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She was practically vibrating with rage. The tendrils of shadows writhed as if they were reacting to her anger, flicking out like they were ready to lash out at the perceived threat. I eyed them warily, nervous that they would try to reach for me. I didn’t know what they were capable of, but they were radiating an energy that screamedfuck off or die, and I was suddenly sure that they were fully capable of ending me, even in death.

‘I don’t belong to anyone,’ she stated, her voice emanating danger in its deceptive calm.

‘Kali…’ I began cautiously. I attempted to move away, but I was rooted to the spot. It seemed it was somehow still attached to my body, and panic that I was trapped near it tried to take root, but I shoved it aside. Kali wasn’t trapped. She was moving freely, or at least more freely than me. I didn’t think she had left the property since she was buried here, but she had managed to move far enough away to run into Rhodes.

That meant I was capable of the same, even if it took a while to figure out how. And I would.

As soon as she caught on to my fear, she calmed down, shooting me an apologetic look. ‘I’m sorry, Chance. I didn’t mean to be so…’

‘Badass?’ I finished for her with a smirk.

She laughed, and the sound lit the spark inside of me that had almost completely extinguished in her absence. She filled me with light and love in a way I hadn’t felt in far too long, and I fell even harder for her because of it, if that was even possible. I knew my feelings for her bordered on obsession. No, scratch that. Theywereobsessive.

‘That’s the first time I’ve ever been called that,’ she smirked. ‘I’ll take it.’

The moment of muted levity was quickly squashed when a sob burst from the cop hiding in the shadow of the stairs. There was a little alcove beside them that she had been chained to,though there was no bed like the one Blake had killed me on. I glanced over my shoulder at it, noting how grimy it looked. Even in the darkness of the windowless basement, I could clearly see the stains. Blood was the most prominent, but I could also see signs of shit and piss from where his previous victims must have released themselves in their fear.

My stomach twisted with a combination of emotions, though the forerunners were rage and grief. My little brother, the one I had loved so unconditionally and who had supported me throughout the years of being cast aside by our parents… How could he have become such a monster?

And how didn’t I see it?

‘Don’t beat yourself up over it, Chance. I didn’t see it until it was too late, either,’ Kali said, her voice filled with compassion and understanding. I hadn’t realised I had spoken my thoughts out loud.

‘I don’t understand how he turned into…that,’ I said, gesturing up the stairs to where a heavily reinforced steel door was shut tight with an obnoxious amount of locks. A lot of time and money had been invested in the perfect little murder room, hadn’t it?

‘He doesn’t fish,’ was all she said.

I blinked. ‘But… All those fishing trips…’

‘Murder trips.’

‘Fuck…’

‘Yeah.’

I met her eyes once again, but the words I was about to say dried up in my mouth as I found myself caught in the lure of her beautiful blue eyes. They seemed even lighter and brighter than I remembered, like they had turned into two orbs of pure ice. It contrasted in an oddly comforting way with the warmth she was currently showing me now, and it took her expression shiftinginto one of concern to jolt me out of the trance they had put me in.

‘Do you need a minute?’ she asked softly.

‘How did you get here, Kali? What the fuck happened?’

She released a breathy snort from her nose and tilted her head back to look up at the ceiling. It was a derisive move, focused internally rather than at me. ‘I thought he was cheating on me.’

‘You were catching onto his lies,’ I surmised.

‘There were too many fishing trips. I thought it was strange that they got longer each time he went, and then I figured I’d join him on one or something, you know? Just to spend some time together. I was feeling…neglected,’ she scoffed out the word. ‘But when I asked him about it, he shut me down. I could sense that something else was going on, that something wasn’t right, so I started doing a little research. Turned out that the ‘colleagues’ he was going on these trips with didn’t even exist. Or, if they did, they were from the other side of the world. It didn’t even occur to me that he could be doing something as heinous as kidnapping, torture, and murder, so I followed him. I thought I’d catch him in the act with another woman, and I certainly caught him inanact, though her screams weren’t of the pleasurable variety.’

‘Jesus… Kali,’ I hesitated, unsure how to respond. ‘Why didn’t you say anything? You never told me you were questioning his loyalty.’

She dropped her gaze back to mine, and I swore I saw guilt flash in them, along with something I couldn’t quite grasp. ‘I didn’t want to drag you into it. You’re his brother. I didn’t want it to seem like I was trying to make you choose sides, especially when I didn’t have any proof.’

‘I…’ I paused. I was about to tell her that I would have always taken her side, and while that might have been true, I also would have been there to support Blake no matter what. I could seethe logic in her secrecy, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. Especially with all that I’d uncovered and experienced these past few days.

She shot me a smile that was both sad and understanding at the same time, and I wanted to wipe it off her face and replace it with something much better. Instinctively, I tried to move toward her again, but practically bent in half at the waist when my feet refused to move. My body snapped back up with ease, gravity no longer playing a part in my existence, and it was slightly disorienting. It felt natural, like this was the state of being I was meant to be in, yet it was unfamiliar enough that I knew it would take time before it felt normal.

She waved to where the cop was shivering, tears streaking down her cheeks as she hugged her knees to her chest. ‘I should go find Rhodes and let him know what’s going on so he can pass on the message to the right people. Someone needs to come out here and help this poor woman before it’s too late. I hate to say it, but your death has probably prolonged her life enough to be rescued if we act fast, but I don’t want to leave you alone.’

Her words stumped me. I wasn’t cruel enough to want the woman to suffer, but every atom of my being was screaming not to let Kali out of my sight. I’d only just got her back. What if she left and never returned? What if I ended up stuck by my bones for all eternity, unable to figure out how to break free while she roamed the Earth, leaving me behind?