Page 61 of Carved in Ice (Made of Steel 3)

“The cops…”

“They’re wrong.”

“It doesn’t matter whether I’m right or wrong. This obsession you have is unhealthy. She’s not coming back. You have to let it go.”

Kins slammed a drawer shut. “I’m exhausted, Patrick. And I have an 8 a.m. tomorrow.”

There was an awkward silence in the air. I could feel the tension between them, beyond just their words. I thought by me leaving, Kins would be safe and happy. But she wasn’t. I was ruining her relationship without even being around. I pushed the dress aside even more and stared at her face. She looked like she was about to cry. That was my fault. Everything was my fucking fault.

“Let me spend the night,” Patrick said and stepped toward her.

She put up her hands to stop his embrace. “Not tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow at lunch, okay?”

He kissed her forehead and then glanced toward the closet. I held my breath. Had he seen me? But then he immediately left, leaving Kins standing there alone. I slowly exhaled. As soon as the door closed, Kins wiped tears away from underneath her eyes. She lifted up the opened book on my desk and threw it.

Tears pooled in my own eyes as I watched her.

“No.” Kins ran over to the book. “No, no, no.” She picked it up and thumbed through it, looking for the page it used to be on as she set it back down exactly where it had been.

I watched her fall apart until I couldn’t take it anymore. She needed me. She needed to know the truth. Or maybe I just missed her. Maybe I wanted a tiny piece of normalcy back in my life.

The hangers screeched as I pushed them aside.

Kins screamed and reached into her purse. When I stepped out of the closet I half expected to see her holding a gun, but she was just aiming a canister of mace at my eyes.

“Stay back!” she yelled.

“Kins, it’s me.”

Her eyes scanned my face. There didn’t seem to be any recognition. “I swear to God I’ll make you go blind,” she said.

I stepped forward.

“Someone help me!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

“It’s me! Sadie.”

She shook her head. “Intruder! Help!” Her finger moved to the trigger on the mace.

Damn it. I grabbed her arm and twisted it as a stream of mace went over my shoulder. I lifted my knee and slammed it against her wrist. The mace fell out of her hand and skidded across the floor. “Kins, would you stop yelling? I’m not trying to end up in jail tonight.”

“You’re not my friend, you’re a freaking ninja.” She tried to pull her arm away.

I let go of her and pulled off my hat.

She looked at my dyed blonde hair and then back at my face. Finally she seemed to recognize me. “Sadie?”

I nodded.

“Oh my God, Sadie!” She threw her arms around me. “I knew you’d come back.”

I didn’t cringe. I just hugged her back. “I’m so sorry,” I said. “I’m so sorry about everything.”

She pulled away from me. “You just mean about abandoning me, right? Not about murdering that woman? You didn’t kill her? You couldn’t have…”

“I didn’t kill anyone.” I kept off the fact that I desperately wanted to kill Don. That I dreamed of vengeance. That I wasn’t the same person she had met.

“I knew it. I told everyone you were innocent. Did you know that they made me start seeing a therapist after what happened? They tried to make me take the rest of the year off. But I told them that I needed to be here. That you’d come back.” She started to blink fast like she was about to cry again. “Everyone thinks I’m crazy, Sadie.”

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