Total pages in book: 193
Estimated words: 184001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 920(@200wpm)___ 736(@250wpm)___ 613(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 184001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 920(@200wpm)___ 736(@250wpm)___ 613(@300wpm)
It hasn’t escaped my notice that they’ve been silent this entire time, but I just assumed they were following my lead for once.
But now…
Following a hunch, I glance behind me to see a tight jaw and brown eyes staring at nothing. Khalil feels me watching, his gaze dropping to mine, and he sucks in a sharp breath that expands his chest. The sorrow and apology in his eyes make my heart pound, and I know immediately that it isn’t for the mistakes he made in the past but for the one he’s about to make right now.
Khalil is breaking.
He’s going to tell the sheriff what really happened.
He’s going to tell him everything.
And all because he chooses now to wish he’d played the hero.
I’m not sure if it’s desperation or instinct that makes me turn to my most unlikely ally for help.
Zeke.
He’s leaning now against the wall between the kitchen and stairs with his foot propped up and his arms crossed. He seems perfectly content to let this life we’ve only begun to build crumble around us, and while it’s no secret he wants me gone, I have to believe he doesn’t feel the same about Thorin and Khalil.
Our eyes barely meet because he’s already speaking, turning his head to address the sheriff before I can even figure out what to say to him.
“It’s true,” he says before Khalil can damn us all. Even though I’d hoped he would, it still shocks the fuck out of me that he’s going along with my story.
“I see.” The sheriff nods once, seemingly satisfied, and plops his hat back on his head before giving us all a hard look. “But until I can investigate the site and verify your claims, I’m going to need the four of you to come with me.”
Fuck!
KHALIL
After showing Sheriff Kelly the site where the bodies are buried, he ordered an excavation team up to our mountain to find them before marching the four of us into Hearth. The moment we reached the station, he threw Thorin, Zeke, and me in a holding cell together with a great amount of pleasure before escorting Aurelia into an interrogation room where they could talk.
That was an hour ago.
Obviously, he wants to see if her story will change now that she’s safely out of our reach. Ironically, Zeke, the only one of us who isn’t guilty, hasn’t stopped pacing since she disappeared.
“That was pretty fucking brilliant,” Zeke grumbles.
“What was?” I ask, even though I don’t care.
“That bullshit story Aurelia told the sheriff. I never pegged us for the heroic types. Did you?”
Thorin winces, and I know I’m not alone in my guilt. I’ve been slowly drowning in it ever since Aurelia clawed her way into my heart, but it’s been a hundred-foot wave battering me without a moment’s reprieve ever since she stood in front of the sheriff—the one person who could rescue her—and chose to cover our sorry asses instead.
I guess that makes her our island—our only refuge in this storm we created.
But what if that means sinking herself in the process?
I can’t let that happen. I won’t.
If the sheriff doesn’t buy her story, I’m coming clean. I’ll spend a hundred lifetimes running before I drag my baby down with me. Hearing her alter the events of the night we found her taking shelter in our cabin—and all the ones that followed—had made me yearn to go back in time and be the man in the picture she painted. A man worthy of her protection, love, and loyalty.
In that moment, it felt as if the only way I could ever be that for her was to let her go.
But then Zeke stopped me, and at Aurelia’s request—little do either of them know. He’d done it for her, and he’s hated himself for the knee-jerk reaction ever since. Of course, he’ll deny it and say it was to protect me. I’ll try not to lord it over him too much since this soft spot he has for Aurelia isn’t entirely his own. And it’s not the first time Seth’s or Bane’s emotions have influenced Zeke’s.
If only that were enough to prove Seth’s alive.
Is it even possible for an alter to die?
Zeke’s heart had stopped by the time we unburied him. What if Seth died in that avalanche?
I can’t deny it’s been a constant, unspoken fear, never straying far from my mind.
Disbelief floods my chest when I’m forced to admit—albeit to myself—that I’m actually worried for Seth. Less than three months ago, all I wanted was to figure out a way to rid Zeke of his alters for good, and now I find myself actually caring for Seth and not just because he’s a part of Zeke.
I actually miss that asshole.
“It’s not bullshit,” Thorin retorts with his eyes closed. “Not all of it anyway. Her uncle really is trying to kill her.”