Page 3 of Branded Souls (Ember Hollow Romance #3)

Fox

I stood at the grave of my baby sister, head hung low as I stared at the dying grass beneath my feet.

It had been almost a decade since she’d been taken from this world—taken from me.

I balled my fists, hidden inside the pockets of my jacket.

The ache of grief in my chest was as raw and fresh as all those years ago.

The pain was a constant thing that would never heal entirely.

The chilled air made my tight throat burn as I sucked in a deep breath. Thea’s face flashed through my mind; the picture of her wide, mischievous grin almost made me smile. Almost.

I wondered whether the image of her—the memory—would eventually fade from my mind. Would I ever forget the little details about her? The sound of her voice? The way she punched me in the arm when I annoyed her? The way her nose wrinkled when she was concentrating hard on something?

I hoped I never would.

“Do you have any idea how long you’ve been standing out here? ”

I didn’t stir at the sound of my brother’s voice. I’d heard him approaching from behind me, his footfalls crunching on the grass and leaves in a gait I knew better than my own.

August stepped beside me, and I glanced over at my twin brother. His bulky biceps and forearms strained against his flannel shirt as he crossed them over his chest. His light-gray eyes—the only real physical similarity between the two of us—darkened as he stared at Thea’s gravestone.

The loss of our sister had rattled our family to the very core when she was murdered as a young college student.

Murdered by a copycat of a serial killer who had gotten away with his crime for far too long.

She was the youngest of the six of us, and my brothers and I were always protective of our only female sibling.

It could’ve wrecked us, but our parents were like two strong pillars, holding us up as our foundations were shaken.

At my silence, August arched a brow.

Of course I knew how long I’d been here. Longer than I normally would, but it was my day off from working as the chief technical officer of Hearthstone Security and Investigation, a company August ran and most of our brothers participated in.

“What do you need?” I shifted my gaze back to Thea’s grave.

“What makes you think I need something?”

It was my turn to give him a questioning look.

I loved working for my brother; I really did.

The family business gave me purpose. My skills in cyber security weren’t wholly needed in such a small, local setting as Ember Hollow, but my work did make a difference. I got to see that impact personally .

But working for my brother also had its challenges.

August, for one, was a great boss but he was often…

needy. It wasn’t unusual for us to work our off days.

Which was why I’d assumed he had shown up here.

I allowed him access to my cell phone tracking most of the time so he could find me if he needed me.

August shifted slightly on his feet. “Okay, maybe I initially needed something…” He sighed. “I was waiting for you to leave the cemetery and when you didn’t…”

Maybe I should’ve turned my location off when I’d gotten here. My chest felt tight and uncomfortable but I forced myself not to fidget. The pinch of worry in his expression was unsettling. Maybe I had been in the cemetery longer than I thought.

Saying a silent goodbye to my sister, I turned toward him. “I’m done now. What’s going on?”

August clenched his jaw. That worry in his expression intensified as he scanned my face.

One of the hardest things about having a twin brother was that I couldn’t hide from him like I did the rest of the world. No matter how hard I tried, he knew me better than anyone.

Almost anyone.

“Fox…” He started, but I shook my head. He shouldn’t be worrying about me.

“I’m fine.”

And I was, or at least I would be. This time of year was hard. The anniversary of Thea’s death was coming up and it reminded me of all I’d lost…all I let slip through my fingers.

Reminded me of everything I couldn’t keep .

A flicker of suspicion crossed August’s face, but he didn’t push. He sighed, a long, drawn-out thing. “Come to Latte Pages with me. I owe you coffee.”

I blinked at him. “Did you have work stuff to ask me?”

He grimaced. “Who said it was work stuff?”

“It’s always work stuff.”

He rolled his eyes. Then grabbed hold of the sleeve of my jacket and pulled me away from Thea’s grave.

“Come on,” he grumbled. “I’m taking my grumpy, nerdy brother for a coffee.”

A ugust offered to drive. I was still in a mood, and when he parked outside the coffee shop, my unease intensified when I glanced inside the large windows. The place was packed.

“Can we get it to go?” I asked.

August frowned. “You don’t want to spend some quality time with your brother?” He feigned a hurt expression.

“I spend most of my time with you,” I grumbled. Hearthstone Security had its own office in a small outbuilding on our parents’ property. It was where I worked, and where I spent most of my waking hours.

August looked back toward the coffee shop. His lips pursed thoughtfully. “As much as I’d love to grab a cup and go, I’m kinda supposed to be meeting Emy.”

I turned toward him. “Then why the hell did you drag me here?” I didn’t need to tag along as the third wheel on their coffee date .

August scrubbed the back of his head. A sheepish grin tugged at his mouth. “Well, the thing is—the reason I was looking for you in the first place—I wanted you to help me scope something out.”

I was completely confused. “Scope what out?”

He hesitated. “More like a who , actually. Emersyn is meeting with someone making a Shadow Stalker documentary, and she’s been…elusive about the details. I was hoping you’d help me gauge who this person is, and whether Emy should trust them.”

My heart quickened. I glanced back at Latte Pages.

A Shadow Stalker documentary? I didn’t know why anyone would give that evil bastard more attention.

My teeth ground together as I regretted letting August talk me into coming.

I didn’t want anything to do with a documentary.

No one needed to bring that kind of attention anywhere near my town.

But…Emersyn had been working in true crime for years; she’d dedicated her life to shining a light on cold cases. Her work had finally led to the capture of the Shadow Stalker killer. This documentary could mean big things for her career, her podcast, and her advocacy.

I let out a long breath. “Fine,” I muttered, opening the door of August’s truck and stepping out. I’d help him this once—but if whoever this person was tried dragging my family into it, I wouldn’t let that happen.

August followed behind me, checking his phone.

I reached for the coffee shop door, but before my fingers touched the handle, someone yanked it open from the other side.

The person rushed out so fast I didn’t have time to react before colliding into them.

Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around her as she squeaked and stumbled, nearly falling.

My grip tightened to steady her. Something stirred within me at her scent, my skin tingling as if I knew exactly who she was before even seeing her face.

The woman tensed in my arms. Slowly, she looked up. Dark-hazel eyes met mine, and suddenly all the oxygen vanished from my lungs.

I knew those eyes.

Skye Adler stared up at me, her mouth gaping in utter shock. My heart stuttered, as if jolted awake from a very long slumber.

What the hell was she doing here?