Page 72 of Tempt Me (Dark Odyssey 4)

There has to be an end date. There has to be now more than ever because she’s moving too far over the damn line.

Last night was absolute shit, and I was so mad at her again for the intrusion on my privacy. I allowed her to see my weakness and the thing that gets me good.

Love.

When I love, I love hard.

Despite knowing the fucked-up shit that can happen in my world, I foolishly thought I was above it. Even after Frankie was killed, I never really believed that my wife could be killed just like that. There one day and gone the next.

I never believed it could happen, not when I had the best security and the best of everything. I thought I’d be settled for life and couldn’t have been more wrong.

If there was any part of that, that was right, I wouldn’t be standing here today, and she wouldn’t be six feet under.

Marguerite is right. I need to move on. Sorcha wouldn’t want me like this. How do I though?

I look past the grave and scan over the rolling hills and on to the river before I make my way over to the gravestone and sit next to it.

I stay there until night falls, and I don’t move. The most I do is send a text to Marguerite to let her know I won’t be back tonight. I don’t lie, and I don’t tell the truth either.

I don’t want the fuss over me and anyone telling me I’m crazy. So, I don’t say more than I need to.

At some point, I fall asleep. I fall asleep next to my wife’s grave until bright sunlight stirs me along with the shimmer of a man standing before me.

The sunlight covers him, and I can’t quite see his face, but when he steps into the shadows, I see it’s Salvatore.

He’s the only person who would have known where to find me. Not that I’ve done this before. I used to come here every day when she was first buried, and it was him who always knew where I was. I never had to say.

Once again, though, he’s seeing me at my lowest, and I feel like shit.

He comes and sits next to me on the cleared path.

“Vin,” he says, looking at me with concern.

“Hi.”

“I thought you might be here. I was looking for you yesterday, and when Marguerite said you weren’t coming back, I figured this is where I’d find you.”

“Yeah.”

“You stay here all night?” he asks, and I nod.

I turn my gaze away from him and glance over to the nearest grave, which is just over the hill. I know what he’s thinking, and I don’t want to talk about it.

“She told me to make sure you didn’t work too hard.”

“Marguerite knows I’m always working hard.” I shake my head.

“Not her. Sorcha,” he says, and I turn to look back at him.

“She did?”

“Yeah. The thing about me is, I’m the guy who makes the promises. I promise to do various things. Most often, it’s to take care of others. Because our lives are so dangerous and you’re not exactly a calm person, Sorcha was always making me promise one thing or another.” He chuckles. “Make sure you eat, make sure you rest, make sure you don’t work too hard, make sure you allow me to take care of you. Now, that last one threw me, took me a minute, but I got her meaning. You’ve been in charge for a long time. Pa’s right-hand man. You’re busy taking care of everyone else and never actually allowing anyone really to do the same for you. She knew I was probably the only guy you’d allow to do that. So, here I am, Vin. Keeping my promise to my sister-in-law. Please allow me to.”

I bite into my bottom lip so hard I taste blood and hang my head.

“I don’t know what I can do, Salvatore. Everything’s a mess.”

“It’s kind of like that all the time. The mess things are, are just a different kind of shit. This situation with you is not about everything else. I’m just going to tell you straight that you can’t blame yourself for Sorcha’s death.”

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