She lifted her head from where it had been buried in the crook of his neck, looking up at him. “Anything.”
He searched her brown eyes, releasing the curl and trying to push all her hair away from her face. Her hair had a mind of its own, however—it always did, and danced right back down over her eyes the moment he released it.
“Promise me that we’ll never be like them…” He frowned, running the backs of his knuckles over her face. “That we’ll never try to force our family into a box they don’t want to be in. That we’ll let our family be free to operate exactly how it was meant to. That we’ll love our kids, no matter what…”
“Even the one who hates our existence, kills puppies, harasses his siblings, and listens to death metal?” She made a dubious face.
He chortled, hands back in her hair. “Yes, even him.”
She pressed her chin into his chest, grinning. Acquiescing.
The smile fell slowly from his face. “Promise me we’ll never have any secrets.”
Her eyes shot up to his.
Gage didn’t know what change he saw right then, but it sent his hands from her hair to the corner of her eyes, where he’d seen that change happen the fastest. “Promise me, Veda.”
Her eyes grew more ripe, more vulnerable. Her tiny hands, which had previously been lying serenely on his pecs, curled, making her nails dig into his skin.
“I promise,” she said, her teeth softly clenched.
His touch went to her mouth, not missing the change that had happened there either. “I’ll never leave you. I’ll never turn my back on you. I’ll love you, and our future children—regardless how big an asshole they may or may not turn out to be…”
The tiniest smile broke through her troubled face, and he touched the tips of her lips.
“Until the day I die.” He breathed deep, making her face rise. “Can you trust that, Veda?”
Her eyes shot up to his.
And his chest swelled again. “Do you trust me?”
Silence.
The dig of her nails into his chest was deeper this time, reddening his skin.
The entire world that lived in her eyes, a world he still felt like he’d barely discovered, visibly shifted. He was hungry to explore that world every day but never more than he was right then.
“Yes,” her voice trembled. “I trust you.”
He took her arms and pulled her body up, the sweat that still dotted both their bodies making it easier, and caught her lips in a kiss.
He watched her face as their lips and tongues danced, and even as she let her eyes flutter slowly closed, he didn’t close his.
He wanted to see that world in her eyes—the world he still hadn’t yet made sense of—float away, the way it only did when his lips were on hers or his dick was inside her.
He’d do whatever it took to make that world right.
Even if he didn’t fully understand what was wrong.
20
Even as Veda unlocked the door to her apartment the next evening, her new engagement ring shining up at her and reminding her of the marathon lovemaking with Gage the night before, it was still gone.
The darkness.
She drank in a deep breath as she flicked on the light to her place. It was a new feeling.
Hope.
Maybe the anger was finally gone. Maybe she could move on with her life without the bone-squeezing thirst for revenge to carry her. Maybe she could be happy without ruining the lives of the ten animals that had ruined hers. Maybe she really could love a sadistic, puppy-killing, death metal obsessed son. If it was a son conceived with Gage, who’d made her see that the world really could be a place full of joy and light, she believed it was possible.
To let go.
She dropped her work bag on her foyer floor. Hurrying toward her bedroom to get an overnight bag ready so she could spend the next few nights at Gage’s, she couldn’t help but wonder how good it felt.
The happiness.
The peace.
Her cell phone rang in the pocket of her scrubs halfway to her bedroom. She fished it out, smiling when she grabbed the bronze coin along with the phone, amused at how it coincided with the name that shone up from the text message on her screen.
Linc: I need to talk to you.
Veda licked her lips and took a deep breath. It didn’t feel right. Drowning in the peace, the light, the love… when she knew the man who’d saved her life was still in the shadows. She thought of Linc’s face and how rarely it smiled. She thought of his gentle ways, even as anger saturated his eyes non-stop, proving what a battle it was for him to maintain any outward peace. She thought of the constant fight he fought so valiantly, even though there was no question to anyone who’d met him that it wasn’t a fight he was losing.
She didn’t realize she’d been standing there for a good five minutes, lost in her thoughts, until her phone buzzed again, nearly making her jump out of her skin.
Linc: Are you at the hospital?
She gathered herself as her trembling fingers tapped on the screen.
Veda: At my apartment.
Linc: Gage there?
She shook her head and then realized he couldn’t see her.
Veda: Not off until five.
Linc: I’m around the corner.
Her heart zoomed to a stop.
Why did she need to know that he was around the corner?
Linc: I’ll be there in five minutes.
She had half a mind to text him asking when she’d invited him, but instead, she dropped her phone on the coffee table and began racing around her apartment, snatching up anything that was too messy or embarrassing for anyone but Gage to see.
“Fuck, shit, balls.” The mantra she hadn’t uttered in weeks spilled from her lips as she raced around her apartment.
When a knock on her door came three minutes after his text—not five—she cursed his exemplary timing, hurrying to the door and swinging it open.
She breathed in deep when his green eyes greeted her on the other side of the door.
“Ay.” The corner of his mouth tried to lift but only made it halfway.
“Hey,” she whispered, unable to stop her eyes from running his body. Her eyebrows shot up, amusement staining her gaze as she lifted it back to his. “You look nice.”
His lips parted. He faltered. His fingers flew up to the collar of his white button-down shirt, and he straightened it. His eyes fell to the buttons as he ran the beds of his fingers over them, appearing to make sure they were fastened properly. His ring finger was bare. She hadn’t realized how much that wedding ring had become an extension of him until that moment, drinking in his naked finger.
“I have never seen you in a shirt with a collar, let alone buttons…” She joked, leaning on her door and crossing her legs at the ankles, already chock-full of a million ways to make fun of him over that crisp white button down. “Who died?”
“Actually…” Linc dropped his hands, shoving them in his jean pockets, looking away for a moment before finally returning her gaze. “Luke.”
Veda’s smile vanished. She uncrossed her legs, and her spine snapped stark straight. A zap of horror zoomed through her.
A lump moved down Linc’s throat, and he shrugged his shoulders, shoving his hands deeper in his pockets. “He’s dead, Veda. Overdose. Didn’t want to tell you over the phone.”
“For fuck’s sake, I think my fucking heart just stopped.” She bent forward at the hip, covering her heart with her hand, unable to escape the fact that instantly hit her.
This was her fault.
Her stomach wound in knots like a tightrope, and she bent down even further, clutching her knee for support. “No.”
“Neighbor found him in his bathtub this morning. Needle still in the arm.”
She frowned deeply. For a long moment she was lost in the sickness in her gut, then she realized how rude she was being and slowly straightened, clearing the doorway as tears stung her eyes. “Come in, Linc. Jesus Chri
st.”
Linc accepted her invite, stepping inside, eyes searching her face.
She slammed the door closed behind him.
His stomps shook the floor as he moved into the living room, making it all the way to the coffee table before he turned to face her again.
She pushed a hand on her hips and jutted her leg out. “Just the other night he said he’d gone back to AA…” She covered her mouth when a soft cry threatened her lips. “I was so sure he’d get back on track. That he’d be okay.” When a tear spilled over her cheek, she drew in a breath. As soon as the tears were wetting her cheeks, however, they were dry again, and she was frowning into the distance.
She reclaimed Linc’s eyes, motioning to him with her fisted hand. “How sure are we that this was an overdose?”
“Good question.” His nostrils flared. “Such a good question that I went down to the coroner’s office this afternoon to take a look at Luke myself. Thought it was funny that the track marks were in his right arm, even though he’s right-handed.” He gave a quick shrug, his lips curling down. “Fair enough. He was an addict, right? I’m sure after a few years, when the veins start becoming scarce, you get ambidextrous pretty quickly. But that didn’t explain why there was so much blood. Why there were six fresh track marks on his arm…” He tapped his inner arm. “But only one of them hit a vein?”
Veda’s voice lowered with understanding, then sarcasm. “Because everyone knows it takes a career heroin user six attempts to find a vein.”
“Kid was a sharpshooter. Had marks in every vein on his body. He had marks in his toes, but he couldn’t hit the target in his arm? No way.”
“They set him up. Oh my god…” She sputtered. “You said he’d paid him off…”
“I told you. The elite scary easily. Eugene probably paid him off, then woke up the next morning and decided to take a more surefire route.”
Veda felt sick, because just like that, it was back.
The shadows swooped down with a vengeance, encasing her with a strength they never had before.
She nearly laughed at their return. What a fool she’d been to believe Gage’s proposal had killed them for good. What an idiot she’d been to believe they would stay gone this time.
They would never stay gone. Not until they all paid the price. It had always been true, but never truer than it was right then.
She sucked in a breath. “We have to do something about this. What did the coroner have to say?”
“No evidence. No probable cause. No proof. Just another kid from the hill getting hit with a ten-cent pistol. Coroner couldn’t take the leap.”
Veda cursed under her breath. The tears returned, and the tightening in her stomach amplified. She leaned forward again, bracing her hands on her knees when she was sure she was seconds from throwing up. “I never should’ve dragged him into this. I never should’ve pushed him to talk about Greta. I never should’ve—”
“Don’t do that. Take it from someone who knows what it’s like to blame himself. Who’s damn near made a career of it.”
Her moistened eyes lifted to his.
He shook his head. “It’s a one-way ticket to hell. A place with no windows, no doors, no escape. Don’t do that. This isn’t your fault. Hell, you put your neck on the line for that kid more than anyone else on this island would’ve. More than I would’ve, even. You’re a good person, Veda. You…” He looked away, motioning to her with his eyes lowered. “You got heart.”
“Yeah, well I don’t feel like a good person right now. I feel like I just signed some kid’s death warrant. A few weeks ago, he was clean and sober. He’d even found a way to get his hands on a second-hand suit so he could go to his first job interview. He was turning his life around—”
“Yeah, and Eugene fucked that up by naming Luke for a crime he didn’t commit. How in the world does that come back around to you?” He shook his head again. “This isn’t your fault.”
Veda couldn’t hear another word, and the tears in her eyes had transferred to her voice and stopped her from responding, so she turned her back, covering her mouth with her hand. A part of her wanted Linc to leave. Before she said something she’d regret. It was bad enough he’d almost caught her during the cow-print nail polish debacle. Surely that near-miss would always be at the back of his mind. All it would take was one foolish slip of her tongue to flip that idle switch in his brain, confirming his earlier suspicions and exposing her secret to him.
When the warmth of his hands encased her upper arms from behind, Veda’s chest rose.
He tightened his hold, and the rapid breath she drew in made her stand a little taller. He ran his hands down her arms, and her eyes slowly closed, feeling every inch of her skin pick up under his callused fingers, almost reaching for them. The absence of the ring on his left hand ensured not a single barrier existed between their skin as he stroked a slow path down her arms, stopping just above her elbows.
He lingered.
He squeezed.
Veda turned on her heel, releasing a soft cry when her face was instantly buried between his pecs, the soft buttons of his shirt nipping at her skin.
The deep rumble of his hard chest made the tip of her nose tingle when he spoke. “I didn’t come her to make you upset… but we can’t do this anymore.”
Veda stepped back as if he’d just stabbed her, putting several feet between them, a frown curling up her face. “There’s no way in hell I’m walking away. Not after everything that’s come to light. Eugene might’ve paid Luke off before he… before he killed him.” Veda swallowed. “But he didn’t kill him fast enough because now we know something fucked up is happening with the rich people on this godforsaken island. With the cruise line. With all those missing under-aged girls.”
“We’ve always known that. The whole island knows that. It’s not exactly front-page news.”
“But now we have leads. Leads we still haven’t followed up on. Starting with that unbelievable cunt Madame Nikki. We should—”
“Veda, it’s too dangerous—”
“We still haven’t followed up on the information that could help us find Zena Jones. It’s been weeks since she went missing, yeah, but…” She struggled. “But that doesn’t mean we just give up—”
“Veda—”
“That doesn’t mean she’s not still out there somewhere, scared and alone, praying that someone finds her. Saves her—”
“Veda—”
“How many more are still waiting? God, Linc, she could still be alive out there somewhere, believing we’ve given up on her—”
“She’s gone.”
Shock zoomed through Veda, making her skin prickle. She was instantly reminded of her childhood and the violent shock that always catapulted through her when her father would raise his voice unexpectedly. Like Linc, he’d been an even-tempered man on the outside, even as a hot simmer constantly bubbled at his core. He rarely let that simmer move to a boil, but in the rare instance he did— watch out. It had the power to take Veda off her feet—how loud and fierce that boil could go.
Now was no exception.
The words seemed to stun Linc just as much as they had her. He held his hands out at his sides, more emotion on his face than she’d ever seen before. He exhaled sharply, eyes glimmering, voice lowering. “She’s gone.”
Veda’s eyes stung. She tried to open her mouth to speak, but couldn’t decide what she’d be responding to. With just two words, he’d said so much. Veda couldn’t fathom where to even begin replying.
He swallowed the lump that had been trapped in his throat, pointing to her with all his fingers arrow sharp. “My wife was getting too close to the truth before she disappeared. She had a heart too big for her body—just like you—and I’ll be damned if I see you go down that same road. It was a mistake to let you in this deep in the first place, so I’m ending it now. You’re gonna stop looking into this. You’re gonna stop asking questions. You’re gonna walk away today. Right now. Live your life.” He hes
itated. “Marry your goldmine.”
Veda went to ask him what he was talking about, and then she saw his eyes lower to her left hand. She lifted it, fingers splayed, and took in the engagement ring gleaming up from her finger. She always forgot she had it on, which was strange because it was heavier than a boulder. It hadn’t occurred to her how big that diamond actually was until that moment when it felt like it was filling the room to the hilt, leaving no space for anyone else to live and breathe.
His voice lowered, green eyes locked to the ring as he motioned to her. “Congratulations, by the way.”
She wondered how long he’d known that ring was on her finger. Had he seen it from the moment he walked in? Or had he just noticed it, right then? She covered the ring with her right hand, voice going tight. “Thank you.”
His eyes crawled back up to hers. He held her gaze.
Silence.
When it occurred to Veda what her right hand was doing, she crossed her arms tight, fighting to find words. “Well, I’m not stopping.”
He moaned.
“You must be joking if you honestly think I would.”
“Like I said, I’ll be damned—”
“No, I’ll be damned. I’ll be damned if Luke died in vain. I’m going to find out what the hell is happening on this miserable island, Linc, and I’m doing it with or without you.”
He looked on the verge of screaming, but instead, a laugh broke through. “If you’re not the most colossal pain in the ass I ever met…”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that once or twice,” Veda grumbled, unable to stop herself from grinning softly at him.
“How you feel about Luke, you know…” He motioned between them. “That’s how I feel about you. Like I should’ve never got you into this. Are you really okay with knowing that’s how you’re making me feel right now?”
Tingle (Revenge Book 2) Page 19