Page 103 of Firefly Effect

I shrug tightly. “I don’t know, Lincoln. I didn’t realize Lilith had anything to do with it until I talked to Francine. But Lilith told the rest of the group that she had a headache and went home. I’m sure that’s because she didn’t want to get placed at the scene. It was clever, but I don’t think she was expecting the search party that came after her tonight.”

He leans against me and shudders.

“We should head back,” I tell him. “You should probably get checked out by a doctor.” I pull back and try to assess his injuries. He’s clearly in pain, but I can’t see where the wounds are.

“I’m fine,” he says with a brief shake of his head. “She bashed that rock into my shoulder then followed it up with a blow to the head with Jenkins’s cane. She knocked me out for a bit, but what hurt the most was where she nailed me between the legs.” He winces as if the memory alone triggers more pain.

I cup his face with my hand. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Emotion trembles in my voice. “I’ve never been so afraid in my entire life. As soon as I knew Lucy was fine, my mind went wild with where you could be and what could have happened to you. I was so afraid I would lose you again.”

He takes my face in his hands, too, bringing his forehead to mine. “Never again. I’m right here.”

I sigh, my entire being filled with a new sense of calm I didn’t even know I’d been craving. “You know what I realized when I was alone in the woods searching for you?”

“What?”

I take in a deep breath and smile. “As afraid as I was to lose you, I never felt alone or afraid of the woods themselves.” I look around at the tiny sparkles of light surrounding us. “Carley is with us, Lincoln. I can feel her. Her light will never die.”

He nods and holds me tighter. “And that, Evie girl, is what I like to call the firefly effect. A firefly truly never dies—it always leaves a piece of itself behind so that the cycle of life can continue.” He smiles gently. “The question is how do we want to leave the world? As a guiding light, or something dark and deceitful? Whatever it may be, that is our legacy.”

A smile curves into my cheeks, and I love that he can take our worst tragedy and turn it into something so incredibly beautiful. “Carley’s legacy is pretty damn great.”

Lincoln nods. “And ours will be too.”

I raise my head to his as my chest explodes with love. “So what’s next, Doctor Reed?”

His gaze sweeps around us, and he gestures to the symphony of lights. “Well, I guess now it’s time for you to pick your mate. Who will it be, Evie? The choice is yours.”

My heart beats faster as our eyes connect again. All I see in his beautiful green eyes now is an endless forest filled with sparkles of hope.

I touch his nose with mine. “I made my choice fourteen years ago, Linc. And my life has been so dark for so long. I’ve just been waiting for you to find me.”

His eyes close, and he presses his lips to mine. “I’m sorry it took me so long to get here, Evie girl.”

CHAPTER

THIRTY-EIGHT

EVELYN

“Daddy!” Lucy squeals before breaking free from Patrick and the rest of the campers. She sprints several yards to get to Lincoln before tossing herself into his arms.

He doesn’t even wince, though I know the weight of impact must have been painful. It’s not just his shoulder that hurts from the large rock Lilith struck him with, but there’s a giant golf ball-sized bump on his head from where she hit him with the cane. Instead of showing his pain, his eyes squeeze tight as he clutches his little girl in his arms like he’ll never let her go.

My heart swells, my throat tightens, and my eyes spring a pool of water. I realize the significance of this moment. Fourteen years ago, his sister died in the very woods he just stepped out of. That time, he came out wearing handcuffs, and he never even got to properly grieve over the person he loved most in this whole world. He also spent months paying for a crime he didn’t commit. Now…the tables have completely turned in the best possible way. This time, the true killer exited the Deep Creek Campground woods wearing handcuffs, and Lincoln got to walk out a free man to the girl he loves most in the whole world.

Lucy clings to Lincoln just as hard as he’s clinging to her. It’s almost like she knows that he needs that hug more than she does. The innocence of it all has my watery eyes leaking tears of happiness for their love. For the slightest second, I find myself wishing I knew what that kind of love felt like from a parent. And then a warm arm wraps around my shoulders, the firmness of it causing a cry to lift from my throat.

I turn to Patrick and wrap my arms around him. It’s like he could hear my thoughts. Maybe he could sense them, at the very least. Either way, the hug is proof that I have always had a parent by my side, even if it’s not my biological mom and dad. Uncle Patrick is everything I’ve ever needed and more as far as a parental figure goes. He’s been my rock, my shoulder to cry on, my lifeline. And I’ll never be able to thank him enough for giving me such a beautiful life.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” He sighs. “I saw Lilith and J.D. get hauled out of there and I nearly lost my mind waiting for you to come out too. Lilith killed all those people?”

I shudder. “I still haven’t grasped it all, but she admitted to it all.”

Patrick squeezes me again, and I know it’s an effort to comfort me.

“Gabe was able to fill us in a bit, but he had to get to the station,” he says.

“It was awful,” I tell him, honestly. A tremble follows my words, and it feels more like a release of all the stress I’d been carrying. “Lilith used Lucy to lure Lincoln and J.D. into the woods. She was planning to kill Lincoln and then pin it on J.D.”

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