Page 79 of Into the Light

During those nights, we talked about Ash, sharing happy memories of him. Neither of us felt shame or constant anxiety about the life we were living and the memories we held of him. It felt . . . good. Almost too good to be true.

Just as I was getting ready to make us dinner, his familiar Doc Martins thudded against the floor, followed by the click of the key in the doorknob. I took a seat on the couch and gazed out at the distant pines.

“Come on, Ember,” he said, storming over to me. “Get up. We’re leaving.”

I quickly stood up, feeling a rush of questions. “Why? Where are we going?” I demanded, but he only scoffed and started gathering sweaters from my room, stuffing them into a duffle bag he found under my bed.

“Stop,” I cried, closing the gap between us and grabbing his trembling hands. “What happened?”

My words tumbled out faster, driven by my desire for the truth, something I loved about Rain. “I had a terrible meeting,” he lamented as my hands moved to cradle his face. “Please, don’t ask me questions, Ember.”

I swallowed my curiosity, rare in our relationship, because I could see he needed this.

“Okay,” I whispered, and reached up to give him a small kiss on the cheek. Something for him to carry with him, knowing the burden he carried on his back was strong. Because he always spoke the truth, I would not push him.

He sighed and collapsed on the bed.

“I went to see your brother,” he said as he stared up at the wall. It took a moment for those words to actually register with me.

“My brother?”

“Yeah,” he replied blankly.

“What? Why?” I questioned for the second time in the five minutes he’d been home.

He sighed before pushing off the bed and holding my hands in his.

“I feel so much pressure for what’s going to happen next. I am supposed to graduate this summer, go to Dansport, and start doing business dealings for the Cartel, for Mr. Ortiz. The last thing I want to do is that. I want to write . . . damn it.” He exhaled a large breath. “I want to live in our country house . . . together.”

“I don’t graduate for another year,” I whispered.

“I know. I want to stay here in Isles with you until you’re ready to come with me, or go wherever you want to.” He paused and then his fingers slid so they were cusping my chin. “I’d do whatever you want, Ember, because I cannot imagine a world without waking up to your smile everyday.”

My heart started to race so fast it felt like it was going to practically jump-scare out of my chest. “Rain?” I could barely whisper his name aloud, but his fingers caressed my face as if he knew exactly what I wanted to say but the words weren’t quite there yet. As if he understood the pause between us was more intimate than the eight little letters could ever combine.

“Wait,” I snapped out of my daydream. “What does this have to do with my brother?”

“Well, Pico was there, too.”

“Okay, and that answers absolutely nothing.” I crossed my arms and rested so I was between his legs.

“It does though, mi pareja.” His fingers were still trailing down my cheek and gently tucking my hair behind my ear. “I needed Pico and Walsh to get along and finally have a sit-down to end this war between our families. Pico is going to take over for me. He agreed.”

“What?” I balked.

“Yeah. He’s a born leader. He enjoys fucking around with people, and everyone respects him. I just need to find a way to sit down with your dad and Mr. Ortiz together. As soon as I piece together the evidence I need as to what happened last year with Ash.”

“I can help.” I stood up taller.

“Of course you can,” he responded. “This was, after all, your idea.”

My brows furrowed, not understanding what he meant.

“You told Ash when you first met him that words were a more powerful tool than running around with guns and hating each other.” I laughed.

“He told you this?” Rain smiled as he remembered.

“He told me he’d thought it was the silliest thing he’d heard. Because what was more powerful than words? Words were just something that came out of your mouth, but brute strength was obviously something bigger and better.”

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