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I’d follow him to the ends of the earth if it meant I’d get to stay near him forever. I’ll spend an eternity wherever he wants me to, healing him, doing anything he needs to take his pain away.
Needy, indeed. Because I fucking need Micah Matei.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Micah
The first place we check is the abandoned lake site.
It’s still abandoned, as I suspected it would be. Nigel wouldn’t make it that easy for us. A glowing mist hangs in the air and wraps around the trees, blending the sky and the lake together and concealing the mountains beyond. Remnants of our old home are still evident everywhere. The circle of ash and stones around the fire pit, the half-built shelters fallen to dust, and the litter no one bothered to pick up because it’s not like we have anywhere to dispose of it.
I can’t read London’s mood as she stares off at the lake, her body limp and her hand gripping my arm, which she hasn’t let go of since we left the creek.
She and I are alone now, watching and waiting while James and Ezra walk back to the site to check things out. She’s barely said a word since she saw Ollie. A blind panic is still evident in her eyes, and she’s clinging to me like glue. I don’t know if she meant what she said before, but the truth of her words landed like a punch to my gut.
She broke up with me, and I’ve never been broken up with. The ache in my heart still hurts from when she ripped into it. The truth of everything she said cut me raw, like an open wound. Then she saw a dead body… and now she’s certainly not acting like we’re broken up.
I’m not sure what to make of that.
What I do know is that I can’t lose her, not when I just got her back, even if she’s barely with me right now. This time, nothing will tear me away from her.
A twig snaps, and James and Ezra emerge from the haze.
“No one’s here, Micah,” James says, his face tight as he checks out London, who’s peering into the lake like she sees something. “We didn’t see any sign of Jade or Nigel.”
I turn my head to see if I can make out anything beyond the trees and get a sense of what London’s looking at. “Are you positive?” I ask him.
He runs his hands through his hair. “Yeah. We double-checked everything. We’re the only ones here right now.”
James is annoying, but I trust him. I still don’t like him looking at London the way he does, but I can move past that, even if he thinks I don’t notice.
It’s fucked up, but I kind of trust Ezra, too. The way he interacts with London is different. He’s still so blindly in love with Naomi Wilson; it’s kind of pathetic. But who am I to judge? London trusts him, which means I need to trust him, too. And eventually, even if it might kill me, I need to apologize.
I jerk my head to the others, making eye contact with James, who can clearly tell something isn’t right about London. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. This place makes me shudder.”
London doesn’t move. She barely registers my voice as her eyes find the fire pit, then the dark spot where Maison died. Her gaze lingers, her mind drifting as she chews on her bottom lip and her tiny fingers gently squeeze my hand.
“Yeah, agreed. Let’s go.” Ezra’s already a few steps ahead of us, yelling over his shoulder, “This place gives me the creeps.”
I grab her arm and try to pull her with me. She hesitates, keeping her eyes grounded on that spot and her feet planted.
“Come on, London. We have to keep moving, baby. Stay with me,” I press her.
She snaps her head up and finally acknowledges me, her awareness returning from whatever dark place she was in. “Did you hear that, Micah?” she asks me, looking genuinely confused, which breaks my heart.
“Hear what, baby?”
She blinks twice. “The laughter.”
“What the hell is wrong with her?” Ezra asks.
With a single glance, I make him falter, and he stumbles back. He puts his hands up, his missing fingers in my face reminding me of what I did to him. “Sorry, I meant to say… It’s just… no one’s laughing.” He stands back awkwardly next to James.
He didn’t see Ollie. I got rid of the head so no one else had to endure seeing that.
“London’s in shock,” I whisper, running my hand over her face. She parts her lips at my touch, her gorgeous eyes finding mine, and her body trembles as she turns her focus to nothing.
“No one’s here but us, London. Just stay close to me. I’m not going to let him near you.” I want to know where her mind is at and what I have to do to bring her back to me. I want to promise her she’s not in mortal danger, but I don’t like making promises I can’t keep.
