Page 92 of The Chain

“No, Pete, I’m serious. You gave Amelia the wrong food. You gave the gun to Mike Dunleavy. You need to be off that shit.”

Pete can feel the force of her gaze.

He’s ashamed of himself.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. You’re right. You deserve it and Kylie deserves it. This isn’t just about me anymore. I’ll get clean.”

“You need to promise me, Pete.”

“I promise.”

“Chemo isn’t the same thing, but I got through some hard times. I’ll be there to help.”

“Thank you, Rach.”

“What happened last night in East Providence? In Seamus Hogg’s house? You were high?”

“No. Not high, but…”

“What?”

“On the tail end. I just wasn’t thinking when I gave Mike Dunleavy that gun. I’m sorry. He could have killed us.”

“But he didn’t.”

“No.”

She climbs onto his chest and looks him in the eye.

“I couldn’t have done this without you, Pete. I mean that.” She kisses him on the lips.

“It was you, honey, it was you who saved your family,” Pete insists. “You did it. You can do anything.”

“Ha! I’ve felt like such a failure these past few years. Waitressing and all those menial jobs so Marty could study for the bar. Even earlier. You know that when I was coaching Marty for the LSAT, I got one seventy on the practice test. He got one fifty-nine. I had all this potential, Pete. I blew it.”

“You’ve turned everything around, Rach. It’s amazing what you did, getting Kylie back,” Pete tells her.

She shakes her head. It’s a miracle that Kylie is back with them, and you don’t congratulate yourself for a miracle.

Rachel puts her hand on his chest and feels his heart beating. Calm, slow, deliberate. He has three tattoos: an ouroboros serpent, the Marine Corps logo, and the Roman numeralV.

“What’s theVstand for?” she asks.

“Five combat tours.”

“The ouroboros?”

“To remind myself that there ain’t nothing new under the sun. People have survived worse.”

She sighs and kisses him again and feels him stirring underneath her. “It would be nice if this moment could last forever,” Rachel says.

“It will,” Pete replies happily.

No,Rachel thinks,it won’t.

Part Two

The Monster in the Labyrinth