Page 103 of Atone

“Mila!”Remi screamed for me through the smoke when she finally came to.

But it was too late. She burned alive while Alex held me in the grass, refusing to let me go.

I fought him harder then. Not that it did me any good. He was too strong, and I couldn’t think straight as I struggled against the man with the skeleton face paint. It was Halloween at the carnival, so I had no idea who he was.

But those eyes.

Those hazel eyes.

How did I not remember them when I first locked gazes with Alex?

Maybe I did. Maybe all this time I knew. Maybe I just didn’t want to believe it.

He was a ghost in the night, holding me until I stopped fighting. Until exhaustion and smoke rendered me unconscious. And by the time I woke up in the grass, the fire was out, Remi was dead, and Alex was gone.

He let her die.

Worse,Ilet her die when I didn’t fight hard enough.

“Mila,” Patience calls my name, and I look over to see Alex’s car rolling beside me. “Get in the car.”

Glancing at the backseat, I see it’s empty.

“I’m alone.” Patience pulls to a stop, and I pause.

I passed through the gates to the Lancaster property line a few minutes ago, but I’m still on the dark, empty road that surrounds it. Which means I haven’t gotten far, even if it feels like I’ve been walking for miles.

“Get in.” Patience leans over and pops open the door.

“Where is Alex?” I ask, climbing inside.

“Back at the house.” She pulls forward when I shut the door.

I hate that it smells like him inside his car, so I try to take shallow breaths.

Patience is quiet while we wind through the forest road. Pebbles crunch between the tires and pavement. No music, just the hum of a night I wish I could erase from my memories.

“You aren’t going to ask me what happened?” I break the silence when I can no longer stand it. “Or did Alex tell you?”

“He didn’t tell me anything.”

I glance over, trying to spot the lie, but her expression is blank.

“Don’t worry.” Patience’s gaze flicks to me. “Even if he did tell me, I know him well enough not to try and excuse him for what he did.”

“There is no excuse.” I turn to look out the window.

Trees flash by, bleeding together in the night. They blur with my thoughts, and I swear I see Remi’s face in all of them.

I’ve been in Bristal for almost two years, looking for answers that Alex had all along.

Even if he didn’t touch her—even if he wasn’t the man in the tent—he’s still Sigma Sin. Alex holding me back isn’t the extent of the truth he’s been withholding. What if the man who attacked Remi was Alex’s friend?

“Everyone thinks I’m protective over Alex because of the trial,” Patience says, interrupting my train of thought. “But that’s not really where the problems started. If anything, I thought Sigma House might actually help him.”

I glance over at her, and her grip on the steering wheel is so tight it drains all the color from her knuckles.

“My brother’s always been different. He doesn’t process emotions like we do. There’s a switch, and once it’s flipped, there’s nothing that can stop him from what he’s set his mind to. I guess we have my father to thank for that.” Her hands twist over the steering wheel as she takes a steady breath. “He was thirteen the first time he killed someone.”