Page 58 of Like a Hurricane

For the first thirty minutes it’s silent between us until the trees swallow us, and the wind picks up in strength, the icy bitterness of it biting at my face.

“Maya’s pregnant,” Torin tells me.

My feet stop on the craggy incline, and I stare at his back. “Well shit,” I grin, “Congratulations, brother.”

“I’m fucking terrified,” He admits, not stopping at all so I have to pick up speed to catch up.

“Of what?” I ask.

“Keeping them safe.”

“This isn’t like before, Tor,” I say to him, referring to the tragedy that ended with the death of his first wife and infant son.

“No, it isn’t,” he agrees.

“I won’t bring back the trouble here,” I assure him, “It’s not going to end that way.”

He looks over his shoulder to me, “You really care for her.”

“Is that such a surprise?”

His mouth cocks up into a smirk, “Yeah, Rett it is. A few months ago, you were trying to rope me in on a job and now it’s your life mission to take care of that woman.”

“Things change,” I grunt, going ahead of him.

“Women do that,” He says to my back, “You think you’re fine the way you are and then bam, they throw you off course.”

“Maya is good for you.”

“And it seems Arryn is for you, too.”

“If she’ll have me.” I say, “I’m not so sure our ending will be the same as yours.”

Torin doesn’t speak again.

I was happy for my brother, he deserved this. Deserved a life with the woman he loved, deserved to be a father to both Harper and this new baby. A few months ago, I would have said it was a shit way to live when we’ve grown up the way we have, but I know now I was wrong.

I wanted what he had.

“You heard from Kolt?” I ask when we get close to the cabin.

“No. You?”

“Nope.” I answer. Our adopted brother had always been elusive, but this was the longest it had been without checking in. It was making me worry something bad had happened. We would know, one way or the other, but it still didn’t sit right.

At the cabin I grab what I need and stuff it into my pack. Arryn hadn’t agreed to fake her own death yet, but I wanted to be prepared anyway. It was a good idea, and if I could lure the Ware’s out of hiding, I could eliminate the threat all together.

I would speak with Arryn when we return, figure out her thoughts on it. I’d need to be quick to get the job when it comes back up so another doesn’t get a hold of it and force us to wait longer to get this done.

The sooner I can remove the threat against Arryn, the easier it will be to breathe.

The trek back down the cliff is quiet, the sound of the wind whistling through the pines and the crashing waves the only noise to accompany our journey back to town. The girls still aren’t home when we get back to the house, so I set my equipment up in Torin’s office, and go looking for them with my brother.

Chapter Twenty-eight

We walk slowly through the town, both silent as we snack on the fresh pastries we picked up from the bakery. Everyone who sees us greets Maya and gives me a kind smile too, a warm but quiet greeting.

We dropped Harper off a few hours ago at the tiny little school and Maya had given me a tour, from the cemetery all the way back to the docks. Finishing off the pastries, Maya guides me towards the beautiful white building set back and bordered by a sprawling forest of pines. We follow a quaint cobble path, the sound of chickens travelling from the back of the building.

---