Page 56

Valli arches into him, letting him take what he needs, yet she needs reassurance just as much. I know it’s weighing on her, the guilt, thinking she is the reason I was shot. She didn’t want Cave to do anything reckless.

I overheard her talking to herself last night while she thought I was asleep, battling her demons. But what she doesn’t realize is that she has found herself among broken, misunderstood men who would burn the world to the ground around her. For the first time in our lives, we have found someone who can see us for who we are, someone who has no interest in changing us, and that is like finding a needle in a cornfield.

He kisses back up her neck and finds her mouth again, pouring everything he has into the action—his way of communicating when words have failed him. Valli whimpers, and my heart squeezes at the tears tracking down her face as she kisses him back.

Cave pulls back slightly, just enough to breathe as he rests his forehead against hers.

“Don’t leave,” he growls, and her eyes widen. He rarely says two words together like that.

“I’m not going anywhere unless you want me to.”

He pulls her close again, holding her like she is the only thing keeping him tethered to this world.

I turn away; this is their moment. Noa does the same, and we slip out of the room to give them privacy. We pad down the hallway and sit on the edge of my bed.

“Let me check your bandage.” He lifts the hem of my shirt, and I let him remove it for me. “He is going to be okay.”

“Yeah,” I agree. “We all are.”

But I know it may not be entirely true; the Scarecrow is loose in him now. He only has limited control, and right now he needs her, needs us, and we’re going to let that part of him have what it desires. Valli will learn fast that this is what it means to belong to broken men.

Sounds continue to flow from the main room of the shed, while Noa removes my bandage and cleans me up.

“What do you think he did with Rowan?”

I shrug. I want to say he didn’t kill him, but it’s Cave.

Noa finishes wrapping my side and sits back. The sounds are quieter now, and I lean back against Noa, resting my head on his shoulder.

“He’ll tell us in his own way when he is ready,” I say, though I’m not sure if I’m trying to convince myself or Noa. “I think we need to make sure Valli knows what she signed up for.”

Noa nods, but he knows as well as I do that if she decides she wants to leave, Cave won’t take it well. I hope she wants to stay, but if he killed her brother, I’m not sure she will. Rowan may have been a thorn in her side, but he’s her family. I only hope Cave was smart enough to hand him over to Steedy or let him go.

Chapter Four

Valli

I didn’t want to alarm Cave as soon as he got back, but the question has been eating at me. I need to know what happened to my brother. If something bad happened because of me, I couldn’t live with myself, despite how stupid that sounds after everything he has done to me.

Cipher tinkers at his workbench, though Cave tried to get him to stay in bed. After some negotiations, he is working on his music box.

Noa has returned after a few hours at the cemetery digging holes—he needed something to do—but I’m more concerned about Cave. He hasn’t been back to the cornfield. Everyone told me he rarely leaves it, so that can’t be a good sign. Also, he has been different since he came back, not that I have much history to go off, but even Noa and Cipher agree.

“Is Rowan dead?” I blurt out into the silence.

Cipher freezes and Noa coughs, while Cave slowly turns around to face me.

The quiet is deafening, and my heart thumps wildly in my chest. I need him to tell me either way so I can process it. Cave shakes his head, and I sigh in relief.

“Where is he?”

Cave shrugs and turns back around. Anxiety claws its way under my skin; if he doesn’t know where my brother is, this cycle could start again. A small part of me freezes in terror. I don’t want to keep living like this, not knowing who he is going to owe money to and always having to look over my shoulder.

Cipher reaches over, takes my hand in his, and squeezes tightly.

The rest of the day moves slowly, and I want to tell them I have to go home. It’s time to get back to my life. I need to find a job, and fast. The bills will pile up, and I hate not having all my ducks in a row, so to speak.

I know Cave is watching me; he tracks me every time I move. He does the same with Cipher, barely letting us out of his sight. I really don’t want to piss off the Scarecrow right now.