Page 94
Jade believes it, even if the others don’t. Out of everyone here, she possesses the deepest understanding of him. She knows he didn’t kill Maison out of revenge for his sister but because he is nothing more than a brutal killer who probably would have killed eventually, regardless of his reasons why.
The little scar on my throat begins to throb like it always does whenever I think of him. No one talks or utters a word as we all relive the horrors of what happened when we were all last together.
He’s out there. A murderer hiding in these woods, who is now also desperate and hungry.
Serena finally lifts her gaze from the fire. “We should all be safe enough together, right? I doubt he will come anywhere near here.”
My head rests on Micah’s chest, and I can distinctly hear the rhythm of his heart, but I swear it skips a beat, his body heat rising. Something about his energy shifts, and his body tightens. The silence is deafening; no one knowing how to answer.
Micah finally says, “I bet he is already here somewhere.”
I swallow the acid in my throat at that very real possibility.
“What do we do now?” Naomi asks over the crackling fire. Hearing her voice makes my skin crawl. Visions of her beating me, holding me down while Nigel stabbed me in my side all those months ago… She doesn’t deserve a place among us.
“We take turns staying awake,” Jade says. “Some of us sleep during the day, and some of us man this fire. No one is ever allowed to be alone. We have three shelters, so we can split up, but keep your wits about you. All he needs is a fleeting moment.” Thomas and James rise. “Two people need to stay up tonight.”
“We’ll take the fire,” Micah volunteers before I even have a chance to protest. I look up at him, my eyes wide. It’s still cold outside. My breath still teases the air, and I absolutely hate sleeping in the elements. But the fire out here is big, and they have a sufficient stockpile of wood. Besides, I spent the entire day sleeping, so I’m not tired anyway.
“It’ll be fine, London,” Micah whispers in my ear.
He doesn’t understand. I’m not scared of the cold; I’m petrified of being alone with him. I hate how comfortable I already am in his arms. I need to remind myself I’m still pissed at him. We never finished our conversation.
Jade nods. “Fine, then tomorrow night, we can switch.”
“We’re not staying,” Micah interrupts before she can finish her thought. “I’ll take London back with me tomorrow. You can keep the food.”
Jade tilts her head as if seeing right through us. She can sense my hesitation; everyone can. I’ve never been great at hiding my emotions from these people.
“Suit yourself,” she mutters.
I bite my lip as everyone starts to shuffle away, getting ready to sleep for the night. A sense of dread eats me up inside—at the thought of staying here, at the thought of leaving… and at the thought of living.
How long can we truly live like this?
“Where the fuck am I supposed to go?” Ezra asks.
“We have a half-built shelter about a hundred feet down the river where Ollie stayed sometimes. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing,” James responds, rising and grabbing Serena’s hand, but not before his gaze lingers on Micah, then on me, his eyebrows raised. “There is some wood stockpiled next to it, so you should be fine to start a fire.”
Thomas, who hasn’t said a word to anyone, walks out into the darkness, and Jade follows him, leaving Naomi, Ezra, Micah, and me.
The outsiders.
I can imagine how weird it is for the four of them to suddenly have four extra people to contend with. Ezra grimaces at Naomi, staring at her for a long second, anger seething out of him before he finally says, “Are you fucking coming or what, Naomi?”
She exhales sharply, scoops up a couple extra blankets, and joins Ezra in the darkness without even acknowledging our presence, leaving Micah and me alone once more.
Micah rises and throws a few logs into the fire, getting it nice and hot as I lay out a few extra blankets Jade has left us and lie down. I watch him, so confident and so strong. The ground, scorched by the flames, is dry to the touch, but a bone-chilling wind makes me shiver instantly. I can’t relax; my joints are frozen, and my nerves are jumpy. My heart beats rapidly, reminiscent of the first time I was alone with Micah.
After all these months and everything we’ve been through together, Micah still has me on edge. It’s as if my adrenaline spiked when I pulled myself out of those binds, and it never came down. I’m so lost in my thoughts that I jerk when he crawls in behind me on our bed.
My breath falters because I have no idea which version of Micah I’m about to get.
“Come here,” he whispers, pulling me close.
The cuddly one apparently.
He runs his hand down to mine and pulls off the dirty bandage wrapped around it. I turn to face him, and the gold specs in his eyes flash as he pulls it off and checks the wound underneath it. I don’t like to look at it or think about what it represents.
