Page 70 of Shadows of You

My blood ran cold, my muscles winding tight. “I got a letter.”

The air around me went electric.

“What kind of letter?” Roan growled.

“Not the warm and fuzzy kind,” I said.

“Was it signed?” Lawson asked.

I shook my head. “No. But I know who sent it.”

“Who?” Roan demanded.

“John. The man who killed my sister.”

21

ROAN

Rage pulsed through me,punctuated by an icy, stabbing fear. Neither was an emotion I welcomed. Hell, I didn’t welcome feelings of any sort. Nothing extreme. I lived for the slow and steady, the calm.

Right now, I was anything but those things.

“Why the hell didn’t you say anything?” I snarled.

Aspen reared back, and I knew I should’ve taken more time to reel in my emotions.

“Dial it back a notch,” Lawson warned.

“This is something we needed to know,” I gritted out.

Lawson released his hold on his mug. “When did you receive the letter?”

“A couple of days ago at my PO box.”

My jaw clenched. “Which means he knows where you are.”

Aspen’s hands trembled as she set her tea down. “He’s in prison. It’s not like he can show up here. If he planned to expose me, he would’ve done it already. He wouldn’t have given me a warning.”

She let out a shaky breath. “John has always gotten a thrill out of letting me know his reach is long. He sent me flowers at my work. Chocolates I’m allergic to at home. He wants me scared, however he can manage it.”

“How do you know the letter was from him?” Lawson asked.

I was envious of my brother in that moment. How easy it was for him to keep his cool. To remain measured, thoughtful, and calm.

“I know his handwriting,” Aspen explained. “Christmas cards, paperwork, crossword puzzles.”

Because the devil had been someone living inside her family, not some stranger attacking from the outside.

“Do you still have the letter?” Lawson asked.

Aspen nodded.

“I’d like to take a look.”

She pushed her chair back and stood. I didn’t miss the shakiness in her limbs. That only made me want to gut the man more. Rip him limb from limb. I felt a desperate, clawing need to know that Aspen was safe and he couldn’t torment her anymore.

“Can you handle this?” Lawson asked, voice low.

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