by Ashley Jade
There aren’t many places she’d run off to in her current state.
In fact, I can only think of one.
The graveyard located half a mile from Cain’s burning house.
My boots crunch over the grass and little white flurries trickle out of the sky as I pass through rows of graves and monuments.
Black Hallows doesn’t usually get snow in November, but given the events of the night, it’s oddly fitting.
I blow a puff of breath into my hands, then dig them in my pockets for warmth. I’m about to call this a bust and turn back when I hear something a few rows over.
My chest tightens when I turn my head.
Eden’s hugging Kristy’s marble headstone, her small body wracking with sobs.
I should walk away, give her the time she deserves, but it’s freezing outside and she’s only wearing the suit jacket I gave her earlier.
Crouching down, I pry her off Kristy’s grave.
“It’s cold, baby,” I say when she protests.
She claws at my chest as I scoop her into my arms. “I never got to meet her.”
I know.
“I wanted a mom so bad,” she rasps as I begin carrying her to the car.
I know you did.
“It hurts.” A guttural scream rips from her throat. “It hurts so much.”
I know it does. “I’m sorry.”
It’s the first time I’ve ever uttered those words.
It’s the only thing I’ve ever been truly sorry for.
Eden’s shivering so much her teeth chatter as I bring her into the house. I turned the heat on high during the drive, but given how cold she still is, it wasn’t enough.
“Oh my God,” Geoffrey utters when I pass him on the stairs. “I’ll draw a bath.”
“I’ll do it.”
He nods, looking her over. “While you do that, I’ll call a doctor.”
“No.”
He blinks. “She’s bleeding, sir.”
“Get lost or find a new job,” I growl, pushing past him.
Geoffrey is devoted, but there are some situations you can’t trust anyone.
“Don’t touch anything right now,” I tell Eden as we enter the bathroom and I set her down. “Not until you get out of the bath.”
The last thing I need is investigators finding a bloody fingerprint belonging to Eden.
She hasn’t said a word since we left the graveyard. I’m not sure if it’s because she’s seriously sick or in shock.
Probably both.
I turn to her as the tub begins to fill. “We need to get these off.” I place her hand on my shoulder for support. “Lean on me.”
I take her shoes off first, placing them on a bath towel I laid down. The jacket she’s wearing quickly follows.
My pulse speeds up when I see all the blood covering her body until I remind myself it’s Cain’s and not hers.
She winces when it’s time to take off her panties and I soon realize why. They’re damp and smell like piss.
Cain got off too easy.
Once again I swallow my rage as I help her into the bathtub.
I’m not a tender or kind person. Taking care of others isn’t my thing. Never has been. But I do my best with Eden, being as gentle as I can while I wash all the blood off. When the water turns red and she cringes, I drain it and fill it back up. And when she starts to shiver again, I strip my clothes off and get in the tub with her.
“It’s gonna be okay.” I press the washcloth to her back. “He won’t hurt you ever again.”
“Sir, I’m sorry, but she needs to see a doctor—” Geoffrey starts to say as he barges in. His expression changes when he looks at the pile of bloody clothes and then at us.
Irritation skitters up my spine. “Geoff—”
“I’ll take care of these.” He picks up the clothes before I can stop him. “I already have a fire started in the library fireplace.”
“You tell a soul and—”
“Your secrets are safe with me, sir.” He looks at Eden and his face softens. “I’m sure it was deserved.”
He has no idea.
“By the way,” he says as he walks out. “The governor passed away.”
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
“Looks like everyone got what they deserved tonight.”
“I didn’t feel anything, Damien,” Eden says, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Wha—”
“When I killed him. I thought I’d feel remorse…but I didn’t. I still don’t.” She draws her knees up to her chest. “How long do you think it will be before the police come looking for me?”
“Don’t worry about that.” I kiss her shoulder. “You should get some rest.”
She tilts her head to look at me. “Cain said there was a bullet with your name on it.”
I’d laugh if she didn’t look so serious. Cain was nothing if not a manipulative liar. “Did he say that when he was still tied up?”
She nods and her expression turns grim. “It was my breaking point. I didn’t want him to take another person…” She shakes her head. “I got tired of him taking everything good in my life.”
He’ll never take anything from her again. His death is her fresh start.
She stands up and reaches for the oversized towel on the sink. “Thanks for the bath. I’ll see myself out in a few.”
I’m right behind her when she leaves the bathroom. She’s not going anywhere. Not until I know the police arrest the right person.
“Don’t leave.”
She fastens the towel around her. “I don’t have a reason to stay.”
I let that shot roll off my back. She’s angry. She’s entitled to it. But I’m still not letting her leave.
“Eden—”
“No.” She spins around. “I already spent time with one dead guy tonight. I have no desire to do it with two.”
Frustration burrows in my gut. I’m trying to do everything I can to help her. “What the fuck do you want from me?”
She shrugs helplessly. “Something I can never have.”
She’s not making any sense. All she has to do is say the word and I’d give it to her. “I don’t know—”
“You. I want to erase the last eight hours of my life so I can have you again.” She balls her fists. “It hurts. But it hurts a hell of a lot worse without you.”
Our gazes lock as she takes a step closer.
“Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t love me.”
Saying the words will only make things worse.
If we had a chance at a future. If I could change the past…I’d tell her. Hell, I’d scream it at the top of my lungs.
But we don’t.
We never will.
The sun has already risen when I creep into her bedroom.
The news reported the fire at Cain’s house a little over two hours ago. It won’t be long before they get here.
Eden wakes with a start when I crawl into her bed. “What are you doing?”
I crush my mouth against hers. I can’t say the words, but it doesn’t mean I don’t feel it.
“Being selfish.”
Memorizing every single part of her body.
My mouth dips to her neck and I suck the soft skin as I pull off her shorts and panties. I want to go slow and take my time. But I don’t know how much of it I have left.
“Damien.” Her eyes are sad, desperate. “I’m gonna miss you so much.”
My hand cups her cheek. I’m gonna miss her more.
She parts her thighs and I settle between them, sliding inside her inch by inch until I’m rooted to the hilt.
Eden sighs my name, combing her fingers through my hair as I thrust faster. Our breaths mingle in the dark as our hips rock.
“I love you,” she whispers, wrapping her legs around me tighter.
Tell her.
She moans, raising her hips as I pick up my pace. “More.”
I grab the headboard, slamming into her harder. Giving
it to her the way I know she wants it.
Her frantic gasps melt into my mouth as she clenches around my cock. I watch her face as she comes. Memorize every single perfect detail of it as she drains every drop of me. Not that I’d ever forget it.
Eden has my heart. All the blackened, fucked-up parts of it.
She drapes her body over mine and closes her eyes. It’s only when I’m certain she’s asleep that I whisper the words I shouldn’t.
“I love you.”
And I’ll never stop.
Chapter 48
Eden
There’s a smile on my face as I wake up…until all the events of last night come rushing back to me like a tidal wave.
Lies, heartbreak, murder.
A shudder runs through me as I look at my hands. These hands have taken a life.
And yet, I can’t seem to find a lick of remorse. Not even so much as one tiny kernel of guilt. Maybe I do belong in prison after all.
I stretch my arms over my head and look toward the other side of the bed.
It’s empty. My heart protests the injustice.
I was hoping to have a little more time with Damien before I turn myself in.
I know Damien will talk me out of it and will most definitely try to stop me, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life running.
I killed Cain Carter because he deserved to die.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
I’ll take my chances with the legal system.
I grab a robe from the closet before I venture downstairs. I want to eat a hearty breakfast, take another shower, ask Damien if he knows any good lawyers, and head down to the precinct.
“Hey.” I smile at Geoffrey as I pass him on the staircase.
He doesn’t return it.
Probably because I’m freaking him out. Who the hell kills a man and then smiles the next morning like it’s no big deal?
Maybe I should put ‘contact therapist’ on my list of to-do things. Bile surges up my throat. Or not.
“Is Damien in his office?”
Geoffrey shakes his head.
“Exercise room?”
Another head shake.
“Kitchen?”
“No.”
And now we’re three for three. Something is definitely wrong.
“Geoffrey?”
“Yes?”
“Where’s Damien?”
He wrings his hands. “He was arrested about an hour ago.”
I stare at him for a few seconds, wondering if I misheard him. “Why in the world would they ar—” My hands fly to my face. I figured with Cain dead, Damien would be in the clear. “It’s polling day. Damien didn’t kill Cain’s family, Geoffrey. We have to do something.”
Now Geoffrey’s the one who looks confused. “I believe someone already did. Cain Carter’s home was nearly burned to the ground last night…while he was still in it.”
Blood rushes in my ears and I swallow hard. This can’t be happening.
I clutch my stomach. Damien didn’t have to cover it up.
The room sways and I grip the banister.
“Are you okay?”
I can’t let him go down for something he didn’t do. I won’t. I’m not Cain.
“I need a ride to the precinct.”
He frowns. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. I’m under strict orders to bring you to the airport in twenty minutes.”
Yeah, that’s not happening. Damien told me I could either be the lamb or the slaughterer.
Last night I was definitely the slaughterer…and I guess today I’m going to need to be one again. It seems to be the only way people take you seriously.
I grab Geoffrey’s collar. “Last night I killed a man in cold blood. Slit his throat and then plunged a knife straight into his heart. If you bring me to the fucking airport instead of the precinct so I can save Damien…I will not hesitate to do the same thing to you. Got it?”
He pales. “Yes, miss.”
“I need to see Chief Trejo,” I tell the officer at the front desk.
He raises an eyebrow before his eyes wander downward.
That’s right. Soak it all up.
I chose a black low cut, silk dress along with blood red heels, red lips, and red nails.
The glazed over look in the young officer’s eyes tells me I chose right.
“He’s…” He visibly swallows. “In a meeting.”
I lean over just enough to give him a peek of my cleavage. “Can you tell him it’s urgent?”
He nods so hard I think his head’s going to fall off. “Sure can.” He fumbles with the phone for a moment before he says, “What’s your name, miss?”
“Eden King.”
Trejo’s eyes light up like firecrackers when I walk into his office.
He better be in the mood to pull some strings, because I’m not leaving this precinct until I know Damien is free and clear.
If blackmailing him doesn’t work. I’ll seduce the bastard.
And if neither of those work, I’ll turn myself in. Either way, Damien is being released by the time I leave.
I point to the door. “Mind if I close this?”
He leans back in his chair, lacing his fingers across his gut, and gives me a skeevy smile. “Not at all.”
“Are there any video cameras in here?”
His eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “Wh—”
I slap the manila folder on his desk. “Trust me, I’m asking for your benefit, Chief. Not mine.”
That gets his attention.
He sits upright. “It’s clear.”
He starts to open the folder, but I place my finger on top of it. “We’ll get to this in a minute. First, I’d like to know why you’re holding Damien King.”
I need to know exactly what evidence they have on him.
“That’s official police business.”
“You and I both know he didn’t do it. More than half the town can account for his whereabouts last night considering he was hosting the masquerade ball.”
“I only know what the evidence tells me,” he grits through his teeth. “So if you came here to hassle me for information, you’re wasting your time.”
I pick up the folder. “I actually came here to help you.” Shrugging, I open it and thumb through the photos. “On second thought, I think I should do the right thing and tell your wife instead.”
He bristles. “Tell my wife what?”
“Were you and my stepfather close?”
The pensive expression on his face tells me he’s not sure why I’m asking him that question.
“We were friends.”
“Really?” I slap the first picture on his desk. It’s the one of Cain blowing him. “It looks like you were a little bit more than that, Chief.”
His eyes widen and he starts coughing.
“You okay?” I walk over to his side of the desk and pat his back. “Would you like some water? Because it’s gonna get a whole lot worse.” Opening the file, I spread the contents over his desk. “Anal, sixty-nine, golden—”
“What do you want?”
“I want to make a deal.” I stride over to the chair on the other side of his desk and take a seat. “You open to hearing my terms?”
“Do I really have a choice?”
“We always have a choice, Chief.” I cross my legs and smile. “Whether or not you make the right one is up to you.”
“Just tell me what you want, and I’ll see what I can do.”
“I need you to let Damien King go. He didn’t kill Cain.”
“The knife with his fingerprints on it say otherwise.”
Shit. I draw in a breath. I can’t let him see me sweat. I try a different tactic.
“The house was nearly burned to the ground, correct?”
“Correct.”
“Did you get the autopsy results back yet?”
“They’re pending…but…uh.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Let’s just say if you wanted your stepfa
ther to be cremated…” His voice trails off.
That’s great news. “So, there’s not a lot of evidence.”
He shakes his head. “Apart from the bloody knife—no.”
“Good. So the only thing you have to do is get rid of the knife.”
He laughs. “I can’t dispose of police evidence.”
It’s my turn to laugh. “Right. Because I’m sure no officer has ever taken money or drugs from a bust before?”
He blows out a breath. “Fine. Let’s say I did get rid of the knife. What exactly am I supposed to tell people? They’re going to want to know how Cain Carter died.”
I pick my cuticles, recalling everything from last night. “He went home from the ball because he wasn’t feeling well. You can confirm that with Margaret. He liked to drink whiskey and light candles when he was stressed. You’re smart, Chief. I’m sure you can put all those pieces together and come up with something.”
He rubs his chin, pondering. “It doesn’t bode well for the department if we can’t solve cases…but I’ll figure something out.” He pins me with a look. “As long as you can assure me you’ll get rid of the pictures and stay away from my wife.”
I place my hand over my heart. “You have my word.”
But words don’t mean shit. Which is why you should always keep backup files.
I flutter my eyelashes. “And Damien will be released when?”
“Give me a few hours to get rid of the knife and clean everything up.”
I stand up and hold out my hand. “Thank you for your cooperation, Chief Trejo.”
His expression is dour as he shakes it. “Don’t mention it.”
“Just out of curiosity, does the name Kristy Miller ring a bell?” I ask when I reach the door.
“Yeah, I remember that case like it was yesterday.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “If you’re so worried about solving cases…you should know that she was innocent.”
He sighs. “If she was innocent then who—”
“Cain Carter.”
Chapter 49
Eden
Nerves bunch in my stomach as I wait for Damien to walk out of the precinct. It’s been over four hours since I left Trejo’s office.