Page 107 of Bite of Sin

Luckily, we had running water, unlike some of the other safe houses. We were deep in the forest, with no cities around for miles. A fireplace was on the wall across from me and was the only source of heat for when it was cold. The furniture was all old and falling apart. Since we only used this place for short durations, we didn’t see the need to update anything.

“I’m going for a walk,” I announced, getting to my feet.

My eyes widened in surprise when Warner stood up and crossed the room until he was in front of me. He’d barely spoken to me since we’d arrived, and I understood why he was mad. I really did. In his eyes, I’d let myself fall into bed with someone we were trained to kill. And Zan was even worse, since Warner had been locked in a cage because of him. I knew he needed time to process and hadn’t tried talking to him. But I missed my best friend.

He pulled me into a hug, burying his face in the crook of my neck. I sagged against him, hoping this meant he was getting over what I did.

“I’m not going to lie and say I’m not still mad,” he said in a low voice to keep Paul from overhearing. “But I want you to know I’m here for you, Kali. I’m not going to just abandon you because of what happened. The last three weeks have been fucking crazy. I don’t know everything that happened to you when we were in that city. But I do know you. And I trust you. You just need to remember what side you’re on.”

It took everything in me to stay still. Heated anger rushed through my veins as he squeezed me tighter.What side I was on?He’d known me nearly my entire life. I would never betray him or the Clovers. I could see why he was questioning my choices, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.

“I made one mistake,” I whispered. “It’s not fucking happening again.”

“I know.” He pulled away from me. “I’ll go walk with you. This damn cabin is driving me crazy.”

I nodded in agreement, following him toward the door. Paul was watching us, and he stood from the chair, letting the half-made stake fall to the floor. Warner’s shoulders tensed when Paul got in the way of the door.

“Maybe we should stay inside,” Paul said, running a hand over his curly black hair. “The whole point in staying here is to be safe.”

“It’s noon,” Warner retorted curtly. “Nowhere near sunset. We’re miles from any city. Which means we don’t have to worry about PARA or vampires. Get out of my way.”

“Matt never made it back,” Paul argued, crossing his arms. “It’s not smart to split up. And Garrett should be here soon. He’s going to want to talk to you both when he arrives.”

“He won’t be here for a while,” I said. “We’ll be back by then.”

Paul looked like he wanted to argue, but Warner shoved him to the side, ignoring Paul’s curses when he stumbled back.

“Watch it,” Paul hissed. “You’re both guests here—”

“No,” Warner cut him off. “We’re Clovers just like you. It doesn’t matter that we used to live in Project Hope, not outside the walls like you. We are all on the same side. So stop acting like a fucking prick.”

Without another word, Warner unlocked and opened the front door, only to freeze. My stomach knotted as I peeked around him.

“Did the messenger leave this?” Warner asked skeptically. “I don’t remember seeing him carrying anything.”

Someone had come yesterday to inform us when Garrett would be here and to let us know that Matt never made it to Project Hope. He’d brought supplies but had unpacked everything before he left again.

My eyes dropped to where Warner was staring, and my heart seized. Sitting right in front of the door was a small basket nearly overflowing with apples. If the messenger had brought them, he would have carried them inside. I stared at the bright red fruit, my panic rising fast enough to steal my breath.

“Warner,” I choked out.

He must have heard my frantic tone because he quickly pulled me outside, making sure to step beside the fruit basket before slamming the door to keep Paul from following. He grabbed my upper arms, peering at me in concern.

“What’s wrong?” he asked in a hushed voice.

“Those apples…” I took a deep breath. “They’re the same ones that were stocked at Impulse. I ate them every night.”

“They’re just apples, Kali. The messenger probably brought them—”

“The basket is the same,” I nearly screeched, tugging out of his hold. “It’s the one that Gia kept under the bar for the human girls who worked there to eat from. It’s from their city, Warner.”

I could picture Dee refilling the basket every night. And I was always grabbing apples from it when I needed a snack. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind about who had put these here.

“Zan,” I breathed out. “He knows where we are.”

I turned my eyes, scanning the thick forest around us. Other than birds chirping, there were no other noises. Warner grasped my chin, pulling my focus back to him.

“You don’t know that it’s him,” he said, his eyes narrowing.

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