Page 44 of The Hero Within
The least she could do was mend his bloody shirt.
Moving quietly, so as not to wake him, she grabbed his shirt and tugged it into her lap. The blood had dried and it would need a wash at some point, butwaste not, want notwas the personal motto of anyone born in the Wastelands.
Something crinkled in his pocket.
The folded piece of paper that had fallen out earlier.
She hadn't been too curious then, and his injuries had swiftly distracted her, but Eden slowly slipped the piece of paper out and looked at it.
Thou shalt not read someone else's private communications.
Eden always obeyed the rules. Hell, most of the time shemadethe rules.
But....
Maybe it was private—maybe it was information she needed to know about. His reaction when she'd seen it had been just weird enough to make her want to look.
Don't you dare.
She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting against her curiosity. She needed to know the truth about Cane. She needed to know why Colton's betrayal had hurt her so badly. She'd spent years avoiding relationships, because she couldn't trust a guy. Years trying to control every aspect of her life, so it couldn't blow up in her face.
She was screwed up, and she knew it, and if she could just work out the knotted mystery of Colton'swhy, then she might be able to move on.
One glimpse to see what it is, then you put it back.
Easing the paper open—it was a folded letter by the look of it—she caught a small photo that fell out of the center.What the hell...?The shock of recognition she felt when she saw the image cut all the way through her.
Because it washer.
A photo of her, taken many years ago when a photographer came through her parents’ town. The only photo she'd ever had taken.
And suddenly Eden knew she wasn't going to put the letter back.
She couldn't even fathom where Colton might have gotten it. The last time she'd seen this photo it had been in Adam's—Adam. Of course. It had been in Adam's wallet in his riding bag, which Colton had stolen when they parted ways after the escape from Rust City. She could vaguely recall Adam muttering something about "the bastard" stealing it, when he'd finally ridden north with Mia at his side.
But why did he still have it?
And why was it tucked in his pocket, right over his chest?
A weird little feeling went through her. Eden sank onto a log near the fire, swiftly unfolding the letter.
Dear Adam...it began.
Her eyes swiftly scanned the words of greeting. One of many she'd written to him during his year of exile following the revelation he was a warg.
Which was, once again, courtesy of Johnny Colton. If he hadn't shot Adam in the chest, she wouldn't have had to remove Adam's amulet and force him to go warg in order to save his life. Her brother wouldn't have been forced out of the town he built and—
—And he'd have never met Mia.
Eden frowned, her hands crinkling on the paper as she got to the end of the page.
...I write to you today to let you know I'm getting married. I always dreamed you'd walk me down the aisle, but now I have to concede I shall do this alone.
She flipped over the page, knowing what was coming. She'd been tired and frustrated and lonely, and she'd written this letter in the heat of the moment and sent it along with CJ to track her brother down after three months of not hearing from him.
Ha. Had you fooled, didn't I? Let's be honest; thereareno men in the Wastelands who are interested in me, and vice versa. But I wanted you to think what it would have been like if Iwasgetting married, and you missed it.
Missed it because you were being stubborn.
