Page 48 of Stitches

“Then we wouldn’t have Sirena,” I finally said.

“And she’d be safe. I don’t see a downside.”

I closed my lighter and looked at him. “What do you mean?”

Stitches tugged at his dark hair for a moment before finally speaking. “They’re going to use her against us. Our father. He will use her to get to Church. You know he will. As much as I love her, I know she’s not as safe with us as we’d like to think she is. She’s become our weakness, and you know Everett likes to exploit weaknesses. It’s a fucking appetizer to him. He wants Church to work with him. You know that. You know the shit Church has been through and how much he’s overcome. You remember. . . after, right?” Stitches’s voice shook.

I swallowed hard and opened my lighter again to stare at the flame.

“I remember,” I whispered.

“It’ll be worse this time. You know it will. You know what he went through and her. . . what she went through. We can’t have that for Sirena, man. We can’t. We will if we keep her with us. We didn’t think this shit through when we decided on it.”

“What aren’t you saying?” I didn’t stop staring at the flame as the lighter grew hotter.

“You know what I’m saying. We need to let her go so she’s actually safe. Write her off.”

“Is that why you’ve been so distant with her?” I continued to stare at the flame, relishing the slow burn on my fingers.

“Partly. The other part is I feel like I’ve failed her. I should have been stronger for her. I’m. . . embarrassed at my weakness.”

I finally looked away from the flame. “You’re not weak, Malachi.”

He looked down at his hands. “I don’t want her hurt. You don’t know the shit I’ve seen. Experienced. Sully and this fucking place is just the tip of the iceberg. The Underground. . . man, if she gets taken there she won’t ever come out. She’ll be devoured,” his voice cracked. “I’ve seen it. I’ve heard the screams of others taken there. I’ve. . . Church won’t be able to handle it this time. We have to do something.”

“We don’t know that something bad will happen—”

“Fucking stop, Asher!” Stitches glared at me, his bottom lip trembling. “You’re always trying to be positive. The only fucking positive in all of this is that Everett is a fucking madman, and she really is in danger. They know how close we are to her. We have to do something.”

I stared back at him, my hand shaking as my skin grew hot beneath the burn I was inflicting on my fingers.

“What do we do?” I asked softly.

“You know what we have to do,” he answered back, his voice shaking. “Believe me, Asher, they’re coming for her.”

I dropped the lighter, sending my world plunging into the darkness.

The real world. The one I lived in. It was all fucking darkness.

I knew what we had to do, but I really didn’t want to. God help me, I didn’t want to let her go.

“We should talk to Dante,” I said, my voice trembling. “There’s another way. There always is.”

“Maybe.” He paused. “I love her, you know. So fucking much. I love her so much I’d let her go if I had to. I’ve heard her screams. Seen her terrified face. Wiped her tears. Felt her trembling body against mine. I know her torment. We have to save her, even if it means destroying ourselves.”

“Or destroying them.” I got to my feet, desperate to see my heaven.

Stitches rose with me. “Or destroying them.”

I was good with that. Way too fucking good with it. I tucked my lighter into my leather jacket and walked out from beneath the willow, Stitches at my side.

We needed a plan, and I had a feeling I knew a guy who would have one.

One fucking name.

Asylum.

SIRENA

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