Page 10 of Borden 3

“You can’t possibly know every corner of New Raven.”

“I fucking know it.”

I shook my head, whispering, “No.”

He turned to look at me, his brows coming together. “Explain your doubt to me.”

But I turned on my side, giving him my back, avoiding his curious stare. “I just know, Borden. There are places…”

“What places?”

“Trust me.”

“I could find anyone.” His tone chilled me. “I killed Mulligan.”

“After he caught you. After he caught me.”

He let out a sharp exhale. “Why are you doing this, Emma?”

“It matters to me. That’s all you need to know.”

“Does this have something to do with your nightmares?”

I tensed, surprised by the question. When I didn’t respond straight away, I felt him approach. He hovered over me, watching me. “What do you dream of?” he prodded. “That you’re buried?”

I shut my eyes. “Borden…”

His voice softened. “When were you going to tell me, Doll?”

“How long have you known?”

“That you’ve been tossing and turning, crying out in your sleep? A while.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“I was waiting for you to come to me.”

I could hear his silent accusation: You don’t come to me, Emma.

I suppose that was true lately, but it wasn’t because I wanted to shut him out. If anything, he was the only person I’d ever brought this close.

I still didn’t look at him. I gathered the covers over top of me. Anxiety swirled inside of me. Borden slid in behind me. I waited for more questioning, but his large arm came around me instead, pulling me into his hard chest. He buried his nose in my hair and held me. It was a while before my pulse came down. Perhaps I was being paranoid. Maybe the past was catching up to me in some way, demanding attention. Maybe even some retribution.

I sighed, opening my eyes. “Sometimes I dream of being buried.”

Borden held me tighter, waiting for me to continue.

“When Mulligan’s men started shovelling dirt over the box I was in, I thought I was going to die,” I admitted, though he already knew much of this. “I kept reliving my life in that tiny box…I went through all these moments. I put Granny through a lot, Borden.” My throat felt tight. “So yeah…I’ve had nightmares of being buried, but…it’s not being buried that frightens me. It’s…confronting it all over again.”

“Confronting what, Doll?”

“My mistakes.” My eyes watered. I shut them again. “You ever had that happen? Had your nightmares chase you, remind you of the pain you’re responsible for inflicting?”

He didn’t respond for several moments. The room felt utterly still. His whisper was faint, but I caught every word. “After Kate…”

He didn’t have to finish.

It was a hard one for him to talk about.

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