Page 173 of Soul So Dark

Aiden starts shaking in an even cadence that only comes from choked sobs of despair. I press my forehead against the crown of his head, knowing that there’s nothing I can say to alleviate his agony. We’ve been here before, except it was in my driveway and not some lonely stretch of road out in Canaan. And, now, it’s Aiden’s turn to have his heart ripped open and his soul laid bare on the asphalt. He doesn’t speak, and I know he won’t because he’d rather die than show anyone what’s really inside—even me.

“I need you here,” I say again. “I’m not leaving.”

The distant light casts a sheen off his wet face, but even as his mouth twitches with anguish, he doesn’t fight me. Eventually, Aiden sucks in a deep breath and moves to stand and make the infuriating march back to the car. I can still hear a dog barking and it’s getting closer with every passing minute. Back inside the Lexus, Aiden starts the engine and grabs the gear shift, but then hesitates.

“I told you all those years ago,” he seethes through clenched teeth, his voice amplifying, “I told you I’d kill all of them—every last one of them!”

I remember.

“WHY ARE YOU STOPPING ME?”

I blink at him, unfazed, letting him scream in my face for as long as it takes for him to return to equilibrium.

“Because you know a bullet in the head’s not worth a damn,” I reply casually, “Aiden Rafferty makes people suffer. That’s why you said you’d help Dallas, isn’t it? Because you found out that little butterfly also stings like a bee.”

Aiden’s mouth begins to curl insidiously.

“I don’t know what happened to Col,” he says defiantly. “But in the meantime, if Ole Dally wants to play with matches, I’ll bring the gasoline.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Dallas

Normally, I don’t look forward to long plane rides. I also never pay the exorbitant fees for internet access, but this time, I have work to do.

Neither Colson or I speak of what he told me that first night in Gunnison. It’s also debatable how much of it he remembers. I also don’t tell AJ because the thought of having to try and explain that my brother’s a stalker and I have to use his prey to lure him back home to help me destroy our sister’s murderer is completely batshit. Oh yeah, and I’m going to do it by stalking her, too.

It's best not to think about it too deeply.

But ethics and morality aside, I have a name and a photo and it doesn’t take me long to track down Brett Sorensen’s Internet presence—or lack thereof.

It’s probably because of my dumbass brother.

She has a couple of social media profiles that are set to Private, but it doesn’t look like she’s very active on them anyway. There is, however, a networking profile with a much more recent photo of her that lists her employer as a research and development firm. And it would appear that she’s still local.

This might be easier than I thought.

I’m in the middle of building my electronic dossier when Aiden sends me an encrypted link with no message. I open it and feel a rush of excitement when I see the blue dot on a map with the location of Bowen’s vehicle.

I’m glad that Aiden agreed to help me. I don’t relish asking him for anything, but truth be told, I wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of finding Bowen myself and figuring out how to track him. I was able to confirm that Bowen rarely takes his dirt bike out, so putting the GPS on his vehicle was the best way to track his movements. And he lives roughly 30 minutes away, so he’s not taking a walk around campus on the regular. This is how I convince myself to step outside my house every day.

And, to my surprise, he hasn’t come near the city since I saw him and his oblivious date during my last shift at work. I’m not sure why, but I’ll take any reprieve the universe throws at me. I’ve cut down on my hours anyway with the approach of finals and applying for internships.

Granted, if I keep having good nights like I do once I arrive back home, maybe I’ll just quit Blood Horse before I draw any more unwanted attention from Ron.

“You should quit anyway,” AJ replies after my long-winded explanation of the precautions I’m taking to minimize my chances of running into Bowen. “Even if your brother’s criminal friend has your back.”

“I don’t know that I’d say he has my back,” I chuckle. “He’s just a broken man with his own issues. I’m not sure he’d do much else for me. And what am I supposed to do, lock myself in my house until I graduate?”

“No way, you’ll be busy showing me around town after GalactiCon. And who knows, with the way things are going, maybe they’ll inviteyounext year.”

I adjust my glowing purple mask, recentering the foam strip against my forehead. “People have been asking me about doing a collab, you know.”

“With who?”

“You,” I snicker.

“Really?” His voice hitches with intrigue. “But don’t you think that would be kind of…humiliating?”