Page 118 of The Executioners Three
Then again, she supposed she didn’t have to say everything in one go. This was hopefully only the first of many more grave visits to come. And heck, for all she knew, her dad was actually nearby and listening to her one-sided conversation.
After all, if spirits could haunt the forest and blood oaths could control people, why couldn’t her dad also be hovering somewhere just out of sight?
“Hey, Gellar.”
Freddie spun around to find Theo scuffing her way. He wore a suit under a black wool overcoat, and at first glance, he looked fine. But closer examination revealed a hunch, as well as a slight bulge around his abdomen where bandages kept his stitches protected.
Freddie leaped for him, careful to only touch his back when she reached him. “What are you doing, Theo? You’re not supposed to walk this far.”
“I wanted to see you,” he admitted. “Is this your dad?”
Freddie nodded. “You should sit.” She motioned to the bench, still warmed by the sun.
Theo didn’t answer. Nor did he move. Instead, he murmured: “I… I had a dream last night, Gellar. That I went to the Allard Fortin crypt and found something only I could find.”
“Ah.”
“And then I gave it to you.” He turned his blue eyes onto Freddie. With the sun in them, the pupils were small. The blue an icy crystalline. “But I don’t think it was a dream, was it? I think it really happened. And…” He shook his head, lifting one hand to rub at his temple.
Until this made the muscles in his abdomen contract, which in turn caused him pain. Silly boy.
Freddie glared. “Sit,” she commanded, and she forcibly lowered him onto the bench. Then she took sentry in front of him, her legs touching his knees so he couldn’t try to stand again.
“Yes,” she told him. “It all really happened, and I remember it too. I can explain everything, if you want, but… well, I’ll warn you now: it’s kind of hard to believe.”
“Harder to believe than the fact that my mom was apparently an Allard Fortin and I get an inheritance when I turn eighteen?”
Freddie laughed, a pitchy sound because it wasn’t actually funny—but she could also sense that Theo wanted this moment to be light. That sometimes making jokes was easier than digging into the darkness.
“I’m surprised you remember anything,” Freddie said truthfully. “No one else in town does.”
“I mean, I can’t say Iwantto remember, and it feels like my brain is trying to stop me from it. But…” A shrug. Then a wince from the subsequent pain. “I don’t like not knowing.”
No. He didn’t. Freddie had already learned that about him back in the Fortin library. Because he reallywasjust like her in this regard. He needed answers, and he’d rather have them, even if the cost was high.
“Well,” Freddie said, “it’s a long story, and it’s cold out here.” She shivered. “Plus, there’s a reception we need to go to.”
“Not yet, please. And here.” Theo shifted as if he was going to peel off his coat, but Freddie grabbed his wrists.
“Don’t be stupid. That will hurt.”
“Not if you help me.” He smiled crookedly, head tipped higher to hold her gaze. She was very close now.
“I’m not going to undress you at a cemetery. By mydad’sgrave.”
“Undress me?” His blond eyebrows shot high. The smile twitched wider. “Gellar, your mind went to a very different gutter than mine did.”
Suddenly Freddie was not cold at all. Heat fanned through her chest, her shoulders, all the way up her neck and across her face. “I didn’t mean it like that, Mr. Porter. I just… I think the optics… at a funeral…ugh,stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re laughing at me.”
“I’m not laughing at you.” Hetotallywas. “This is my impressed face, Gellar. And my thank-you face.” He tugged his wrists free from Freddie, but rather than draw away from her, he slid his arms around her and pulled her close.
His head was against her stomach, and he looked very vulnerable. Very handsome too. (And also still quite tortured.)
“Thank you, Freddie Gellar. I might not remember everything that happened last week, but I do know I’m glad you were there for it all. And I’m glad you’re here with me now.”
