Page 158 of What Started In Deception

“You can get yourself some help.”

“It’s not going to be easy, but I plan to.”

“Good. This needs to stay between you and me.”

“I have no plans to tell anyone.”

“Sounds good.” He hung up, putting his phone down in the console as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. It was time to get home to Lydia. Somehow, they would have to figure out how to say goodbye.

Lydia paused with the dust cloth in her hand when she heard the car door slam outside. Tossing the microfiber to the table, she hurried to the window, relieved to see Ty walking down the path to the house. Moving quickly to the door, she opened it before he could. “Hi.”

He sent her a small smile. “Hey.”

She moved back to let him in out of the rain. “I’ve been going crazy. I’ve cleaned every inch of this place.”

He sighed as he toed off his shoes. “I’m sorry about that.”

She nodded as she moved closer to the couch, reaching for his hand. “So, what’s going on? Where did you go?”

He pulled her into a hug, holding on tight. “I met up with my co-worker.”

She returned his embrace, resting her head against his chest, waiting for him to tell her more, but he said nothing else. Easing back, she held his gaze. “What’s going on, Ty?”

He shook his head with unmistakable regret in his eyes. “I can’t tell you that right now.”

She eased herself away from him, quickly realizing that something was different. He was different. Ty was standing right in front of her, but he felt miles away. “Who decided that? Your buddies?”

He shrugged. “All of us, I guess.”

She took another step back, suddenly feeling like she needed to protect herself. “What happened to us being in this together? I thought we were controlling the narrative together.”

He touched her arm. “Let’s sit down, Lyd, because things are a little complicated.”

She shook her head, nearly certain that she didn’t want to sit down, so she crossed her arms instead.

He continued to stand as she did. “I can tell you that James is in the clear. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I told you that all along.” But she swallowed, pressing her hand to her suddenly queasy stomach when he said nothing about her cousin. “What about Will?”

“We’re going to talk about that when I can.”

She found herself taking another step away. “That feels a little cruel, don’t you think? Leaving me to wonder when you asked for my help?”

He sighed, sending her another apologetic look. “I’m going to do everything I can to help him.”

She moved to the kitchen for a glass, wanting to be busy as everything felt like it was changing. “Do you want something to drink?”

“They want me back in DC on Monday, Lyd.”

She whirled as his words stole her breath.

“I’m going to try to stall a little bit, but we’re going to have to decide on our story—how we want this to end.”

She stared at the island as she crossed her arms again, trying to comprehend that this was truly happening. Without any warning, Ty’s undercover operation was over. Apparently, so were they. “I thought we had time. You said we had time.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t control when a case breaks.”

She looked at him again. “So, I guess this is it, then.”