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I met her eyes once again, but the words I was about to say dried up in my mouth as I found myself caught in the lure of her beautiful blue eyes.

They seemed even lighter and brighter than I remembered, like they had turned into two orbs of pure ice.

It contrasted in an oddly comforting way with the warmth she was currently showing me now, and it took her expression shifting into one of concern to jolt me out of the trance they had put me in.

‘Do you need a minute?’ she asked softly.

‘How did you get here, Kali? What the fuck happened?’

She released a breathy snort from her nose and tilted her head back to look up at the ceiling. It was a derisive move, focused internally rather than at me. ‘I thought he was cheating on me.’

‘You were catching onto his lies,’ I surmised.

‘There were too many fishing trips. I thought it was strange that they got longer each time he went, and then I figured I’d join him on one or something, you know?

Just to spend some time together. I was feeling…

neglected ,’ she scoffed out the word. ‘But when I asked him about it, he shut me down. I could sense that something else was going on, that something wasn’t right, so I started doing a little research.

Turned out that the ‘colleagues’ he was going on these trips with didn’t even exist. Or, if they did, they were from the other side of the world.

It didn’t even occur to me that he could be doing something as heinous as kidnapping, torture, and murder, so I followed him.

I thought I’d catch him in the act with another woman, and I certainly caught him in an act, though her screams weren’t of the pleasurable variety. ’

‘Jesus… Kali,’ I hesitated, unsure how to respond. ‘Why didn’t you say anything? You never told me you were questioning his loyalty.’

She dropped her gaze back to mine, and I swore I saw guilt flash in them, along with something I couldn’t quite grasp. ‘I didn’t want to drag you into it. You’re his brother. I didn’t want it to seem like I was trying to make you choose sides, especially when I didn’t have any proof.’

‘I…’ I paused. I was about to tell her that I would have always taken her side, and while that might have been true, I also would have been there to support Blake no matter what.

I could see the logic in her secrecy, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.

Especially with all that I’d uncovered and experienced these past few days.

She shot me a smile that was both sad and understanding at the same time, and I wanted to wipe it off her face and replace it with something much better.

Instinctively, I tried to move toward her again, but practically bent in half at the waist when my feet refused to move.

My body snapped back up with ease, gravity no longer playing a part in my existence, and it was slightly disorienting.

It felt natural, like this was the state of being I was meant to be in, yet it was unfamiliar enough that I knew it would take time before it felt normal.

She waved to where the cop was shivering, tears streaking down her cheeks as she hugged her knees to her chest. ‘I should go find Rhodes and let him know what’s going on so he can pass on the message to the right people.

Someone needs to come out here and help this poor woman before it’s too late.

I hate to say it, but your death has probably prolonged her life enough to be rescued if we act fast, but I don’t want to leave you alone. ’

Her words stumped me. I wasn’t cruel enough to want the woman to suffer, but every atom of my being was screaming not to let Kali out of my sight.

I’d only just got her back. What if she left and never returned?

What if I ended up stuck by my bones for all eternity, unable to figure out how to break free while she roamed the Earth, leaving me behind?

‘Or… I can stay. Just for a little while. She should be fine while you’re being buried,’ she offered, apparently sensing my rising panic.

‘Will you come back?’ I asked, my voice small and uncertain in a way that sounded completely unlike me. It was like listening to a different person speak from my mouth.

She moved as if to take a step toward me, her hand reaching for me, only to drop as quickly as it rose.

She stayed in place, the distance between us like a chasm she was too afraid to cross.

But why? It was only me. Had I scared her with my declaration of love?

It was too soon. I knew it. I should have just kept my trap shut like I always had, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

Fuck, I hoped I hadn’t destroyed everything.

‘Of course, I’ll come back, Chance. I would never leave you now.

’ She grinned, her lips pulling up to reveal two rows of blindingly white teeth that only added to the icy beauty of her pale features as she puffed her chest in a mimicry of mischievous pride.

‘You’re stuck with me. No getting rid of me now. ’

I grinned back, though I felt mine was more subdued.

I was beyond ecstatic and relieved to see her again, but I had just been murdered by my own brother, a man I had loved and sacrificed for my entire life.

I wanted to put it behind me, to accept my death since I had already planned on ending my life anyway, but I couldn’t bring myself to.

My passing wasn’t peaceful, and my suffering wasn’t over yet.

‘Could you stay?’

‘Of course,’ she agreed without hesitation, almost too quickly. Eagerly. It pleased me, settling one of the many pangs in my chest.

‘Just until I’m buried,’ I confirmed. ‘I know time is precious, and she doesn’t have much left.’

‘I’ll stay with you for as long as I can. Rhodes isn’t far.’

‘Gloria was still there when I left. If Rhodes is… incapacitated, I’m pretty sure she’ll be around to talk to.’

‘Worst case scenario, I can go see Blake’s new wife. She saw me twice, though she couldn’t hear me.’

‘I know,’ I admitted. ‘Dakota showed me the note, and how you’d scratched out his name.’

She smiled, but it wasn’t sad this time. This time, it was full of pride. ‘Smart girl. Hopefully, I can save her from sharing my fate, too.’

‘Our fate,’ I muttered, not to be obtuse but because I needed to speak the words out loud for it to truly sink in.

‘I’m sorry, Chance. I didn’t want this for you.’

‘Don’t be,’ I took a deep breath, purely out of habit rather than necessity. I had no physical urge or need for oxygen anymore, but the motion was familiar and comforting. ‘I had planned on joining you, anyway. It’s not the best way to go, but in a way, I’m glad. I found you.’

She looked absolutely wrecked at my admission, and it broke my heart to see her feeling such pity for me. I didn’t want or need it. ‘Chance…’

‘No, don’t say anything. It’s okay. I haven’t really lived since you disappeared.

When Sage passed, there was nothing keeping me there.

You’ve always been more of a home to me than any place or person, Kali.

I couldn’t…’ My voice cracked as my emotions got the better of me, and I paused to compose myself.

‘I’m at peace with my decision, and I’m glad I’m dead.

I just wish it were under different circumstances, but there’s nothing to do about it now.

At least now I have answers. I know the truth.

I know what happened to you, and you’re here . ’

A scraping sound from above interrupted our conversation, and we both shifted to stare at the door.

‘What’s he doing now?’ I asked, feeling nervous despite already being dead.

The worst had happened, yet I couldn’t forget the sensation of him cutting my body to pieces.

It was an echo of the pain I had felt while alive, but torturous all the same.

I had done my best to ignore it for Kali’s sake, not wanting her to see me in pain any more than she already had, but I knew it was all in vain.

She knew. There was no use hiding from her.

‘He’s going to move your body. It must be night now.’

‘He’s finished digging already?’

She shook her head, her lips pulling down into a grim frown. ‘No. He’ll finish with you beside him. He just waits until dark to take your body up in case someone trespasses and sees. He’s almost been caught that way once.’

‘Will it hurt?’ I asked, sounding stupid to my own ears, but needing to ask anyway. I could sense that something else was going to happen, and that I wouldn’t like it.

‘It… won’t be pleasant. But I’ll be here the whole time. You won’t be alone.’

‘Great,’ I muttered, then steeled myself for what was to come just as the door opened. Blake stood at the top, the light shining behind him turning him into a creepy silhouette as he just stood and stared down at my mangled body.

‘I’m here, Chance,’ Kali said, though she was already moving away. Her glare remained fastened on Blake as he finally began the descent down the stairs. ‘I’m here.’

And she was. She stayed by my side as he grabbed a piece of me and took it outside, tearing my spirit in two.

Each trip left me in more agony, but her voice was a comfort through the pain.

Eventually, I was in one place again as he continued digging a hole in the ground.

I wondered where Kali was buried, and if I was close to her grave, but I couldn’t ask.

I felt untethered, like I was in just as many pieces as my body was, like I would drift apart in different directions and spend an eternity in broken torment.

It only got worse when he dumped me in the hole and began shovelling the dirt on top of me. I felt each grain of soil, each small stone, as it piled on top of me. It was heavy. Suffocating.

But Kali was still here. Her voice was whispering indistinct nothings that soothed me enough to keep me from floating away. She was my anchor. My strength. My light.

She was the only thing worth holding on for.