Page 58 of Theirs to Ruin

Slowly, Kage leaned in, pressing his forehead against mine. I felt the weight of him, not just physically, but the heaviness of his grief. His eyes closed, his eyelashes trembling as he fought his feelings. His vulnerability stood in stark contrast to the dominating force he’d been just moments ago.

"I'm so sorry, Kage." My voice trembled, the words forcing their way out through the lump in my throat. "I’m so, so sorry. I tried to save her. I really did. But I think... I think she was already dead when I got to her." My voice broke as memories of that cold, dark night came flooding back. "I'm so sorry."

I started crying, and the last barrier keeping us apart snapped. His arms encircled me, pulling me closer, and I clung to him, to his warmth and the steel of his muscles. His grip on me seemed equally desperate, but he didn't cry. The moment stretched between us before he slowly pulled away. The loss of his warmth left me feeling more fragile than before. His gaze met mine, acceptance flashing in his eyes.

"I didn’t think you did it, Rebel, but I had to be sure. I’m taking you at your word now.” He spoke seriously, looking me dead in the eye. “If something,anything, shows me otherwise…"

His threat hung in the air, unfinished, yet perfectly understood.

Just then, a shrill ringtone pierced the air, making me jump. He reached into his pocket and produced my phone, its screen lit up with Bianca's name.

"Answer it," he instructed, his voice even. "Tell her you took an Uber. I’ll order you one right now."

My fingers closed around the phone and pressed the green button. I took a shaky breath and tried to sound as normal as possible.

"Bianca? Yeah, I took an Uber. I'm okay."

She said something on the other end, but I could barely hear her through the pounding in my ears. Kage stepped away as he ordered the ride. When he was done, he looked at me and I felt it deep in my bones: whatever had happened between us tonight was only the beginning.

An hour after the Uber dropped me off on campus, Bianca and I were sitting on the couch in the living area of my new studio. Since my old place was now a crime scene, Bianca had arranged the move right down to hiring movers to haul my stuff over. She had even bought a couple of things to try and cheer me up.

When I first got here she’d told me all about her bogus speeding ticket. Afterward, it had started to rain and I’d curled up on the couch, napping on and off. Now we were watching TV. Well, I was pretending to watch, at least, but my mind was focused solely on Kage.

I was grateful Kage believed me, at least for now, but I couldn’t forget the grief in his eyes or the way he’d clung to me like I was his lifeline. I also couldn’t forget that I had withheld information about seeing Ty. Yes, because I wasn’t sure he’d been real, but also because if he was here on campus, I didn’t want to implicate him in Ava’s death without knowing more. It was exactly why I hadn’t told the police Dante had come from upstream when everyone else had come from the lake.

“You hungry?” Bianca suddenly asked.

I made a face. My stomach was too full of knots to think about eating. “No, but you don’t have to stay.”

“Maybe I’ll grab something and bring it back for you to eat later. But first…” She smiled mischievously at me and wiggled her eyebrows. “Are you going to tell me what Dante gave you in that silver bag?”

The question hung in the air, heavy and charged. I knew she was warming to the idea of Dante and I having a connection, but I was still hesitant to talk about him. In the end, I bit my lip and told her.

“Wow,” Bianca said, her eyes wide. “So he doesn’t just want to fuck you, he has actual feelings for you.”

I didn’t even bother denying it. For Dante to have remembered what my mom normally bought me when I was sick and for him to have gone to the trouble of buying them showed he cared about me.

Or could it be he was trying to win me over so I wouldn’t question whether he was involved in Ava’s death? God, why did I keep going there?

Too tired to deal with it now, I tucked the thought into the back of my mind.

“It doesn’t matter. He told me nothing could ever happen between us, remember?”

“Okay, but did he say that before or after you almost died?” Bianca asked. “Because I think he may have changed his mind.”

I just shrugged and turned my head to stare out a window, wanting to shut off my thoughts. I had a direct view of a cluster of trees. As the rain grew heavier, the trees’ red leaves looked like they were bleeding. The sight sent a shiver racing down my spine. What if Kage changed his mind about my involvement in Ava’s death? Would he kill me himself? Would he torture me and make me suffer? Because I didn’t think even his family’s million-dollar bond with the school or any other potential punishment by theVita Durawould stop him from exacting revenge for his sister’s murder.

In fact, Iknewit wouldn’t.

"Earth to Cami,” Bianca said. “Are you okay?"

I didn't respond immediately, not sure how to reassure her or myself that I was okay.

I finally managed to nod. “I’m good. Just tired.” I yawned for effect and then smiled at her. “You’ve been taking such good care of me, and we haven’t really talked about you. Have you had any more meetings with theconciliantis?”

“No.”

“How about Silas? Anything happening there?”

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