Which means I receive the greatest gift of all?—
We get to start our happily-ever-after with laughter…
And the first rays of sunshine after a surprise summer storm.
THORN
The festivities are just getting underway inside but the woman I want is disappearing outside.
Into the darkness of Brooks’s family estate.
Where it may not be safe.
Yes, he has security.
Yes, we’ve put measures in place to protect everyone in our circle.
Are these measures legal or moral? Not particularly.
But we’ve made it clear to the Lyons—fuck with one of us, and you’ll live to regret it.
Still, River should be careful, shouldn’t put herself at risk any more than necessary.
She’s been through too much already.
Those are the thoughts running through my head as I trail her through the halls and out a set of French doors. They lead to a covered balcony that overlooks the gardens. Yup. The gardens. Brooks’s ridiculous family home has gardens and a pool, an observatory and an orchard, stables and a fucking hedge maze.
River doesn’t seek any of those out.
Instead, she just moves to the railing and stares out into the darkness.
For a long moment, nothing happens.
Then it’s as though the armor she’s been holding tightly around herself gives way. She shudders and collapses, hands clenching the railing but her body seeming to fold in on itself.
“River,” I say, hurrying over to her.
But I know I’ve made a mistake the moment I’ve said her name.
Her head whips around and she straightens in an instant, her armor snapping back into place.
Damn.
“What are you doing out here?” I snap.
Her lips press flat. “Getting some air.” She turns away from me, deliberately giving me her back. Fucking ignoring me.
Again.
“It’s not safe,” I say—another wrong thing.
Because she knows how dangerous the world can be.
Intimately.
“I’m as safe here as I am anywhere,” she grits out.
That’s true, and it means that I’m left wondering what to say.
