Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 144435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
I don’t want to end up like Marnie, angry at the world and pushing everyone away. If I don’t find a way to make peace with my dad’s death, that’s exactly how I’ll end up. I have so much anger inside me over it, so many unanswered questions. But Rhys grounds me. He brings me comfort and happiness. With him, I finally feel like I’m living again.
It has to be enough.
“What are you thinking about, songbird?” Rhys asks.
“Marnie. My dad.” I sigh, swirling my hand through the water. “You never did tell me what happened with her the other day.”
“We talked. We came to an agreement. The end.”
I snort, pretty sure he’s editing out a whole lot. “Is she doing okay? Does she look…happy?”
“She’s Marnie,” he says. “She looks beautiful. Your dad would love to see her carrying his kid.”
“Yeah,” I whisper.
“She claimed she canceled your cards to help you,” he says after a minute. “In her mind, maybe she actually thinks that. Who the fuck knows with her?”
“She was right.”
He grunts.
“She was,” I say softly.
“She wasn’t right about the tuition. She said you lied about that.”
“I did not!” I gasp.
“I know.”
“I don’t understand her. What did I ever do to her to make her hate me so much?” I scowl at the water, genuinely perplexed. “I’ve never been anything less than nice to her.”
“You exist, songbird,” he says, rubbing my back. “That’s enough for her.”
I crane my head back to look at him, surprised by the venom in his voice. “You don’t like her, do you?”
“Nope,” he says without hesitation.
“Why not?”
“She hurt you.”
He’s not lying, but he’s not telling me the whole truth either. It’s another secret. I see it in his eyes. The silent acknowledgment that this goes deeper, that there are entire volumes he isn’t saying. That I’m missing entire chapters of subtext. That worries me.
What is he hiding?
What does he know?
More importantly…what does Marnie have to do with my dad’s death? Because for the first time, I’m suddenly sure that she’s involved. And I think Rhys knows it too.
Chapter Seven
RHYS
“Where are we going?” Raven asks for the tenth time in as many minutes.
“You’ll see.”
She grumbles under her breath, making me smile. Apparently, she doesn’t like surprises. I have a feeling she’ll like this one, though. Her performance is the day after tomorrow. She’s been working her ass off to get ready, but she won’t divulge any details. All I know is that she needs a piano.
“Do you like living on the island?” she asks as we wind our way through downtown. Traffic is heavy, reducing us to a slow crawl. Typical for late evening. I intended to cut out of work early but got stuck working another fucking robbery.
The only thing that annoys me more than drunk tourists are assholes who prey on tourists. They come to the island specifically to pick off unsuspecting tourists. They’ve been doing it for years. With so many out-of-towners concentrated in one area, they can hold up a tourist and then slip into the crowd and disappear.
This idiot didn’t check for cameras. We’ve got his ugly mug front and center on a couple of security cameras. We printed off the photos and sent them to the docks. Once he tries to leave the island, he’ll be in cuffs.
“Usually,” I say. “Traffic is a pain in the ass.”
Raven makes a face at me. She’s been quiet since we talked about Marnie last night, lost in her own thoughts. Truth is, I have been too. I’ve been lying to myself, believing I could hold her close and keep the truth from her at the same time. I can’t. She deserves to know everything. I’m an asshole for touching her without confessing to what I’ve done.
I’ll burn in hell for that.
But the pieces are finally coming together. I think I’m finally beginning to understand what I’ve been missing all along. I know what Marnie is after. I think I even know why she killed Brant. Before I tell Raven the truth, I need to ensure that I’m right. If I am, it changes everything. If I’m not, I lose her for good. I’m balanced on the blade of a fucking sword.
Nothing justifies the choices I made, and I know that. But I made them for her. Because God help me, there’s not a fucking thing in this world I wouldn’t do for her. I don’t merely love her. That word isn’t strong enough for what beats in my chest for her. My soul is hers. I gave it into her keeping long ago.
I pull into the church parking lot and kill the engine.
“You’re taking me to church?” She eyes me sideways. “I’m not dressed for church, Rhys!”
“Songbird, it’s an island,” I say with a chuckle. “We don’t get fancy for church. Besides, you look beautiful.” She does. Her dark tresses are pulled back from her face by a purple headband that matches her purple and white sundress. She’s fresh-faced, her nose pink from the sun. “But there is no service here tonight. The place is only open for services on Sundays. The rest of the week, islanders use it for gatherings or meetings.”