Page 156 of Risky Passion

Cobra pulled a stack of photos from his back pocket and leaned forward to hand me one. “Is that you and Alice?”

My mouth fell open, and as I stared at the photo of Alice and me sitting on the edge of the angel fountain, tears welled in my eyes. “Where did you get this?”

“In those boxes you tried to burn,” Whitney said softly.

“That’s you and Alice, isn’t it?” Jaxson asked. There was something steady in his voice, grounding me.

I nodded, unable to speak.

“That’s the fountain where you buried her,” Jaxson added, his tone careful.

“She loved that fountain,” I whispered, running my finger over the photo.

Her hair glowed in the sunshine, yet she looked so fragile. I couldn’t remember the picture being taken or who took it.

We were always being watched in that fucking place.

“Beatrice,” Tory said gently, breaking the silence. “How about you get up, huh?”

She motioned toward a nearby chair. “We want to hear your story.” She glanced around, nodding at the others. “All of us do.”

Footsteps thundered up the back deck, and Whisper came stomping back through the door. “She was digging a grave,” she said. “Down by the beach.”

My head snapped toward Jaxson as my rage boiled over.

“I had to bury Alice again because of you. Youdug her up, you fucking bastard.” My voice cracked. “You had no right.”

I swung the gun toward him.

The dog lunged with a blur of muscle and teeth. A scream tore out of me as I jerked my hand back, just before its fangs tore through my fingers.

My heart boomed as I shoved the barrel against my temple.

If I’m going to die, I want it on my terms.

“No!” Tory begged. “Beatrice, don’t. Please tell us your story. Tell us about Alice. You loved her so much. We know that. Look at what youdid to save her. Don’t let her memory end like this. She wouldn’t want that.”

I glared at her, breath ragged, jaw clenched. Something in her eyes shredded my sanity. Sheknew. Somehow, sheunderstood what I was going through.

“Just . . . just back away,” I yelled.

Tory straightened, slow and steady. “Okay,” she said. “Everyone, back up and give Beatrice some space.”

They all stepped back. Four of them slipped out onto the deck, and the floorboards creaked beneath their feet. The shift of light and the open sky beyond the frame lifted some weight off my chest. That was where I wanted to be. Out there. Not in here. If this is where I would die, I wanted Alice in my view. And the beautiful beach that brought us peace.

A needle of pain stabbed my heart.

“You want to know my story?” I asked Tory, but then I turned to Parker. “You want to know who the crooked cops are? And where the bodies are behind every cold case you’re chasing?”

I flicked my gaze to Jaxson. “You want to know about those kids’ skeletons you’ve been digging up at the orphanage?”

They all nodded, and the energy in the room shifted. Then a realization hit me:

They need me.

They want answers they’ll never get without me.

They would keep me alive now.

---