Page 16 of Revere

To feel that fire sear straight through my chest?

She stirs, but I don’t step back. I watch as her eyes move beneath their lids, and her dreams or nightmares take over.

Patience was right about one thing. Be careful what you say and do because you might catch the attention of a killer. Part of me wants to wrap my fingers around her and never let her go.

She landed in my lap like the universe was making me promises it shouldn’t. One flicker of interest breathed this fire to life, and now it’s ripping through me.

Maybe I’ll hold on to her just a bit longer.

Figure her out before I use her to tear her family to shreds. Or maybe I’ll change tactics. Gideon took something from me; what if I took something from him? What if I kept her? What if I did worse than intended?

She wakes my ghosts. Crawls through my blood. Carves herself into my bones.

Patience adjusts in her sleep, turning her face over and resting her other cheek on her hands, denying me the perfect view of her beautiful face. Of that freckle.

She sighs, and I slowly make my way back to the chair at the end of the table.

I’ll let her sleep for now. It will give me more time to think. To consider. To plan. So long as she’s here under my watch, she’s safe.

At least, safe from everyone but me.

6

STRINGS

PATIENCE

I’ve spentthe past twenty years in Bristal. Born and raised in a town known simply for the fraternity that runs the country. A fraternity men bleed for—die for. Sell their souls for.

After spending my life bowing down at the feet of Sigma House, I sometimes forget there are places where they aren’t the center of the universe. There are people who make their own decisions. Who aren’t born simply to play a part in a political chess game.

It might be ridiculous that I’m standing at peace in the center of a grocery store, but it’s a freedom I’m not used to. No one looking or judging me for my family name or the Lancaster reputation. No one whispering about what happened to my brother. In the heart of LA, I’m no one, and Sigma Sin means nothing.

The breath that fills my lungs floods my entire chest.

Freedom.

If even for just a couple of months.

I take my time scanning the different brands of cereal. Some are familiar from back home, but others I’ve never heard of. People buzz all around me.

The energy is different in LA. A city of angels when I come from a town of devils. I didn’t realize until I stepped off the plane just how different it would feel.

Until someone knocks me in the shoulder and my entire body stiffens.

Some reactions are conditioned, and I fear there’s no erasing that one.

My fingers clench, and for a heartbeat, everything stops. The peace washing through me moments ago bleeds with panic. I doubt every decision, including the one where I told Kole he didn’t need to order food delivery because I’m more than capable of getting my own groceries. It would have been a waste of money, considering what little I have to spend this summer is my stashed accumulation of birthday and graduation gifts.

But for a split second, I’d spend every cent to not be standing here surrounded by people.

Until I breathe again and it all fades.

Sounds flood my ears, and my vision clears. A woman offers an apologetic smile for pushing past, and I’m simply standing in a grocery store, overreacting to something as simple as a crowded aisle.

I take a deep breath and relax my fingers. They ache from how tightly I was gripping my purse strap.

I’ll be okay. Nothing has broken me yet.