Finding Summer - Suzanne Halliday Page 0,223

child’s play had you unleashed the power of everything at your disposal.”

“Yes, you’re correct. NIGHTWIND’s capabilities are far-reaching, and at times, scary and over the line, but you know what? I’m not NIGHTWIND. This wasn’t business. Summer wasn’t an assignment. If I couldn’t do it on my own, well, what I’m trying to say is this—if I needed an entire security agency to manage my romantic life, what does that say about me? Huh?”

“It says no man is an island. It says that’s what friends are for. It says you aren’t alone. Does it also say you aren’t a superhero after all? Why, yes. Yes, it does. And is there a problem with admitting you’re human like everyone else? I think not. I get what you were trying to do, but my god, Arnie. Pride goeth before a fall, okay?”

He grumbled, “I’m a cocky shit. Like father, like son. But this wasn’t arrogance. I truly believed if I couldn’t figure it out on my own, I didn’t deserve her. And as for the fall, I had no fucking idea how steep the drop would be.”

He watched his old man stiffen as a menacing vibe rolled off him. “Well, the descent stops now. I’m here for whatever it takes to bring you two back together. Let’s finish this and move on.”

They bumped fists.

“We’re all set. Stan is setting up a perch out back with a view of next door. If anything moves in the yard, we’ll know. I want you to keep a close eye on the front of the house. Note everything. Cars, walkers, sounds. We’ll take turns—all of us—so no one gets stale. This thing is going down. Tonight. Be ready.”

“I’m worried about Stan.”

Arnie didn’t require clarification. He knew what his dad meant. “There comes a time in every man’s life when those who care most have to trust he knows what he’s doing. This won’t be pretty, but he made his choice. After the alcohol loosened its grip and he could think straight, Stan chose. He chose knowing what it meant to take the other side—maybe it’s why he drank—because of misplaced loyalty to a mother who used him as a pawn. Maybe for him to have emotional closure, he needs to see her go down. Her reign is over. The evil queen shall be destroyed, thereby breaking the curse she placed on this family over three decades ago. I think it’s what Stan needs.”

“I hate how she hurt both of you, but you’re right. Enough. I’m well and truly finished with feeling guilty for a moment of weakness. I’m just human.”

“See?” Arnie murmured. “You’re pointing out what I was trying to say.”

His father nodded—the light of understanding shone in his eyes.

Wasn’t this what the circle of life was about? Sons learning from the missteps and mistakes of their father? His father’s guilt and Stan’s regrets were real. Arnie admitting he wasn’t a superhuman, all-knowing oracle was also real.

Well, it all ended tonight. Come hell, a crazy witch, or high water—a line had been drawn in the sand.

Now all they had to do was wait for Giselle to cross it.

Summer was a ball of nervous energy. If this were a gymnastics meet, she’d channel the power inward and use it to nail her routine.

Eighteen regular steps or seven giant strides took her wall-to-arch in the living room as she moved back and forth like a sentry on night duty.

She kept Ari close. Instead of putting her down for the night in the bedroom, she slept nearby in the playpen.

Feeling in her jeans pockets for her keys and phone, she kept reviewing her options, starting with regret for not packing up and going to a hotel.

It was almost midnight. The quiet was loud. Too loud. Every whisper of a sound made her tense up.

Occasional clouds shrouding the moon threw the backyard into darkness. Trees and bushes swaying in a strong breeze gave life to the shadows. Summer scanned the yard, then glanced around her apartment.

She’d turned off or covered up every light source to balance the outdoor darkness with the indoor. Was it weird she knew to do this? Binge-watching crime dramas on Netflix explained her actions. TV was definitely where she got the idea to make a visual buffer in front of the windows by stacking random crap.

Her hands were cold. She tugged on the sleeves of a black turtleneck to cover them. Her clenched fists acted like pushpins holding the cuffs in place.

Months and months of fear