I didn't finish the thought. I just drove faster.
By the time I reached the hospital, the rain had thinned to a drizzle. Claudia was awake, pale against the white pillows, one hand pressed to the small curve of her belly.
"Damon." Her voice trembled. "You came."
"I told you I would." I sat, folding her cold hand into mine. The doctor had already gone—nothing serious, just rest, just quiet.
I waited for the warmth to come. For the hole behind my ribs to close, now that I was where I was supposed to be, beside the woman I'd chosen.
It didn't.
Instead, every time I blinked, I saw her.
Aria. The rearview mirror. That thin white figure standing in the headlights, rain flattening her hair to her skull. Not running. Not screaming. Just—watching the car leave. Her eyes had been empty in a w
