Page 28 of Her Wicked Knights (Their Hallowed Queen #3)

Rev

Going back to school as seniors with one of our classmates dead has been weird, to say the least. You don't think much about how death affects people until you have to live with it, and then you realize those people you didn't even realize knew one another were connected like strands of silk in a spider's web.

Tripp took it hard and turned even broodier than he was before. It feels like there's an ocean between us, despite the fact that my brain returns to that night multiple times a day, thinking about what Whit asked me. "Would you share?"

Sharing Marley with Tripp would be a fucking privilege.

A dream. A pipe dream, of course, because that's not going to happen.

But it wouldn't be because of me. If there was a chance to have either of them, I'd take it, regardless of how fucked it may seem.

A chance to have both of them? It doesn't matter what it is, I'd do it, and I wouldn't even feel bad about it.

I didn't expect Marley to take it as hard as she did.

I don't know if she just feels close to the case because her dad is investigating it, or if it just has to do with her empathy.

She feels everything, for better or worse.

She burst into tears on the first day of school, when she saw the memorial her friends were crying over at her locker.

I don't blame her. It feels surreal, and when we gathered into the church for her funeral service, I had a hard time comprehending that she was, indeed, dead.

She looked like she could be sleeping, though she was definitely paler than I remember her being the last time I saw her.

Rumors have flown around since that night, that her body was mangled, that she was hacked into pieces, that she was assaulted.

The truth is that none of us know what happened, and all we have is what has been told to us by police: there were no signs of a sexual motive, she'd been found with her purse nearby and all of her cash and cards seemed to be in place, and the manner of death isn't being disclosed.

Whatever it was that killed her didn't have any effect on her face, and the casket only left her head revealed, so no one can really speculate.

I do imagine she wasn't hacked to pieces under the casket lid, though technically, I guess she could have been.

It's been a tough couple of weeks, and there haven't been any answers.

Thankfully, with homecoming approaching, things are starting to settle a little, even if they're settling awkwardly.

I don't want anybody to forget about Jenny, but I do want everyone to heal, to remember that we're all still alive.

Despite rumors of serial killers, there haven't been any more deaths around here, which has set about half the town at ease.

The other half is waiting for the other shoe to drop.

That's why I'm here tonight, on unofficial Marley duty.

Jake's got to go to his cousin's wedding in New Hampshire this weekend, which he told us all about no less than a dozen times, and Audrey is going to visit her aunt .

.. something, somewhere. She also told us no less than a dozen times, but I think she told me her aunt was named Mildred, and then Mary. I quit listening after that.

She was supposed to be with her mom tonight.

They had a whole day planned, but then Hector asked Marley to work, and her mom apparently was grateful at the idea of spending some time alone with her husband.

Marley told me as much with a sour look on her face, like the thought of what they were going to do alone grossed her out.

She doesn't realize she's lucky to have parents who are still very much in love after all these years.

"I'm just saying," Marley says, turning back to me after depositing a bowl of salad in front of a woman down the counter, as if we weren't interrupted ten minutes ago in this conversation.

"I don't really want a repeat of last year, where we all.

.. paired off. It felt... sad. I want to make sure we all spend time together at homecoming this year. It's the last one we've got."

"And your chance to dance with me is rapidly diminishing?" I tease, popping a fry between my teeth and waving it around a minute. "Don't worry, Mars. There's always prom."

She rolls her eyes at me. "I do request a dance, actually. Is there a list I should add my name to somewhere, or do you want to pencil me in?"

"Saucy." I chuckle. "No need to be jealous, angel. I'll make room for you no matter whether you want the first dance or the last or every one in between."

Marley blushes, and the red on her cheeks looks so good on her, I want to embarrass her again. She's so damn delectable like that.

I think inexplicably of last Halloween, the relay when she had that apple in her mouth, and how she looked good enough to eat.

I should have taken advantage of that moment and dropped the apple so I could kiss her and feel her lips against mine, see if she tasted like the Honeycrisp she was biting into.

"Okay," she agrees slowly. "It's a deal."

I want to tell her to tell Jake to fuck off and make this a date instead.

He's been even more unbearable than usual these days, and I don't see whatever she must feel.

From the outside, it doesn't even look like they like each other all that much.

I wonder if they're growing apart, or if Marley's finally starting to realize that something is off between her best friend and her boyfriend.

Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they were so vocal about both being out of town this weekend so they could go get a hotel somewhere and spend the weekend fucking.

"What's a deal?" Colton asks, sliding into the seat next to mine.

I glance at his suit, and he cuts me a warning to keep my mouth shut.

His mom had some sort of fancy event this evening, which Tripp and the Archer's were also subjected to.

Based on the fact that Tripp is nowhere to be seen and Colton didn't bother changing into something more comfortable, I'd say Colt sneaked out early.

"Homecoming." Marley grins. "Rev is saving me a dance."

"Really?" Colton muses, eyeing me slowly before turning his attention back to her. "You mean, you're saving him a dance. Will there be one for me, too?"

"Do you want there to be?" She laughs, loud enough to draw the attention of a woman seated down the counter, who watches us curiously for a moment before turning back to her phone.

"Why wouldn't I?" Colton challenges.

"You don't dance." Marley argues. "And whatever you were doing last year doesn't count. I watched you refill your flask in the back of the limo. You were drunk."

"I'd dance with you."

There's a heartbeat worth of silence, and I want to thank Colton because she blushes again. "Okay." She nods. "How did I get so lucky? A dance with Rev and Colton? I guess I'd better ask Tripp, too, so he doesn't feel left out."

"Don't even ask." I shrug. "It's not like he'd turn you down."

"What if he does? That would be embarrassing. I-"

"Excuse me?" A man stands near the register with his check and cash in hand, and Marley holds up a finger to tell us she'll be right back. We both watch her as she walks away, and suddenly, Whit's words pop into my head. Before I can convince myself otherwise, I turn to Colton.

"If you could have her..." I make sure to keep my voice low enough that we won't be overheard. We're the only ones seated in this section anyway. "But you had to share, would you?"

"Share?" Colton sneers. "No. I'm not into other men, Rev, I've told you. No matter how bad you want my cock, you can't have it."

I roll my eyes, not offended by the teasing in his tone or the truth of his words.

"I'm serious. Like, if she loved you, but she also loved me and Tripp. Would you do it?"

He's quiet for a minute as he turns to me, searching my face for an explanation. I watch him rub his palm over his jaw absently.

"Do... what?"

"Share. I'm not saying would you fuck me or let me fuck you. I'm saying, if she wanted to go to dinner with you and give you a blowjob on Friday night then come sleep at my house and get turned into the filling in a me and Tripp sandwich, would you be okay with that?"

I notice he doesn't make any comment on the 'me and Tripp sandwich'. He's quiet again as he considers the question, and his eyes turn to watch Marley as she hands the man his change, smiling sweetly when he holds his hand up to tell her to keep it.

"I think I'd agree to just about anything if it meant I could have her."

"Me, too." I tell him, acknowledging the ugly truth that Whit brought to my attention a few months ago.

You can't force someone to fall in love with you, and I'd never get away with something crazy like tying her up in the church’s basement and keeping her captive until she develops Stockholm syndrome.

But if I could come up with a way to get her to love me, I'd do it, regardless of whether it was fucked up or morally reprehensible.

"What are we talking about?" Marley asks, leaning on her elbows on the counter and snagging a fry from my plate. I assume she doesn't realize the angle pushes her breasts together and gives us an amazing view of her cleavage, and I'm not too much of a gentleman to tell her.

"Dancing." Colton says easily. "And whether we're all going to take turns dancing with you the whole night."

Her eyes widen a little in disbelief and she opens her mouth to say something. She's saved by the bell chiming as the door opens, and two deputies walk in, headed right toward us.

"Hey, Rick. Devon." Marley smiles brightly at them as Colton tenses, and I wonder what sort of shit he's been up to if the deputies presence in the diner has him on edge. "What can I get you guys?"

But Rick and Devon don't take seats. They don't smile or even look at us, their gazes fixed on Marley, whose face falls with her confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Come around to this side of the counter," Rick suggests, tipping his head.

Colton and I exchange a glance, and a divot appears between Marley's eyebrows as she considers the reason he's asking.

But she's known Rick for years, so she doesn't question him, heading out from around the counter and coming to stand with her arms crossed by Colton's side.

"Maybe take a seat." Devon suggests, indicating the booth tucked into the furthest corner of the diner. Apparently, that sets off alarm bells for her, because I watch her chest rise and fall fast.

It sets off alarm bells for us, too. Colton and I both move at the same time— me to wrap an arm around her, and Colton to insert himself between Marley and the deputies. "What's this about?"

"Please," Devon says, his hands up to show Colton there's no need to get aggressive. "Just... let's all take a seat."

"I don't want to sit." Marley's voice is harsh, and when I wrap my arm around her tighter, I notice she's shaking a little. "Tell me what you're here for or let me get back to work. I've got to-"

Something about the way the deputies look at her tells me I need to get her to sit, but I can't seem to make myself move, either. I'm frozen, stuck waiting on them to say whatever it is they came here for.

"It's your parents..." Rick says. It's all he gets out before he breaks off into a sob that's so unexpected I feel like someone just punched me in the gut.

"No."

Marley's voice is small; it's barely a whisper.

There's a moment of silence before she splinters it. Her voice is louder this time, firm but shrill. "No."

"I'm so sorry, Marley." Devon says quietly. "They didn't make it."

She collapses in my arms like a house of cards in a thunderstorm.

"No." That's Colton this time, shaking his head as I wrap my arm around her waist instead, keeping her upright as I stare at the deputy, waiting for more.

They didn't make it.

What didn't they make it through?

They were going on a date. It's not like they went travelling abroad and never reached their destination. I think Marley said they were going to see a movie or something. How do you not make it to the movies?

"I've already been in touch with Axel. He's on his way to pick up Hadley. We didn't want her driving right now."

The sob that comes from the girl in my arms threatens to shatter the entire fucking world.

I hear Hector somewhere behind the counter, wondering what's going on, but I don't have it in me to explain.

I can't think. I can't breathe. All I can do is hold Marley tighter, pull her with me into the booth the deputies tried to get us to sit in.

I said earlier that she collapsed like a house of cards. But in hindsight, that was wrong. What she did before was nothing more than crumbling, her defenses caving in.

Now, in the booth with me holding onto her, she collapses.

And she threatens to take me to the ground with her.