Christ, I’ve never been more attracted to anyone in my life.
She’s not even crying.
I expected tears. Hysterics. An emotional collapse that would require careful handling and soft words and all the things I’m spectacularly bad at.
But she’s just standing there, chin lifted, shoulders pushed back, watching us with those iridescent blue eyes like she’s waiting for the gavel to fall.
“Say something,” she whispers. Her voice is hoarse but steady. “Tell me I’m a monster. Tell me you’re disgusted. Just…say something.”
I open my mouth, but Kai’s snort cuts me off.
“You want us to stand around and talk about our feelings all night?” he mutters sourly. “We’ve got a body to bury, Haven.”
He turns to pick up his shovel, his eyes glowing with anger when the flashlight’s beam hits his face.
Haven’s mouth opens, but she doesn’t reply. When I hand her the flashlight, she takes it silently. Neither of us says a thing as we dispose of her latest victim.
The thought makes Good Wolf pace and Bad Wolf pant.
I stomp the loose soil down harder than necessary over the asshole’s shallow grave. Even Kai handled the dead body with a hell of a lot less care after hearing Haven’s story.
We clean off in the creek’s icy water, using the wipes I keep in the Land Rover as washcloths. We’re almost respectable looking once we’re done. Just three unlikely strangers in the middle of the woods, in the middle of the night.
Nothing to see here.
As soon as we’re done packing all our tools back into the car, Haven murmurs, “I want to go back.”
“We’re leaving now, sweet girl,” I say, heading for the driver’s side door.
She catches my sleeve, halting me mid-step. “Back to the tree.”
“Why?” Kai snaps.
“I…need to make sure…” She hangs her head.
“What? That they’re dead?” Kai scoffs. “Yeah, Haven, they’re fucking dead. Both of them.”
I throw Kai a scathing glare, but he pretends not to see. I know this is a lot for him to process, but he’s certainly testing my fucking patience tonight.
“She needs closure,” I say through gritted teeth. “And, from the way you’re acting, so do you.”
I toss my keys in my hand as I head back to the burial site. I’m only a few steps ahead when Kai, then Haven, follow.
We stand at the base of the maple tree Haven chose to bury her uncle all those years ago, staring at the freshly turned soil. It looks black in the moonlight, like a seam ripped through our dimension straight into the void beyond.
“See? Buried.” Kai shrugs his shoulders. “We good?”
“What the fuck’s your problem?” Haven snaps. “I did a bad thing, okay? I’ve said I’m sorry. What more do you want?”
Kai turns on her, crossing the distance in three strides.
Convinced he’s going to grab her, I lunge after him and seize his shoulder. He doesn’t shake me off, but his entire body is shaking, hands clenched, jaw tight.
“You could have died that night, Haven.”
“Y-yes,” she splutters, her eyes wide as she glances uneasily at me.
Kai makes a sound somewhere between a laugh and a growl. His hand shoots out, grabbing her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. I lay my other hand on his bicep, the muscle rock hard under my palm.
