Page 44

Brawler steps back and tips my chin in the air. His turquoise blue eyes are striking against the backdrop of the overcast sky. “I hate when you say things like that because I know what you had to go through to come up with that kind of wisdom.”
I push up on my tiptoes and press my lips to his. “I’m healing now. That’s all that matters.”
“It seems that way, doesn’t it?” he asks, gazing back down at the place where his siblings will spend forever. “I was lost until you came to the Heights.”
“So was I,” I choke out. I came to the Heights for one reason and one reason only...then walk out with four boyfriends. Fingers crossed, anyway. So many things could go wrong between now and then.
Brawler slips his hand around my back as we face the gravesite again. “Can I ask you something?”
I stare at the names on the stone while my stomach churns. “Anything.”
He passes his finger over my ring. “If this had been an engagement ring, would you have said yes?”
I tilt my head to look at him, but he avoids my stare. His lips pressed together, he just stares calmly at the overgrown grass around the grave. I can’t get a read on him whatsoever. It’s almost as if he’s taken pointers from Mag. I lick my lips. “No.”
His jaw feathers. “Just no?”
My stomach tightens. I love Johnny. I still don’t know how he feels about the five of us, but I know how I feel about the five of us. I love the rest of them, too. “No because I don’t want just him.” Greediness claws at me, but I whip that feeling back. It’s not about saying I want as many guys as I can get, it’s about just these four. “Maybe one day, it’ll be all five of us.”
Brawler’s lips turn up in the corners. “Weirdest wedding ever.”
I chuckle. “Unconventional, for sure.”
He chuckles. “I don’t even know how to explain this to my mom.” He shakes his head a few times. “Half the time, she’s not even living in the real world, so it’s difficult. Throwing this at her would really be testing her sanity.”
“I know what you mean,” I tell him. “My aunt asked today if I sounded so happy because of a guy, and I kind of wanted to tell her, but I don’t think that’s a conversation you have over the phone.”
“People won’t get it.”
“And I think that’s okay. The only people who have to get it is us.”
Brawler squeezes my hand and steps back, and I take it as a sign he’s ready to leave. Before we do, I gaze down at the stone and promise Brawler’s family that I’ll do everything I can to make sure no one else ends up like them. I didn’t know them. I don’t know them now, but I know Brawler enough to figure out the type of people they were. I can give that promise to them freely and without hesitation.
We start a slow walk past trees dotted across the cemetery and rows of different headstones. Some big, some small. Some ornate, some simple. Brawler slows, and I stop staring at the line of stones and lift my gaze. At the end of the row is a man. Brawler grips my side at the same time I realize who it is.
It’s fucking Detective Reynolds.
Brawler keeps the pace with his head in the air. I mimic him, but I also know that this isn’t a coincidence. Did he follow us? Did he know Brawler would be at the cemetery today?
He doesn’t even allow us the respect of leaving the row Brawler’s brother and sister are buried in before he steps right into our path.
“Merry Christmas, Detective,” Brawler says.
I can only manage a hard stare. The last time I saw Detective Reynolds, things didn’t go so well. He thinks I murdered a little girl based on shitty evidence. The thought that he even worked for the Crew’s enemies has even popped into my head, but I don’t think that’s it. He’s just an overeager cop and my fingerprints on the murder weapon are low-hanging fruit.
“Mr. Timms. Miss Samson.”
“What can we do for you?” Brawler asks.
Reynolds ignores Brawler’s question. He eyes me with a snide gaze. The guy totally has it out for me. If he truly thinks I killed that poor little girl, I don’t blame him. “Just out for a leisurely stroll,” Reynolds says with a shrug.
Brawler’s brows rise. “In a cemetery?”
“During Christmas, I come to the graves of the murdered persons’ cases I haven’t been able to solve yet.” He clucks his tongue against his teeth. “Just so happens one you’re involved in is also laid to rest in this cemetery.”
“I’m not involved in any murder cases.”
He completely ignores me. “Imagine my surprise when I saw you here.”