Page 114 of Dead Love

I turned to my mother. “He killed Nyla.”

She blinked at me. “What?”

“Tell her,” I turned to Andrew. “Tell her what you did. He’s been killing the Echo victims, Mom.Allof them. Because Dad told him to. Dad wanted us to die that night with Nyla. We’re only here because Andrew warned us about the Echo deaths!”

Shea winced and smiled sheepishly at Andrew. “You don’t know what you’re saying, sweetheart,” she said. She rubbed my back. “Do you need a drink of water?”

“I’m afraid you’re onto something,” Andrew said, nodding at me. I didn’t know whether to be relieved or terrified. Was he going to tell my mother the truth? “Kora might need a little help relaxing after this.”

He was going to treat me like Vincent, then. To tell everyone that I was seeing things.

“He’s the Echo Killer,” I said again, my tone stern. “You’ve got to believe me. Why would I lie about this?”

Shea shook her head violently. “You realize what you’re accusing Andrew of? A cop with that many murders—”

“He did it because Dad told him to!”

I locked eyes with my mother, both of us in a death stare, her hands shaking.

“No,” she whispered. “You’re lying.”

“I’m telling you the truth.”

“He wouldn’t do that.” She crossed her arms. “He would never do such a thing.”

“He has.” I widened my eyes, pleading for her to believe me. “He has,Mom.”

She snapped her head back quickly, her shoulders crumpling. “You’ve done a lot of stupid things recently.” Her mouth slackened. “But this, Kora? This is the worst. Even this is beneath you.”

“What do you think I’m getting out of this?” I yelled. “I am not going to marry Andrew. I want him to go to jail!”

“Now, now, Miss Kora, there’s no need to cause a ruckus about this,” Andrew said, grabbing my wrists, keeping them together. I gasped and my mother sobbed aloud. “I already made a deal with your daddy, and seeing as how you figured out more than we had anticipated, I’d say that I’m in a position of power now,” he grinned, his teeth gleaming. “If you so much as whisper this to another soul, I imagine I could take care of a few loose ends.”

The realization that I was right crossed my mother’s face. Panic filled her eyes. Her jaw trembled.

“You can’t kill her!” my mother cried. “She’s my baby!”

“Oh, Miss Shea. Who do you take me for?” he grinned. “I wouldn’t kill her. But I would tell the town about the sheriff’s corruption. And then, your family would lose everything.”

The flower shop. Our rental. Even the burned-down scraps of our old home, still standing after the house fire. None of that mattered. My mother swallowed a gulp as the tears slid down her face.

“If you told everyone about my father’s corruption, you would be putting yourself in jeopardy too,” I said.

Andrew smiled. “Not if I made an agreement for immunity. But you can prevent that. It’s in your power, Kora. No one else’s.” He tightened his grip on my wrists and I grit my teeth together, sneering at him. “I’m done waiting.” He pulled me in closer. “So what’s it going to be?”

He leaned down, bringing his face closer to mine. My heart sank.

Vincent.

* * *

Vincent

I emptiedthe canister over the flowers. Most of it slid to the ground, but every once in a while, the fuel would collect like drops of dew on the petals. This place, this flower field on Mount Punica, was one of the last jewels of this town. And if I couldn’t have Kora, then why should the town get to keep this?

I lit the match, throwing it onto the field. Immediately, the trail of gasoline ignited, and the flowers burned, curling under the flames, the yellow daffodils transforming into crumbled black remnants, like the beams of the Novas’ house. I imagined Kora kneeling down in the middle of the blooms, looking up at me, unafraid. A fire like this would consume the field quickly, and likely spread down to the rest of the mountain. And with enough wind and the right luck, it might even stretch as far as my house. At least the dogs were gone. All that was left was the funeral home.

But nothing stirred within me. I wanted to watch it all burn, even if that meant me. But instead of weightlessness, I felt nothing.