Page 18 of Charlotte's Story
Igasped.“Whywouldsomeone want to kill William?”
Mr. Ashford’s hands clenched at the word “kill,” and I cursed at my thoughtless word choice. “I don’t know, but the police seem to think it makes more sense for someone to have been targeting him than Dahlia. She was only visiting and hardly knew anyone in town. And from what I hear, they were both hit by magic.”
That explained why William woke up on the ground.
“Would I have done anything that would make someone want to kill me?” William frowned and looked between us like the answer to his question was hidden there.
My thoughts darted to Brexton’s comment about how William had insulted Pennyfern during one of his sermons. He’d also driven away many of the Bennets with his anti-witch lectures. Who knew how many others in town he’d offended before with his blunt and sometimes tactless speeches?
“Don’t you remember what the killer looked like?” Mr. Ashford asked. “Or anything useful at all?”
“I wish I could say yes, but no matter how much I think back on that night, I don’t remember anything until the moment I woke up over Dahlia’s body.” William shifted his weight from foot to foot, not meeting Mr. Ashford’s gaze.
I frowned and twisted my fingers together. So we wouldn’t know the killer’s identity until William’s memories came back—ifthey came back? And that was assuming the killer wouldn’t return to finish the job he started before then.
This was so much bigger than William getting tangled up as asuspectin a murder case. It didn’t matter if our marriage was real or not, I couldn’t stand by and do nothing while someone might be targeting him.
“We should go.” I grabbed William’s hand and pulled him toward the door, calling over my shoulder, “Thank you for your time.”
William was silent until we escaped outside. The groan of the gate creaking shut behind us made him jump. “What should we do?”
“I don’t know.” I glanced at our interconnected hands with a frown. Had I been the one to reach for him? Maybe he didn’t realize that this was our first time holding hands, but my pounding heart proved that I was all too aware of it. It was my first time with him and with any other man since Hugh.
I let go, then headed down the street.
He walked a step behind me, his voice quiet. “That was… comforting.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “What was?”
“Your hand.” He looked at his palm as if it still held the warmth from my touch. “I didn’t realize I needed that until it happened.”
My pulse sped up a little, and I faced forward again. “You should go home. It’s too dangerous for you to be wandering around town when someone might be trying to kill you.”
“I can’t leave you alone. If someone tried to hurt me, they might try to hurt you too,” he said. “There is safety in numbers, so we should stick together.”
I laughed. “I doubt anyone would target me. I’m just an Unmarked with no magical powers. What threat could I be?”
“Since I don’t know who’s after me or what they’re willing to do, leaving you alone feels like an unnecessary risk.” His hand returned to his cuff, tracing the fabric with steady circles. “If they can’t reach me directly, you might be the next logical target, which means leaving you alone is unacceptable.”
I blew out a breath. “All right. Fine. Let’s both go home and figure out our next move.”
He looked around. “Did you drive?”
I shrugged sheepishly. “No.”
“Is something wrong with your car?”
“No, I just like to walk in the snow.”
His fingers flexed once at his side, then stilled. A small smile tugged at his lips. “I see.”
“What?” I said defensively.
“Nothing.”
“Then why are you smiling?”
He hesitated. “Because you chose to walk even though it’s inefficient. That’s interesting, and it made me happy.”
