I hear the door softly close, and then I see him out of the corner of my eye standing next to me. He sighs heavily before he says, “It’s been hours. Rigor mortis has started to set in, Kashton. I’m afraid?—”
“I understand,” I interrupt him.
I’ve been around dead bodies all my life. I’m not thinking clearly about Eve’s. I just wanted to sit in the chair and hold my wife, but that is no longer an option. Even in death, she continues slipping away from me.
I spent too much time skinning that bastard alive.
“Let me know if you need me.” He turns and exits the room, and I numbly walk over to the sink. I wash my hands and arms, along with my face and neck, trying to clean as much as possible without having to leave her to shower. I remove my T-shirt, boots, and jeans, stripping down to nothing but my boxer briefs.
Drying off, I walk back over to her and lift the sheet. I take her left hand in mine and run my fingers over her wedding ring. Her skin is so cold. It feels almost fake.
Flashbacks of our wedding night play in my mind like a movie.
“Thanks, man,” I tell Sin, giving him a handshake hug before he climbs into the helicopter.
“No problem. It was my honor.” He nods, and I step off the helipad, watching him take off while the wind from the rotor almost blows me off the edge of Hooke’s yacht.
I spot my wife standing with her back to me, looking over the dark ocean. Making my way to her, I place my hand on the small of her back, and she turns to face me with a smile on her face and wraps her arms around my neck.
“What do you want to do, Mrs. Pierce?” I watch her body to see how she reacts to having my last name. I expect a look of disgust. Maybe regret. But instead, she pushes into me and smiles.
I promise to make you happy, angel.
“Let’s go skinny-dipping.”
“Want me to teach you how to swim?” Hooke’s yacht has a pool and a hot tub. I’ll spend all night in the water with her if that’s what she wants to do.
Smiling, she laughs softly. “I’ve learned how to swim since I was last on a yacht, Kash.”
Of course she has. “Are you just trying to get me naked?” I arch a brow.
My wife giggles. “Maybe…” Trailing off, she bites her bottom lip. “Or you could teach me how to dive.”
“Well, you’re in luck. I am the best diver you’ve ever met.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“Kashton.” Haidyn’s voice fills the room as he enters, cutting off my memory.
I look up at the ceiling, trying to keep the tears that cloud my vision from falling. “Leave me alone, Haidyn.” Taking a shaky breath, I add, “I…I need a second. Please.” I know she’s his sister, and he deserves to tell her goodbye too, but I need her right now. I just want to be by her side. Alone. I know how this works. Devin will come to me once I leave this room. He’ll want to take the next steps—embalming and burying her. I don’t want to think about that. Once she’s in the ground, I’ll be visiting a grave, not my wife. The last bit of her existence will be gone. Forever.
When the door shuts, I lean over and kiss her cheeks with trembling lips. “I love you, angel.” My other hand comes up and runs through her freshly washed bleached-blond strands, and I make one final promise to my wife. “I’ll see you soon.”
Lords don’t believe in heaven and hell. And I know that even if they did exist, I’d be sent to hell. Where I’d burn. Rightfully so. I earned that.
But another life? I will hold out hope that that’s a possibility. And if so, I’ll find her sooner than I did in this one. No matter what. We were meant to love one another. In this life or another. Death will not keep me from her.
I crawl onto the cold metal slab and lie with her, pretending she’s just sleeping. She’ll wake up any second and tell me that she loves me. That she’s sorry. And if I’m really lucky, she’ll knock me out with her right hook.
SEVENTY-SEVEN
KASHTON
Three days my wife has been dead.
Three motherfucking days of hell.
A Lord is raised among death—the blood and torture—but I’ve never stayed around to see what happens afterward.
