Bryson pulled her into an embrace.
“Adria, I am so sorry,” he said.
She knelt on the floor and allowed him to pull her in.
“What do you have to be sorry for?” she said, half sobbing into him.
He gripped her shoulders, pushing her to arm’s length, looking at her.
“What do you mean?” he said. “I have everything to be sorry for.”
Adria shook her head and sniffled. “None of this is your fault.”
He looked at her like she was insane. “Adria, all of this is my fault.”
“If I had just fought harder to keep you, or gone to the Triune,” she trailed off.
“If I had just told my father to back off, instead of coming up with a plan to get him out of my life,” he said.
He was back on that land deal. Adria thought they had settled this.
“But then we would have never gotten to know each other,” she said.
“And if you didn’t sell us, I never would have gotten the pleasure of killing Jonathan,” he said.
“You wouldn’t have wanted to,” she whispered.
His autumn eyes pinned her in place. “I would have wanted to. Even if I hated you, some part of me, no matter how buried, no matter how hidden, would have known the truth. That he hurt a person I cared about.”
Adria froze at his words.
“Adria, if you hadn’t bought me that day, I would have spent the rest of my life with a giant hole in my chest, never understanding why,” he said.
His hand cupped her face, and a calm fell over her.
Feeling stronger, she helped him remove the rest of his shoes and clothing and brought the shower to a comfortable temperature.
When Bryson stood, he swayed, still unsteady on his feet.
Adria removed her shirt.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Joining you,” she said, pulling her pants down. “You’re not going to injure yourself on my watch. I’m on thin ice with El as it is.”
His lips moved into a half smile. “She has grown quite protective of me.”
The warm water sprayed against her face, and she brought Bryson’s arm around her and guided him under the stream. Adria watched as he sagged under the spray, allowing himself to relax alongside her.
She followed the marks and tallied each one.
“I wish we could bring him back so I could kill him,” she said.
“Jonathan?”
“Regan. I could kill him a thousand times for marking you like this,” she said and felt Bryson tense under her.
He looked at her, and she could sense that he wanted to say something.
