Page 51 of Chalk Outline

“I don’t kill women,” he asserts calmly, though anger lingers in his tone. “I promised her I’d save her brother, and I did, but they got her instead and killed her.”

I peer up from the dirt. The hand clutching the radio tightly presses the talk button. “So you didn’t kill her,” I note.

“But I didn’t save her either. Every choice you make has consequences,” he replies immediately and fires again.

“Maybe she didn’t want to be saved. Maybe saving her brother was all that mattered. She made a choice and knew they would be after her.” I suggest, even though I don’t like it. The truth doesn’t play fair games, and neither does guilt. “You could’ve said no. But you felt guilty enough to say yes. You can’t save everyone, and you can’t blame yourself for that.”

“You’re really starting to get the hang of it.”

I huff and roll to the side, watching him leave the balcony. His figure vanishes, but his voice suddenly comes from the radio.

“Would you kill for your husband?”

“I’ll take a bullet for him, too.” I don’t hesitate. Saying it aloud makes me want to tear apart the person who took him away from me.

“There’s a venomous snake behind you,” he says calmly, and my eyes widen with terror as the blood in my body freezes. “It’s dead,” he adds.

I gawk for a moment.I just saw a glimpse of the afterlife.I let out a sigh of relief and push myself to my feet.

“By the way, it’s not here.”

“What?” I question.

“The prison.”

My eyes widen. “You know where it is?”

“I’ll help you find it when you’re ready.”

I knew it.

He is my ticket to get down there.

Chapter eight

Reeve Hardy

Lifetime — Three Days Grace

Hearing her confessions is like being stabbed in the chest multiple times, watching that person twist the knife over and over again to enhance the pain. No mercy.

Everything was fine before I was forced to leave. We had a life together, still caged inside the world her grandma built, though we weren’t alone in it.

I want her to live freely without constantly looking over her shoulder, yet she feels she cannot exist in this world without me.

What value does my desire have if she cannot see beyond it?

How can I fix this?

If she’s here on a mission—something I still need to figure out—and if she succeeds, what comes next?

Longing can drive a person to do the impossible as their soul slowly decays day after day. I know that much. What kind of madness seeped into her system?

I take a deep breath.

In order for us both to heal, we need more time. She’s come all this way for answers and will find them when she’s ready.

Winona finally entered her tower an hour ago. She’s curled into a ball in the center of the couch, amid the freezing cold, with the equipment scattered around her unmoving limbs.