Page 73 of Through the Water

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Killian

“He couldn’t. Never again, not with anyone else. Nothing would ever, after that moment, compare. Not with her cry, not with her reaction, not with her kiss. A woman shouldn’t be created in such heartbreakingly beautiful combinations. A woman shouldn’t, in fifteen minutes, have the ability to ruin him for life.”

?Alessandra Torre, Moonshot

“You gonna tell me, girl, or should I just keep guessing?”

Ari sat cross-legged on the bed, studiously poring over a travel magazine with a distracted smile. Thanks to a tip from Tsega, her worn house shoes had been replaced with a pair almost identical to mine. After delivering them, my mama had pushed to meet my mystery girl, but I’d declined.

This was new to me. I wanted to shield it, and Ari, from the world for as long as possible.

“What about Argentina? There’s this fort—the Pucará de Tilcara—where they’ve found human traces dating back over ten thousand years.”

I didn’t give two shits about touring ancient ruins in South America, but there was something to be said about watching Ari in her element. She’d mispronounced or completely butchered most of the names of the places in the magazine but had grinned up at me so earnestly that I hadn’t dared to correct her.

Because when Ari smiled—a real, genuine smile—it was like someone flipping on a light switch, making you aware that you’d spent your whole life living in the dark.

Her hair fell messily over one eye, and she paused to push it off her forehead. The movement revealed the scar underneath, the only visible wound from her car accident. As if sensing my stare, Ari used her fingers to hurriedly cover it up before going back to her research. I hated that she felt she had to hide from me but kept the thought to myself.

“That’s, uh, that’s pretty cool. Now, remind me again why we’re planning Georgia’s vacation for her? Aren’t there travel agents for that?” I adjusted the pillow beneath my knee before stretching out on the leather chair across from her.

“Georgia asked me to…” Ari’s words faded out, and she cleared her throat until she no longer sounded like a boy going through puberty. “Besides, it gives me something to do in the evenings.”

Sanchez and his crew grinned up at me from the Sports Illustrated on my lap, and I flipped it over before returning my attention to her. “You could—oh, I don’t know—tell me what you did to Helen. That would be a fun way to pass the time, don’t you think?”

“Not gonna happen,” she chuckled and wrote down a note before turning the page.

“C’mon,” I pleaded. I’d been trying to get it out of her for days now. “Did you run her over with your wheelchair?”

“You guessed that one already.”

“Wait, I got it. You, uh, you…” I was floundering, and we both knew it, but as long as it kept her amused, I could go all night. “Poisoned her food?”

“Killian,” she sighed in mock exasperation. “It’s like you’re not even trying. How would poisoning cause her great facial harm?”

“You’re right.” I grinned. “Alright, go back to your little magazine, but just so you’re aware, I’m gonna figure you out, girl.”

“Are we up for a visitor?” Someone asked as they knocked on the open door.

“Uh, just a second.” I looked at my watch with a frown. The nurses weren’t due to give Ari her nightly meds for another hour.

And I selfishly wanted every one of those sixty minutes alone with her. I’d grown addicted to our little routine over the past two weeks and the feel of having her fall asleep on my shoulder. Outside this room, I was distant and cold—painfully aware of what it would mean if people spotted us together.

Proving once again that she wasn’t like the rest, the whole thing had been Ari’s idea. It was a request I’d been only too willing to accept, though.

Maybe once we were both out of here, we could go public. In the meantime, I fully respected her desire to stay out of the spotlight. Getting rid of one old woman had been easy enough, but I couldn’t go after the press every time they posted something derogatory about my girl.

My girl.

I couldn’t explain when it had happened, but lately, I’d become consumed with the idea of having her by my side, having someone to share my ups and downs with.

A partner.

When I looked at her, I saw us walking hand in hand down the block to my favorite coffee shop and takeout on the couch when neither one of us felt like cooking. I pictured her thighs, gripping me as I took her on the kitchen table. My bed. The floor…

Ari met my gaze with a soft frown before pointing toward the door.

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