the sheriff. I hear his hushed tone, and even though I can’t exactly make out what he’s saying, I imagine he’s relaying what he saw.
In what feels like no time at all, everyone is pulling up, parking near my car on the empty street. My heart stumbles in my chest when I see End. The muscle in his jaw jumps wildly, and his eyes light with a burning rage as he stalks toward me, his gait stiff. Despite all the anger I see written all over his face, I can clearly see the fear and the panic there, too. It crumbles the wall I’d just built around my emotions. I didn’t want to fall apart in front of an audience; I wanted to do that in the privacy of our home, but apparently, that isn’t going to happen. Dropping to his knees before me, he pulls me into his arms, and I grip onto him, a sob ripping from my chest.
“Shhh. I’m here,” he soothes, trying to keep his tone even. Despite that, I still hear it in his voice. The anger. The rage he’s barely restraining. He pulls back ever so slightly, gently taking my face in his hands. His expression turns murderous as his moss eyes sweep across my features. His nostrils flare, and he shoots an undecipherable look at Landon.
“What happened?” he demands. I glance over his shoulder, toward the officer that is heading our way.
“Where’s Luna?”
“She’s with my parents,” he says, putting me at ease before turning back to Landon. “Now tell me what the fuck happened before I lose my shit.”
“I heard a scream, so I followed the sound. Then I saw—” Landon pauses, his gaze darting to mine. I glance away, feeling entirely too vulnerable. As if sensing that, End tightens his hold around me, and I seek his warmth, falling into him. “He had her pinned to the ground. I didn’t see what happened before. He got spooked when he heard me coming and ran off.”
End stiffens. I feel him crane his neck to look down at me. I keep my gaze planted on the ground. His touch on my chin is gentle as he lifts my face to look at him. His gaze rakes over my battered cheek. It lingers on the cut that’s just above my cheekbone. He presses his lips together in a grim line, shifting his gaze to get a better view of the flesh there that is scraped.
A hot tear rolls down my cheek, and with the gentlest of touches, Endymion catches the salty moisture with his thumb. It almost has me breaking into another round of sobs.
“Everyone all right?” Sheriff Wentworth asks, pausing in front of us. He has Deacon, Landon’s father, who is another officer here in Dunsmuir, with him. When I glance up at both men, sympathy passes over their features when they take in the tear tracks and the rest of my distressed state. End takes my hand and squeezes, as if knowing I need all the extra support I can get.
I lick my dry, cracked lips before I retell the events of what happened. I start with the confrontation at Rita’s to what happened in front of the building. Sheriff Wentworth sighs. The sound is full of fatigue and disappointment, which makes sense. Thomas is his son, after all. Though he’s now more of the black sheep of the family. He finishes taking down my statement, a contrite expression on his face.
“I’m sorry about this, Selene. Thomas has done a lot of dumb stuff, but this one…” He shakes his head, glancing away for a few seconds, deep in thought. My stomach cramps at the sound of his name. I’ll never be able to hear his name again, let alone look at him, without thinking about what happened tonight. “This time, he won’t be able to run from this. I won’t let him.”
“Thank you, Sheriff Wentworth and Officer Scott. We appreciate you guys coming out here,” End says. He takes charge of the conversation, sensing I don’t have it in me to force any more words past my lips. I’m spent. Physically and emotionally drained.
Once we finish giving statements, End helps me into the car. He’s treating me like I’m made of glass. It’s as if he’s afraid I’m going to shatter at any given second, and he might not be far off. I feel disconnected from what happened with Thomas, but at the same time, I feel incredibly vulnerable. It feels like