August was closer now, gun trained on Amos.
“I will always win,” Amos spat. “It doesn’t matter what happens to me. I will always haunt your dreams. I will always be a thought in the back of your little wife’s mind. I will live forever that way.”
August’s lips curled, disgust and hatred twisting his expression. “You think too much of yourself,” he said, his voice somehow calm. “If you don’t let her go, you will die today and you will rot in the ground. You will be nothing, just like you were nothing to begin with,” August sneered. “After this night, we will never think of you again, except maybe to reminisce about how your body is being eaten by worms and crumbling into dust.”
Amos tensed; his breathing hitched. “Liar,” he spat. “You will fear me.”
August laughed—a short, sharp sound—and Amos started to tremble.
“We do not fear cowards.” August’s grin widened. “All we’ll feel when you’re gone is victory. You don’t fear a roach you squashed beneath your shoe.”
Amos snarled in rage and moved from my head just enough to spit at August.
But the small separation was enough. There was another loud crack as August pulled the trigger. I heard a dull, wet pop near my ear, and the tension in Amos’s body vanished. He fell back, tipping over the railing of the catwalk, but his arm was heavy around me and the momentum pulled me back too—and I started to flip over the edge with him.
I screamed, the sound echoing around me as the world tipped and blurred.
For a split second, I was falling, and then firm, strong hands wrapped around my forearms and yanked me up.
I was weightless for one moment before I crashed into a solid, warm chest.
His scent surrounded me, grounding and comforting even through the choking stink of smoke.
Roman.
He wrapped his arms around me, crushing me to him. “I’ve got you,” he said, the words desperate and shaking. “You’re safe, Golden. You’re safe.”
I knew I was safe. I was with Roman.
But I needed to see.
Before Roman could take me away, I glanced down into the belly of the old factory.
Sprawled on the concrete, blood pooling around his broken body, was Amos Anderson.
The Shadow Stalker’s blank eyes stared up at me, but there was no life in them. There was nothing.Hewas nothing.
He would burn in this building and crumble into nothing but ashes to be blown away in the wind.
47
Roman
Two Weeks Later
Istoodinthelivingroom, taking a moment to myself amid the chaos of Hailey’s birthday party. The bed-and-breakfast had transformed into what I could only describe asa unicorn’s fantasy world. Pink, teal, and purple balloons were clustered everywhere.
There was even a giant arch formed of them displayed in the foyer where people walked in. The decorations were over-the-top, but in a good way. My mother had always gone all out for Hailey, who had been her only grandchild for so long, but Palmer had taken birthday festivities to an entirely different level—and I couldn’t help but be impressed.
Glitter seemed to have found its way onto every surface, catching the late afternoon light streaming through the windows. In the corner of the living room stood a makeshift stage, complete with a red velvet curtain backdrop that Palmer had sewn herself. Posters from all of Hailey’s favorite musicals adorned the walls and a karaoke machine waited on the stage for the inevitable performances.
High-pitched giggles of the girls Hailey had invited from school emanated from the kitchen, along with the muted sounds of my family talking as they ate my mother’s homemade pizza. The noise flowed from the room like a thrumming heartbeat, pulsing with life that had been absent from the house for too long.
I flexed my jaw, and experienced only minimal pain. Nolan had gotten me good when he’d hit me, but I hadn’t broken anything. The bruises were almost gone, but the physical reminders of that night were fading faster than the mental ones. Sometimes I still woke in the darkness, reaching for Palmer beside me, needing to confirm she was there, safe and breathing. When I closed my eyes, sometimes the flames were still there trapping me.
But not today. Today was about Hailey, about celebrating her life, and not the darkest moments of my own. We had fought too hard to not cherish every moment we had.
“Hey.”
