"And they'll kill me too if I claim the inheritance. If I expose them. They'll do to me what they did to her."
"Not while I'm breathing." Blake's arms tighten around me. "I won't let them touch you."
"You can't promise that."
"Watch me, beautiful.”
I pull back to look at his face. It’s fierce, determined, and full of a protective fury that should scare me, but it doesn't.
“I know you’re doing your best, but they’re not going to stop, are they? They'll keep coming. Keep trying. And eventually?—"
"Eventually we'll win." Blake frames my face with his hands, forces me to meet his eyes. "Because we have something they don't. We have the truth, we have evidence, and we have nothing left to lose."
“That’s not true. I have you to lose."
The vulnerable words come out of my mouth before I can stop them. I can’t even believe I said them myself. The magnitude of this situation must be getting to me, and I wish I could backpedal my words until I notice that Blake's expression softens.
"You're not going to lose me,” he says.
“I’m sorry,” I stutter. “I didn’t mean that.”
“Well, I did.” He kisses me. This time it’s soft, tender, different from the claiming kiss in the hallway. This one feels more like a protective promise that I savor with each passing second. "Because I'm all in, remember? That means I'm with you until this is over. Until you're safe. Until every bastard who hurt your mother answers for it."
"That's a long list."
"Then we'd better get started."
All I want right now is this, Blake's arms around me, his heartbeat steady against my cheek, and the knowledge that I'm not alone in this fight.
"Thank you," I whisper.
"For what?"
"For being here, for not running, and for kissing me in that hallway, even though you knew it would complicate everything."
"Peyton." His voice is rough, warm. "Kissing you was the least complicated thing I've done since coming back to Wintervale."
I almost smile. "That's a low bar."
"Yeah, well. You set it."
We stay like that for a long moment, holding each other while the video replays in my mind, my mother's voice echoing through the silence.
Finish this. Claim what's yours. Burn them down if you have to.
I will, Mom. I promise.
But first, I need to survive.
And with Blake Delano at my side, maybe just maybe I actually can.
My phone buzzes. I pull it out, expecting another threat. Instead, it's a text from a different unknown number.
Unknown: Christmas Gala tomorrow night. Frostbourne Estate. Your presence is requested. Come alone, or come with your guard dog. Either way, come. We have much to discuss. - Edmund Kingsley
I show Blake.
“Another fucking Christmas party.” His jaw tightens. "It's a trap."
