Page 123 of Reclaimed

I drape the soft material around her. Brushing her hair off her face, I inspect her for damage. A purple bruise on the left side ignites fury like I’ve never felt before in my life.

“I’m going to kill him,” I growl.

Sutton tucks his hands in his vest. “You’re a little too late. He’s already dead. He spotted us and reached for his gun.”

Friction from my hands brings heat into Isla’s arms. “Who got him?”

“Some deputy.”

I study the grim line of Sutton’s mouth. “Get his name. I want to shake his fucking hand.”

Isla whimpers in my hold. “Get this off too,” she begs, frantically twisting the fingers of her left hand with her right one.

“Let me see,” I request soothingly. Did he carve his signature mark into her?

My eye twitches at the sight of the gold band biting painfully into her skin. The finger is swollen and pulsing in an angry red. Gripping her wrist, I hold her arm upright above her heart.

“Sutton,” I bite out, indicating her finger.

He takes off again in search of a cutting tool.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” My hands flutter over her body. I’d touch her and look myself but I’m too scared to hurt her.

She shakes her head. “No.”

“The baby?”

“He’s okay too.”

My eyes search hers. “Are you sure?”

Isla flattens my palm on her stomach. I stare at her, holding my breath as we wait and wait and wait some more.

Thump.

My shoulders sag at his little heel or knee or elbow punching my palm.

After what feels like an eternity of being apart, I finally cup her cheeks and kiss her. Her mouth against mine breathes life back into me, chasing away the lingering cold.

34

Isla

One WeekLater

I combmy fingers gently through Aiden’s reddish-blonde locks.

“Aiden, I have to pee,” I whisper.

He doesn’t stir. Morning light pours into the bedroom, casting us both in a golden glow. How he can sleep through the sun in his eyes, I’ll never know. I’ve been awake for at least half an hour, replaying the events of the last week.

Benjamin’s funeral is tomorrow, and Kelly politely texted asking us not to attend. Nobody knows what Benjamin was thinking by tricking me into going outside. The only piece of evidence we have is him telling me Henry threatened his son Carter. What that threat looked like, we don’t know, because the both of them are dead and no texts or calls were found on Benjamin’s phone.

But he didn’t know this would happen, and if the choice were truly between me or his son, well, I can’t say I wouldn’t havedone the same thing. As hard as it is not to pay respects to my friend, the least I can do for her is honor her request.

With Henry gone, the days of looking over my shoulder are finally over.

According to family interviews, Henry Newton disappeared suddenly after his wife dropped dead of a heart attack back in April. Credit card charges confirmed he did frequent Eve’s around the time of her death, which is where he said we met. After finding some photos of the two of them together, the detective’s best guess is that I looked similar to his wife, and his broken mind latched onto that rather than the reality that she was gone.

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