Page 132 of Watch Me Burn
“How long do we have?”
“Sheriff’s probably eighteen minutes out now.” Cade looks at Luna. “Are you sure you can do this? Lie to law enforcement about a man’s death?”
“You don’t have to do this, sweetheart. I’ll tell them exactly what I did. Confess everything if you’re at all unsure.”
I’ll rot in prison for the rest of my life if it will protect her.
Luna touches the bruise on her face, uncertainty and determination warring in her eyes as she looks at me.
“He came here to hurt me and my animals. If he’d lived, he would’ve tried again. If you hadn’t gotten here when you did—” Her voice catches in her throat, a soft sigh escaping her lips as her eyes soften. “I can do this.”
“Good.” Cade turns to head to the chopper.
“Wait.” He turns around at Luna’s voice. “What about the surveillance footage? The system probably recorded everything.”
Cade opens his bag and pulls out his tablet, swiping through a few screens. “Convenient system malfunction during the critical timeframe. Happens all the time with electronic equipment. The system now shows the cameras have been offline since yesterday.”
Luna looks back and forth between us. “This is insane. We’re really going to do this?”
“That’s entirely up to you.” I lift my hand to her uninjured cheek, relieved when she doesn’t pull away. “I mean it. Say the word and I’ll confess everything. Well, not everything.”
The rotor blades kick up, slicing through the air. Wind whips around us as Cade lifts off, the helicopter rising into the darkness.
“No.” Behind her eyes, uncertainty battles with resolve, but her voice doesn't waver. “You protected me tonight. Let me protect you.”
Her words stop my heart. Why would she protect me after everything I’ve done?
But I don’t have time to ponder it now, so I nod, reaching under the tarp and into Caleb’s pocket, grabbing his keys.
“You need to change out of your clothes. You can’t have Caleb’s blood on you. Put them in a tied plastic bag and hide them. I’ll incinerate them later.”
Horror dawns on her face as she realizes her favorite shirt, her grandfather’s flannel, has become another casualty of tonight.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but it has to go.” She nods as tears well in her eyes.
I cup her face in my hands, and she’s too shell-shocked to pull away. I lower my mouth to hers, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. She gasps, but I keep it brief, pulling back, even though all I want is to sink into her and lose myself.
“I’ll be back in five minutes. Change and tend to Shadow. Cade and I will take care of everything, I promise.”
Luna’s phone rings as I get into Caleb’s truck. She glances at the display before answering.
“Maren? No, I’m okay… What?” She meets my eyes. “Yes, Caleb was here. He attacked me, but Shadow protected me. He ran when Damien showed up. No, don’t come up here tonight. Karen will want to process the scene, and I need to treat Shadow’s wound. Caleb shot at him.” Maren screeches through the phone. “He’s fine. Yeah, okay, I’ll call you when things calm down.”
She hangs up and looks at me. “Maren listens to the police scanner sometimes. Since the first bodies showed up here.”
“Good idea to keep her away. One less complication. I’ll be back in five minutes. Now stand back a little. I have to peel out of here to make the tire tracks work.”
She nods and wraps her arms around herself. It kills me to drive away and leave her there, but we’re running out of time.
Cade and I are back in less than five minutes. He cleans and sets the scene, something he can do with his eyes closed by now, and I go in search of Luna. I find her in the sanctuary treatment room, cleaning Shadow’s wound.
“How’s he doing?”
Despite the tension in her body and the anguish visible on her face, her hands are steady.
“It’s just a graze, thank God. He’ll be okay. Won’t you, baby?” Her voice trembles as she presses a kiss on his nose. He rubs his head against hers, and then he looks at me.
He’s always trusted me with her until that night in the living room. The way he stood between us and then curled himself around her after she kicked me out, he knew I’d hurt her. But as he looks at me now, I feel like we’ve come to another understanding.
