Page 79 of Whispers of Helena
I nod, my throat too tight to form words.
His voice drops, firm and urgent. “Stay in the shadows. Stay quiet. You hear me?”
Another nod.
He doesn’t wait for more, tipping his chin before heading straight for Bennett. I watch as they shake hands, exchangingwords I can’t hear. Bennett climbs onto a barstool, facing away from both our group and the men who stand too close to him, unaware that ghosts breathe the same air.
But my attention shifts, drawn to movement on the dance floor.
Marcel and Caroline.
A slow, simmering heat builds in my chest as I watch them two-step, blending seamlessly into the rotation of couples. Marcel’s hands sit respectably where they should, but my gaze locks onto the one resting at the small of her back.
Then she smiles.
Not just a polite smile. Not a forced, social pleasantry.
Shelaughs.
The sound knocks the air from my lungs. It’s been so long since I’ve seen her look that way, so long since I’ve been the reason for it.
And yet here she is, moving under someone else’s hands, smiling like the past doesn’t haunt her, laughing like she couldn’t have a care in the world.
Ruth leans in, her voice low but sharp. “Silas, I need you to stay calm. You have to keep your composure.”
My fingers tighten around the sweating glass in front of me. My jaw clenches so hard it aches. “I’mfuckingcalm, Ruth.” My voice is nothing more than a whisper, but the tension behind it crackles like a live wire.
“Great answer,” she bites back, unimpressed.
Her gaze follows mine, expecting to find it locked onto the Everly men at the bar. But instead, she sees where it really is. The dance floor.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” She groans, draining the rest of her beer in one swallow. “Silas, don’t do this. YouknowMarcel respects you. They’re just having fun.”
I barely hear her. My focus is still fixed on the way his hand rests at the small of her back. How easily she moves with him.
“He’stouchingher.” The words slip from my lips like a curse.
Ruth slams another beer onto the table, leaning in close. “If you cause a scene, so help meGod, I will send you to hell myself.”
“There won’t be any need for a scene,” I say evenly, but my pulse continues to beat a rapid rhythm in my ears.
Her eyes narrow, searching my face for any sign of a crack. “Listen to me, Silas. I’ve seen alotof spirits in my day. But I’ve never seen two meet whenone killed the other. Eli and Ican’thelp you out of that.”
“I understand.” The words come easy, but they taste like a lie.
Ruth watches me for another long second before sighing. “Good.Stay here.Stay quiet.”
Then she stands and makes her way toward Bennett at the bar, playing nice with the devil like the rest of them.
And I sit there, body tensed, fingers flexing against my glass, watching my wife dance in another man’s arms.
Shepherd
Helena
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalm 23:1
