Page 44 of It Will Always Be You
I let myself feel it. Just for a second. The warmth of him. The solidity. The safety I once knew like the back of my hand.
Because when I tell him the truth—what I’ve done, what I’ve lost—I know that warmth will vanish.
I’m safe now. But somehow, it still feels like I never left Hell.
Chapter 39
After twenty-three years of separation—and six years believing her dead—my cold, blackened heart never dreamed I’d be reunited with Helen.
My sweetheart.
The mother of my child.
There’s no universe where someone like me should end up in the same place as her. Not with the blood on my hands. My soul is too stained to be anywhere near hers.
As much as the choice we made was the right one—for Cora’s safety, for her survival—it cost me a piece of myself I’ll never get back. The part that dared to dream.
So when I turned to leave Cole’s funeral, the weight of his death dragging behind me like an anchor, I thought I was seeing things.
It wouldn’t be the first time her ghost haunted me.
Despite Logan’s suspicions and Owen’s cautious hope, I never dared to believe she might still be alive. Dreams and happy endings are luxuries men like me aren’t afforded. Second chances don’tcome to those whose hands are soaked in blood.
But then Cora let out a sob—raw, broken, and gut-wrenching—and I knew I wasn’t the only one seeing her.
She’s a shadow of the woman I once held. Pale. Bruised. Haunted. But still—undeniably, devastatingly—myHelen.
As I move closer, the bruises on her skin burn into my memory. And the hollowed-out look in her eyes? It tears something open in me.
And in that moment, I make a vow so deep it rewires my bones:
I will erase that look.
I will destroy whoever gave it to her.
Pulling her and Cora into my arms feels like coming home. Like something real anchoring me in the chaos.
I’ll slay every demon that haunts her.
Whatever it takes to help her heal from the hell she’s survived—I’ll do it.
Even if she never lets me hold her again,nothingwill stand in my way.
RECKONING
Chapter 40
Sometimes, you can feel chaos lurking in the shadows before it hits. You can taste it on your lips, feel it coating your skin. It’s like a little warning light flashes on and off in your peripheral vision. As I sit in my penthouse with the shell of the woman I love sitting opposite, her secrets and horrors a vast ocean between us, that warning bell is thrumming in the air as chaos mingles with the anguish of today.
Today should be a day for mourning the life lost. Cole was a good soldier, loyal to a fault, and will be missed by more than just his kin. His death was a harsh reminder of the risks we take each and every day. I feel like an utter bastard for the relief coursing through me while Liam and Aidan are consumed with grief, but how can I not? I never dared hope Logan’s theory was right, so to have Helen in front of me, after all this time, is almost more than I can fathom.
“Is anyone going to answer me?” Cora spits, hands on her hips as she stands between us. Other than confirming what we’d come to suspect—that she’s Logan’s aunt—and refusing to see Doc, Helen hasn’t said a word. As much as I would love to hold the answers to Cora’squestions, I don’t. None of us do. I may have my suspicions, but the only person who truly knows what’s going on is Helen. One look at her pale face and trembling hands makes it clear she won’t be talking anytime soon. God help anyone who tries to force her. They’ll have to go through me first.
“Cora, come sit down. Please,” Owen tries to convince his wife, but she’s having none of it. If the circumstances were different, I’d be proud of her stubborn streak. She truly is her mother’s daughter, for better or for worse.
“No! It’s clear as shit you all know something I don’t. I am sick and tired of being kept in the dark. You saw how well that worked out last time. Now, can someone please tell me how the hell my mum is sitting here alive?” she begs, all anger draining from her as tears well up in her eyes. Her voice breaks on the last word, and she throws her hands up in frustration.
“Darling, I’m so sorry,” Helen chokes out, her face pinched at Cora’s reaction. She reaches towards her, and, with a sob, Cora throws herself into her mum’s arms. I look at the two of them, at the bruises littering Helen’s arms, and red clouds my vision. How dare some fucker put his hands on her? Tear mother and daughter apart? Rob them of precious memories that can never be recreated? Anyone responsible for one iota of her suffering will receive it back tenfold by the time I’m through with them.
