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A shutter closes over the entirety ofMyers’face, andnowthe reaper stands fully in front of me. “I won’t.”

My heart shattersinto piecesdespite the solidity of my words. “But don’t do it until after tonight,” I say softly. “I want to give Sau at least one dinner with him.”

And me.

But I don’t say that.

Because if I start thinking about it being the last time I’ll ever see him…I’ll be too damn tempted to forgive him.

“And one more thing,” I say, shifting on my feet. “Don’t tell anyone what David did to Olivia.”

“But –”

I shake my head, remembering the guilt so clear in my wife’s eyes. “Let the memories of her bring joy. Olivia has suffered enough.”

Pain flashes across his face as he nods.

We hold each other’s eyes for a long moment.

Then I turn and open my bedroom door.

Slipping into bed beside my wife, Ipull her against my chest. She whimpers in pain, a pain I feel in every atom of my body.

I want to soothe her cries and tell her it’ll be okay.

But I can’t even murmur the words in the dark without any witnesses.

Because I know them to be lies.

In two days, she will lose two children.

She will never be okay again.

And nor will I.

PARTTHREE:

AN OBSESSED SADIST

Twenty-Three

ALERIC

14August1947

“Cara, my dear,” I say with a smile as I step into the beam of moonlight pouring through the open window of her kitchen;the room isthe center of any witch’s house. Potions and spells are created here, and the power from years of work has seeped into the cream walls of her domain. The air crackles with danger, like the lightning of a storm, raising the hairs on my arms and neck.

She leans against the table,her legs stretched out in front of her. Herfull-sleeved tattooedarmsarecrossed as I open mine in a non-threatening manner. She knows I don’t need a weapon to kill her, but I takegreatpleasure in showing her there isn’t a gun tucked into a holster beneath my jacket. There isn’t a shirt under it either, and her eyes flow from my pecs to the narrow V pointing beneath my waistband.Her eyes slip lower still, linger, and then rise slowly as she flashes a smile of her own.

“It’s not a gun,” I say with a light rumble of laughter. Despite her being a witch who would kill me without any hesitation for the right price, I quite enjoy these meetings. The thrill of being this close to death, of being in the presence of someone powerful enough to potentially kill me… It’s enough to get my cock hard.

“Aleric.”She inclines her head, then eyes me dryly. “I see your choice of words are just as distasteful as always. Has anyone told you you’d be much more desirable if you didn’t talk?” She lifts a tattooed hand, a flicker of power arcing between her fingers.

I grin, tucking my thumbs into my black pant’s pocket, leaving my jacket open for her to admire the sculpture of my abs as I rock my hips forward. “Aw, my dear,” I say as her eyes flick south before quickly rising again. “If you take my mouth with your magic, then you won’t be able to haggle a ridiculous price from my lips.”

Her eyes narrow. “My prices are not ridiculous. You wish me to go against the Shadows.”

“They are nowhere near your territory.”