’m glad that worked for you, but I can’t exactly see a therapist about this. Not when that would mean disclosing that I killed Logan and Sheriff Knott.” “I didn’t say the therapist worked for me.” “Then what was it?” He turns his neck and runs two fingers down the length of the tiger tattoo. “You. The only time I’ve ever slept peacefully was when I was lying next to you.”

“I can’t be the reason you get hurt. I won’t be.” “But you did hurt me. Nothing has ever, or will ever, hurt me the way you have.” My

“I’m so sorry I hurt you. You are the best thing that ever happened to me,” he confesses. “I’m still so in love with you that sometimes I think my bones will break beneath the weight of it.”

“I’ll love you until the day I die, Rylee Adder. But I’ll let you go, if that’s what you need.”

“Make an incision on your palm. It doesn’t have to be deep,” he whispers, inclining his head in the direction of the pocketknife he slipped me. “You do realize this is pretty cultish, right?” I hiss through clenched teeth. Danny rolls his eyes. “Just do it already so we can go eat.”

Possessive rage coils in my gut as Colton covers my nephew’s ears, maneuvering JJ away from me—like I’m the threat here. The audacity of this motherfucker.

“The car’s mine.” Colton examines the matte black paint of the Chevy, this time with significantly less appreciation. “No. It can’t be… What did you do to her?”

I smashed her to pieces like you did my heart and got rid of anything you ever touched. “She needed some work after an incident.”

“First off, this isn’t fighting, Tiger. If anything, it’s foreplay. Trust me, you’ll know when we’re fighting. Second, the only thing I have to get off my chest is how much I’ve fucking missed you.”

But unlike your grievances, mine are easy fixes.” His proximity is making it difficult to breathe, but I don’t miss the longing look he gives the Chevy out of the corner of his eye. “The car is mine, Colton. I’m not giving it back.” “Keep the car. What I’m pissed about is the missing ass-shaped dent in the middle of that hood. Let me know when you’re ready to put it back.”

“I don’t owe you an explanation, Viper, but if there was any way to prevent or take back the pain I’ve caused Rylee and still keep her safe, I’d have done it. I’d walk through fire for that woman. Hell, you’ve seen me walk through the middle of a firefight just to get to her. She may never take me back, but for me there is no one else. There never will be. My life is hers, and I will protect her from anyone, including you.”

“Rylee, I mean it. The last thing I want to do is make life harder for you,” he continues. “I’m going to work on proving that to you, but I have to know one thing: if I was staying for good, could you give me another chance?” My traitorous heart screams in elation at the idea, but I smother her with logic. “It was one summer, Colton. Why do we keep torturing ourselves like this?” He sucks in a breath through his teeth, but when he speaks, his voice is even and subdued. “It was more than that, and you know it.”

“I’m going to make you remember,” Colton whispers from the other side. My chest shudders because that’s the problem… I never forgot.

“It’s hard for me to look at things for what they could be.” “What about when you think of the future? Do you see anything at all?” I look up from the ground back to her. Only you. I shake my head. “No, not really.”

“Colton?” “Yeah?” My heart is about to burst through my rib cage; my dick through my jeans. Ask me to stay, Tiger. If you don’t want me to touch you, I won’t. If you want me to fuck the nightmares away, I can do that, too. Please, just ask me to stay…

“You guys are like magnets. Half of the time, you’re repelling one another so violently I feel like I should run for cover. The other half, I’m terrified I’ll be crushed between the force of your attraction.”

“Colton is like your sparrow back in Boston. He brought joy to my life and made me smile for a summer, but I woke up one day and he was gone. That was it. That’s the end of our story.” Mac steps forward, chuckling as he takes my face between his hands. “That is literally the stupidest analogy I’ve ever heard. Do you want to know why?” I shake my head. “Not particularly. I was just trying to explain it to you in a way you’d understand.” Mac smooshes my cheeks together. “Too bad, I’m going to tell you anyway. First off, you can’t blame a bird for migrating any more than you can blame a wolf for doing whatever it takes to protect a member of the pack. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you knew exactly what you were getting with Colt. Now you won’t forgive him for doing what’s in his nature? You have to see how flawed that is. Second, it’s a stupid comparison because my summer sparrow always came back. Yours did too.”

“You’re right. I am an asshole, but do you want to know what I’m not? I’m not your goddamn fuck buddy. No strings, no emotion, no commitment? Are you fucking kidding me? You are mine. I get all of you, whatever that looks like. Messy. Whole. Perfect. Broken. I don’t give a fuck. I want it all, and I’ll settle for nothing less.”

“I was wondering where you two ran off to. Are you guys finally back together?” “No,” I say indignantly, while at the same time Colton replies, “Sure are.” I rip my hand from his. “We are not back together.” Colton shrugs. “Tiger, you tell yourself that for as long as you want to. Hell, I’ll have it engraved on our joint tombstone if you need me to, but there is never going to be anyone else for me. I tried being your friend and I was shit at it. We’re back together.”

“For some reason, Jack specifically wanted to know what the rose meant, and when I didn’t have an answer”—I laugh at the memory of his stern lecture—“he looked at me and very seriously recommended I save some prominent spots for the things that would end up being important to me. So that’s what I did.” A single tear rolls down her cheek, and I wipe it away while trying to fight back the emotion creeping into my voice. “I might have lost you, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t the best fucking thing to ever happen to me. It doesn’t mean you’re not still the most important part of my life.”

“Promise me you’ll never go somewhere I can’t follow again.”

I need to know you can forgive me. God knows I don’t deserve it, but I have to know it’s possible. Otherwise, I—” “Colton.” I stare up into the depths of his soul. “I’ve already forgiven you.” “Thank fuck, because this is it for me. You are it for me.” A deep hum emanates from his chest that vibrates low in my stomach. “Nothing ever comes between us again.” “Never,” I agree. “I mean it, Tiger. Absolutely nothing.”

“I want you to watch how well you take me. So fucking tight. All fucking mine.”

“The moment we met,” he says, “my entire reason for existing flipped on its axis.” He kisses one shoulder, and then the other. “You are so brave and fierce, Tiger. I could live a thousand lives and never deserve you.”

“Be honest. There’s no hair appointment, is there? You drove me out into the middle of nowhere to murder me, didn’t you?” He chuckles. “Why do you always think I’m taking you somewhere to kill you?” I still can’t see, but I can feel him shaking his head, pretending like he’s not amused.