How the fuck is he even alive?
I rush to them, kneeling at Gable’s feet. “Is he okay?”
“He needs to see a doctor.Now. That guy…” She nods at Sawyer’s man. “He gave me my phone back. When we arranged our trip here, Zayden made sure we’d have someone close by…” Her gaze shifts behind outside—to where Y’s body is. She looks away quickly. “They’re on their way, with help. Zayden is, too. I didn’t … I couldn’t tell him about?—”
“That’s okay,” I say, cupping her cheek. “I can do that when he gets here. Where’s Lina?”
She swallows hard. “Outside.”
I’m up and out into the warm air quickly.
Outside is a mess.
The glass table is shattered, and blood is smeared across the patio, shards of glass scattered along with it. Sawyer’s men are gone. The lake is still, the breeze nonexistent, and an eerie silence has settled over what felt like a battlefield only moments ago.
And then I spot Lina.
She’s standing over a body, one I only know is Sawyer because of his suit. Glass is discarded around him, and his face is no longer a face. Lina is staring at him, expressionless and coated in blood. Her blonde hair is closer to pink, her cheeks smeared in red.
I don’t remember walking, but I reach her, and cup her cheeks. She shifts her green gaze to mine, blinking slowly.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I promised I wouldn’t do this again.” This. Murder. Brutal and violent and terrifying. Her lips tremble, and her eyes develop a sheen of tears. “You won’t leave me, will you?”
My heart breaks as her first tear falls and I shake my head, pulling her to me. “I won’t leave you.”
Lina clings to me. “Promise me.”
Squeezing my eyes closed, I hold her closer. I focus on the feel of her body nestled against mine, not the smell of blood that’s overtaken the cherries. “I promise.”
Chapter 26
Guy
On a warm summer day, Yale Silver is lowered into the ground. Silence doesn’t cry, but maybe she’s out of tears. Z is on one side of her, X on the other. Other people are here; some I know but most I don’t.
The entire time, I hold Lina’s hand.
As we walk back to the car, I say, “You’re allowed to speak to her.”
She shakes her head. “She doesn’t want to hear from me, especially not today.” Still, she glances over her shoulder as Silence stares at her brother-in-law’s coffin.
“What do you want to do now?” I ask as we drive home. It’s only a two-hour journey, but we brought Fox with us, and he’s asleep in the back seat.
“Let’s go see the kids.”
When we arrive at Ella and Gable’s, we knock, but there’s no answer, so we let ourselves in. Asha is sitting on the stairs with her headphones on, a tablet on her lap, wiggling her toes as she watches the screen. When she locks eyes with me, she gives me a small wave.
I tap my ear to signal for her to take off her headphones, and she does. “Where are mommy and daddy?”
“Talking,” she whispers.
Suddenly, Gable’s voice bursts from the living room. “There’s a structure, Gibson, you can’t just?—”
“I can do just whatever I like, Gable Flynn, now get back on that couch!”
Asha smiles coyly. “Daddy won’t sleep.”
Lina follows as I go into the living room. Gable is in sweats and a t-shirt, and Ella is facing off with him. They’ve had this …discussion, once or twice since Gable came home from the hospital. He won’t rest, and Ella is sick of telling him.
