Page 153 of The Fractured

Focus on the dog.

I dragged the door open. “Bella. Enough… What the fuck?”

I’m dreaming. It has to be a fucking dream.

Lily was on the couch in the dress she wore to the funeral, but there was tape over her mouth, and her arms were bound behind her back as she stared at me with terror in her eyes and a bruise on her cheek.

The barking was coming from Kira’s bedroom, but my focus was on Lily as she tried to say something through the tape.

She shook her head frantically and nodded to the kitchen. Her eyes were wide with a warning.

Before I could even think about looking at the kitchen, something solid hit the side of my head.

Chapter 53

Kira

I held on to Seb a little tighter on the ride home.

With everything going on, I found solace in him.

After the funeral, we went to the apartment to get my camera, and then we spent the rest of the evening chasing the sunset around Brooklyn to get the best shot. We eventually stopped at the river to watch the final rays dip below the horizon before we headed home.

All in all, it was a pleasant way to end an emotional day. Just us, the sound of waves lapping against the shore, and the sunset as we said goodbye to a woman I never knew.

“I wish I had met her,” I said once Seb shut the bike off.

“I wish you did too. She was awesome…” Seb remained seated as he offered me his hand, helping me step off while I was still wearing a dress and heels. He cleared his throat as he pulled off his helmet next, revealing tears in his eyes. “Jesus, I thought I was done crying.”

“If you start, I’ll start too.” I removed my helmet, blinking widely.

“We need a distraction.”

I pulled whatever thought popped into my head first. “How about, I want to get my bike license?”

A beautiful smile spread across his lips. “Hell yeah, you should! I could teach you.” He reached over and pinched the front of my dress to tug me into him. “But I would miss my backpack.”

“We could take turns backpacking.”

Seb pressed a hand to his chest while his eyes glistened. “I would be honored to be your backpack.”

I stepped back, laughing softly as he got off the bike. His excitement over me getting my bike license continued to bloom.

“And we could go on a road trip to the mountains or something. Ditch the city and travel—We should get those fluffy bunny hoods for our helmets—”

“Seb—”

“And we could make riding videos. Like a vlog of our travels—”

“Seb, pause for a second.” I grabbed his arm and pointed to the police car several yards away. “Do they look…okay to you?”

He tilted his head and squinted his eyes.

“Are they asleep?” I whispered.

Seb shrugged and waved wildly at them. “Hello, officers!”

“We aren’t meant to interact with them,” I laughed.