Just how much bloodshed had Jareth rained since we last saw him, painted in flame and tobacco smoke?
I shivered as the night chill settled over me. I peered into the darkness of the trees just past the hotel parking lot. I’d been grateful when we’d first pulled up here tonight. I figured it was an almost serendipitous location that the gala was being hosted outside the city, on the border where civilization met trees. I’d hoped it would help Kas feel less trapped. That we could go for a walk in the forest if it became too much for him before returning to the crowds and impressing enough key players to support a channel that would bring awareness and help to those who needed it.
But that was all over now.
Everyone had seen how Kas shoved Tony down. For a split second, I’d believed he was going to kill him. It honestly wouldn’t have surprised me if Kas had reached down and strangled him after the hug Tony had so stupidly given him. A hug while telling him about Quell, her trauma, and the real reasons we’d ended up invited to such a ritzy gala.
It’d been too much, too soon.
I was at fault for this too.
Ah, Kas. Where are you?
I looked at the clear sky, twinkling stars, and almost full moon.
It was cold tonight. If he slept outside, would he be warm enough in his tux? Was he even still wearing it? Or had he stripped naked, turned his back on his own species, and vanished?
Tears threatened again, but I swallowed them back.
I’d cried enough.
My tears hadn’t brought Kas back before, and they wouldn’t bring him back now.
With a bone-weary sigh, I stood and offered my hand to pull Tony to his feet. He took it, swaying a little as he righted.
“It’s almost midnight.” I cleared my throat. “Go home to your family, Tony.”
He shook his head again. “I won’t leave you. This is my mess—”
“I want you to go.” I crossed my arms, hugging myself against the cold. “Truly. I need you to go because he might not approach me if you’re still here. I have no idea what state of mind he’s in. It’s best for everyone if you’re not around me when he returns.”
“Will he return?”
I straightened my spine, lying, “Of course. I have no doubt he’ll seek me out once he’s in a better headspace.”
If only that were true.
If only I could trust in that.
But even after everything that’d happened between us, I wasn’t entirely sure Kas had the faculties to even want this life. A life with people who had once so wronged him.
Fear crushed me, but I held my chin high. “Goodnight, Tony.”
Searching my eyes and finding only resolution, he finally nodded. Shrugging out of his blazer, he placed it over my shoulders. “So you don’t catch a cold.” His unfamiliar smell and body heat settled into me. “Goodnight, Gemma. Stay safe.” He stepped off the curb, glancing toward his SUV in the distance. “You’ll...you’ll call me the moment you find him?”
I nodded.
“Okay then...” Grabbing his keys from his pants pocket, he shrugged. “I’m sorry again.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not.” He spread his hands, the keys dangling from his fingers. “See, this is why I still believe he’d be great on a recovery channel. It’s not just the people who are found that struggle but the people who were left behind. The ones who hope they can heal the victims who come home.” He gave me a watery smile. “I’ve searched online. Ever since Isabella returned, I’ve done everything in my power to be exactly what she needs, but...that’s the thing. I don’t know what she needs. I want to give her space but not feel like she doesn’t have someone to turn to. I want to shower her in affection but not make her relive what happened.” He glanced at the dark forest as if Kas was out there, listening. “I need someone who has lived it. Who put their own life on the line to protect those he loved. I need to learn how to be better, to be more empathetic, to know how to repair my baby girl so she can be happy. God, I only want her to be happy.”
Tears I couldn’t stop rolled down my cheeks, stinging my eyes. “That’s what Kas wants too. His only purpose in life is to save those who’ve been preyed on the most.”
“In that case...when you find him. Tell him I’ll personally back any venture he wants to do. I’ll finance whatever he needs. He could be the hero for many, not just for my daughter.”
I sucked in a shaky breath.
Thanks to Tony, I’d now seen how trafficking affected everyone. I’d seen the very location where such defilement took place. I’d witnessed the healing from a boy who might never be whole, and now I stood before a father who was broken because of something he couldn’t have foreseen or prevented.