“Do you want to tell me about it?” she said.
The water clung to the edge of his eyelashes, and his eyes were unfocused, like he was reliving a memory.
“Let me rephrase,” she said, her tone carrying an edge. “Someday, maybe not today, but someday, you will tell me about every mark. Not because you want to, but because you need to. Trust me.”
“Are you going to tell me about yours?” he said, pulling her in close.
No.
That was what she would have said, even just a few months ago. But now, as she looked into his eyes, she felt like there was a changing of the seasons. It was time to let her old life die away. To make room for a new one.
She nodded and whispered, “Yes, but not today.”
The pain she felt saying those words mingled with fear and relief and settled around her as one simple truth.
Safe.
She was safe with Bryson.
With all three of them.
It was a safety she had never felt before.
“Can I ask you one thing?” Bryson said, resting his forehead against hers.
“Anything.” And Adria was surprised how much she meant the word.
“Why didn’t you kill him?”
She closed her eyes, remembering how it felt cutting Jonathan’s flesh. The pulling sensation his skin gave when shetore through it with a less-than-sharp knife. The cries that she pulled from his lips and the pleas she ignored.
“I didn’t want him to die,” she said.
And from some dark corner of her soul, Adria spoke the words that she never thought she would utter out loud.
But she knew she could.
Because this was Bryson, and Adria was certain that not only would he understand, but no matter her reasoning, he would never judge her.
“In that moment, I didn’t want to stop hurting him. I wanted him to be in pain for eternity. To keep him from peace and rest. Even if it meant I would never be happy.”
Adria remembered it like it was happening right in front of her. Like a movie she could replay, every detail, sound, and smell surrounded her.
“Standing over him, his pain was all I wanted, and I didn’t think I would ever want anything ever again.”
She paused, finding his eyes.
“Until I saw you.”
CHAPTER 20
POLANCO
Bryson focused on the road. He had insisted he was well enough to drive, but that might have been debatable. His freshly bandaged chest was killing him, throbbing with every bump, and his entire body was stiff.
He glanced over at the passenger seat. Elena was tapping on her new phone, no doubt talking to Sota. Her number one was in the backseat, keeping an eye out for tails.
With the extra heat on them, Eric had insisted they split up again. Kaydon and Elena’s number two were in another car. Adria, Eric, and Seth were in a third car.
