Page 140 of Ashes

I smiled at her, my heart soaring at the sound of her voice. “I’m in your head, aren’t I?”

“You never left it.”

“And we never fucking will.” I kissed her again, knowing we’d really won.

But this was just the first game.

We had a fuck ton more to play.

We’d start with Sinclair Priest.

SIN

“Hey, you sneaky fuck,” Cadence called out to me two days after Stitches had returned home.

I scrubbed my hand down my face as I stopped my walk through the outdoor commons and turned to her. The leaves were nearly off the trees, and it had cooled down substantially.

She walked quickly toward me, her face a mask of annoyance.

Me too, Claws. Me too.

“I just saw Seth.” She stopped next to me.

“And?”

“And Sirena wasn’t with him. I asked him and he laughed at me. Can you believe that? He was always a jerk. Where do you think she is? Church and Ashes aren’t answering my texts either.”

“Church is in therapy right now and Ashes is probably setting a Bible on fire,” I said, looking to the overcast skies. “Why do you need them?”

“Weren’t you listening to me? Seth was here without my sister. I want someone to go with me to his dorm to make sure she’s there. I haven’t seen her since that day he let me in.”

I studied her and saw the worry in her eyes. For as annoying as she was, she sure cared for Sirena.

“You’re asking me to go with you?”

“Yes.” She tapped her foot impatiently.

“Not going,” I said. “Can’t.”

“Why?” She glared at me. “I thought you gave a damn—”

“Listen, I care about her, OK? And that’s why I can’t go. She. . . she would never forgive me,” I finished softly.

Cadence’s frown deepened. “What does she need to forgive you for?”

“I just. . . I fucked up with her. She hates me because of it. I don’t want to hurt her any more than I already have. She needs peace, not my ass skulking around frightening her.” I looked at the ground and swallowed hard.

I wanted to see her though.

I wanted to apologize. Fuck, I was scared though. What would happen once I did? I’d been so close to telling Ashes that night and hadn’t. The guys would banish me. Kick my ass. Probably kill me.

It was less than I deserved for my crimes.

“You don’t know my sister,” Cadence whispered. “She’s a good person. She doesn’t hold hate in her heart. I mean, she’s with Seth. In his room. Not fighting him on it, and I’m sure that asshole is the one who tried to kill her when we were kids.”

I let out a huff of air. She was right on that. He’d confessed all that shit to me when I’d stuffed her away in that coffin with him.

I remained quiet.

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