“It’s almost time we start riding,” I promise, and his ears flick. I haven’t ridden Flynn yet; Faith hasn’t thought I’m ready for that challenge, and I understand. Still, I trust him, and I want to try.Even if he hurts me, he’s deserving of a chance.
Flea Willy’s howling fills the barn, and he goes tearing out the door. Flynn raises his head, his ears pinning backward, andI know well enough to get out from behind him. He’s clearly agitated by Willy’s behavior, and I don’t need to test him. We might not speak the same language, but I understand his boundaries, just like I’m learning to do with my own.
I close his gate behind me, setting the brush down and wiping my hands on my jeans. As I emerge, I see Faith’s SUV racing down the driveway at break-neck speed. Rafael bounds down the front steps of the house, smiling at me like a goon.
“How’re the horses?”
“Clean. Ready for a ride.” I smile back.
He offers me a steaming coffee, and I take it without complaint. My fingers tingle as they wrap around the warm mug—April’s been unseasonably cold for Texas, and even though I hate the chill, I love being outside. It’s become my haven.
Rafael leans down, kissing me, and I grin against his lips. “I love you,” I whisper before watching Faith’s car get closer. She hadn’t said she was stopping by, but it isn’t totally out of character for her.
She’s going awfully fast, though.
When she gets close to the house, she grinds to a halt, jumping out. As if in a whirlwind, she opens the back door, grabbing a duffle bag and an ashen looking Reiny. Her lip is split, and a bruise has already begun to form beneath her right eye.
“What the fuck?” Rafael jogs toward them, and I push past him, my heart in my throat.
“Faith? Reiny, are you—” I gasp as Faith faces me. Close up, I can see the oblong bruise across her cheek, the split in her scalp dark with drying blood. She’s clearly been bludgeoned. “Oh my God, Faith.” I grab for them both, and Reiny falls into my arms, sobs wracking her small body.
I look up in horror as Faith watches Reiny fold into my embrace, her face dark. She looks almost demonic, and for the first time since I’ve known Faith, I fear her.
“What’s happening?” Rafael looks between us, and Faith holds out her hand, indicating for Rafael to take the bag. He does so, and Faith’s arm drops with a thud. She looks at me again, her pupils swallowing the green around them.
Her gaze burns into mine, like she’s trying to decide if she can trust me with her deepest secrets, and then she nods. “You have to protect her, whatever may come. Promise me, Valentina.”
“Faith, what’s?—”
“Promise me!” she shrieks, her body trembling.
I nod instantly. “I promise. Now, can you tell me what’s going on?”
She looks over her shoulder right as sirens rip through the air. I feel the pressure of the world closing in around me—I’ve too many secrets, too many unearthed terrors that could ruin the life I’m working so hard to build.
Do they know? Are they finally coming for me?
“Tell us how to help Faith.” It’s Rafael who speaks, his voice calming as his hand wraps reassuringly around my elbow.
“Protect her at all costs. You and McCrae—you might be all she has. Do you hear me?” There’s no room for argument, and I wouldn’t anyway.
I love Faith like my own sister.
“Of course.”
Reiny sobs harder in my arms, her hands clinging to my shirt like she might fall off the face of the Earth if she lets go.
A line of cars come to a skidding halt in a small circle around us, led by a cherry red truck. The man inside jumps out, his blond hair and boyish face recognizable.
My stomach drops.
“Nathan?” Faith sounds shocked, and I rock back at his name, our encounter months ago forgotten but now feeling like a betrayal.
“Faith, please. I can protect you.”
Faith rears back as if he’s slapped her.
There are too many moving parts, too many questions. I feel like I’m on the outside looking in—screaming in a dream, and no one can hear me.
