Page 81 of Betrayed

“I’d burn the world down for this girl.”

Then Rafe grins. “Still the same old Lucian.”

I take a breath and think of Isobel.

“Listen, Rafe,” my throat goes tight, “I can’t thank you enough. Having your team around to keep watch was everything.”

He nods.

We walk the perimeter. Silent. Watching.

“You seem better than before,” Rafe finally says. “After everything.”

I shake my head. “I wasn’t. You should have seen me before her.”

“Is she the reason you’re still standing?”

“She’s the reason I came back from the dead.”

“I heard about Caleb,” he says.

“He’s dead.”

“Shame it wasn’t sooner.”

“It was bloody enough,” I murmur, still seeing the blood drain down the sink when I wash my hands. “You know the story.”

“Yeah.” He holds my gaze, irises flashing. “I wanted to deliver some blunt force trauma on that asshole for you.”

His comment makes me give a rough laugh. “Thanks.”

Talking to Rafe like this feels strange, as if no time has gone by. Just like it was with Gregory. Like a brother. I find myself opening up, sharing something I need to let go of.

“It turns out he hurt Erin, too.” I hold back her secret, too private to share, “And, he said something about it...before he died.”

“What?”

I hesitate. “He said he already ruined her.”

Rafe’s face darkens. “Fucking bastard.”

“Yeah. I can’t stop hearing it.”

He can’t fix it but it feels good to tell him.

“She’s got you now.” His hand is on my shoulder, a hard squeeze before it drops. “That’s all that matters.”

We both go quiet, walking side-by-side, and for a moment, it feels as if no time has passed.

“Listen. While it’s just us,” he focuses those amber eyes, “There’s something I need to say.”

We’ve circled the cottage. We stop beneath the trees, just beyond the front porch.

“Yeah?”

And then, Rafe, this ghost from my past, a man I’d never thought I would see again, he says, “I’m not sure Isobel died that day.”

The world tilts.