Page 94 of A Killing Cold

She’s still talking. “I should have tried to help her, but I… I ran. Dad was there, somehow—he asked me what had happened. I told him I’d killed her. He told me to go to Mr. Vance’s cabin. He said to stay there, no matter what, until he came to get me. So I did. I stayed. But Dad never came back. It was Grandpa who came to get me. Because Dad, he—he—” She chokes on her own tears.

“Paloma told me he killed himself,” I say. Told me that Alexis believed it, at least. Connor’s hand tightens on my shoulder. I’m not sure if it’s meant to be comfort or if it’s meant to hold me back.

“It’s my fault.” Her voice is small, fifteen and lost all over again. She takes a steadying breath. “Granddad and Grandma told me what to do. Which was nothing, basically. Pretend it didn’t happen. Go along with the story. Don’t ask questions.”

It was Alexis. Not Rose at all. I should have seen it. How they leapt in to cover for her. Louise, Magnus, Nick—flocking together to shield their little princess from the consequences of what she’d done. No matter the cost.

Even if that cost was me.

“Did you ever bother to ask what happened to me?” My voice is a growl. It sounds like a stranger’s.

Her eyes are wide, frantic. “I didn’t know about you. Not until later. And I did ask. They said you went to live with family. That you hadn’tseen anything, and they were making sure you were taken care of, they said not to worry.”

“I almost died out there,” I say. “And when I didn’t, they dumped me in the middle of nowhere with strangers. I didn’t even know my own name. The only thing I remember about my mother is what she looked like when she was dying, and you—”

She was attending her private schools. Kissing her girlfriend. Getting an Ivy League degree, getting married on an island, enjoying every perk of being a Dalton. It doesn’t matter what you do. It matters who you are. She’s a Dalton.

I’m no one.

There’s only one way this is supposed to turn out. “Did you know who I was?” I ask.

“Not until literally just now,” she says.

“So you didn’t know what they’ve been doing. Your grandparents, Nick, your mom—that they tried to kill me, to cover up whatyoudid?” I demand.

“No. I swear, no, and I never would have asked them to,” she babbles.

“Your grandparents promised you it would all be taken care of, didn’t they? You wouldn’t get in any trouble. They’re not about to let that promise be broken,” I say.

“But they can’t—they wouldn’t do anything likethat,” Alexis says. I look at her steadily. And then I turn to Connor.

“We have to get out of here,” I say. He’s staring at his sister. His gaze is burned hollow. “Connor.”

His eyes snap to me. “Right,” he says. “How?”

“One of the UTVs,” I suggest. “Nick had one. I don’t know where it went. But there should be another at Mr. Vance’s cabin. Do you know the way? I went there once, but I don’t know if I can find it again.”

“Yeah. Back road. Not hard to find.” Connor’s losing words, losing his grip. I lace my fingers through his.We can do this, I try to tell him.

“Wait. What are you going to do?” Alexis asks.

“We’re going to leave,” Connor says, but it’s clear what Alexis is asking.

“Are you going to… when you get back, will you…” She can’t say it.

I step toward her. She flinches but holds her ground. “Alexis, your family is trying to kill me to protect you.”

“No,” she says, but it isn’t a real denial. It’s a child’s wish.

“Olena died because Nick thought she was me,” I grind out. “Do you really want to see what happens if he gets another chance?”

“Please,” she whispers. I can’t tell what she’s asking for. For me to keep her secret—or for none of this to have happened at all? “Connor, I—”

“Don’t say another fucking word,” Connor growls. She shies back, her whole body shrinking in on itself. “If you can’t help, stay out of the way.”

There’s so much pain in her eyes. She killed my mother. She took my whole life from me. Part of me wants her to hold every part of that hurt and never let it go, no matter how much it tears into her. But not all of it is hers to bear.

Connor opens the door, but I pause, looking back toward Alexis.

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