“D-do you really think I did it?” I ask.
The fear in her stormy pupils tells me everything. She doesn’t respond for a long moment.
“Why?” she whispers. “Why did you kill those innocent people?”
Fuck. Not her. Anyone but her. I can’t handle her believing I did this. Anyone else could accuse me—but not my wife. I’ll do anything to wipe the disappointment and terror from her eyes.
“I didn’t kill them,” I say.
“How did the IDs get there? They didn’t magically appear, Irvin.”
“Baby, I didn’t do it.”
She shoves me. “You’re just like him. Like Emerson. Killing with no remorse. I hate you! I never want to see your face again!”
I try to pull her into my arms, but she shoves me away.
“You have to believe me!”
“I don’t!”
The doorbell rings. We freeze. She lets the tears fall.
“Who is that?” I ask.
“I had to do what I had to do.”
“What the fuck did you do, my love?”
“Don’t call me your love! You monster!” Her words cut through me like a blade.
A hollow ache sinks into my chest. I rub my face.
Tears streak her cheeks. “It’s Snow. I told him what I found.”
The door bursts open. Snow storms in, guards in black suits behind him. I place my hands behind my back.
Lilac. My Lilac. What have you done?
I’m supposed to protect her. She’s supposed to trust me. I’m lost for words. The disgust in her eyes makes my stomach turn. It breaks something in me. For the first time, my heart splinters into tiny pieces.
She thinks I can hurt her. After everything I did to keep her safe from the real killer, she doesn’t see me. Doesn’t love me anymore.
I failed the most important person in my life.
The guards read me my rights and the clauses I supposedly broke within the club. Snow grabs my shirt.
“You piece of shit,” he snaps. He punches me in the gut. “Get this piece of shit out of here.”
They haul me toward the door. I drag my feet, trying to turn toward Lilac.
“Let me say goodbye to my wife,” I plead.
I’m going to die. They’ll execute me. Her face is all I want to see. I memorize every inch—her mole, her warm brown skin, full lips, curly lavender hair. I want her to remember my last words.
Lilac wraps her arms around herself, staring at the guards. Tears and snot mar her face.
“Fine,” Snow snaps. “Thirty seconds.”
