Page 74 of Entangled

Slowly, Eden drops her chin in a nod. “It is.”

With her big eyes and soft lips, she looks like a determined angel perched on my right. A pretty conscience. I wonder if she ever gets tired of being so good.

“No.” Heather’s voice is alarmed. Almost panicked. “No, it’s decided. He has to die.”

I shake my head at my own thoughts. I guess that makes Heat the devil.

“I think we need him.”

Eden picks over her words, and I eye her sharply. Her eyes are guarded behind her glasses but deadly serious.

“What do we need him for, Eden?” I ask, but Heather’s already talking over the top of me and dragging my attention.

I watch her stalk the room, the way she does when she’s frayed. Fuck, she’s losing it. I need to keep an eye on her before she does something stupid.

“No! Tommy isdeadbecause of him.”

“And we almost died because of you,” Eden snaps back, and I’ve never heard that tone from her before. I wouldn’t have thought that tonecouldcome from her.

It burns with merciless contempt.

She was at breaking point in the forest earlier. In shock. I’d put her attack on Heather down to that. But she still seems angry. I know about that kind of anger. It can be like a sickness.

Jasper’s watching her too, a slight crease between his brows.

“Maybe we should be talking about what you did,” Eden says harshly. “You showed them where the cameras were, you admitted that much, but it was more than that. Tommy showed you how to loop the cameras and you did that for them too, didn’t you? You did everything you possibly could to send them to Bristlebrook.”

“I didn’t have a choice,” Heather says roughly, facing off against Eden. A warrior and a librarian.

“There’s always a?—”

“Don’t,” Heather warns, stepping in. “Don’t patronize me. We had women with us, and more here, and they wanted details. I had to give themsomething, or they would have ripped the others apart to find the rest of us.”

She glances at me, then Jayk, then Jasper, then back to Eden. “Sam already had a grudge against Bristlebrook, and he thought they were there. So I just... encouraged that thought.” Swallowing, she continues, “You have to understand, I was a spoiled brat when I left Bristlebrook—hell, maybe I still am—but when I left, I took on a responsibility for these women, and for all the ones who came after. And it washard.People died, and I needed to be better. They trusted me to be better.”

Her voice breaks, and she looks at me now. Jaw clenching, I nod without meeting her eyes. I know what she’s saying. That kind of duty is a burden—thankless and fucking terrifying. It’s why I never wanted to do it again.

“We aren’t armed here. I’ve taught them what I could, and we’ve made snares and rock slings, traps, and arrows, but most of the people here aren’t fighters. They’re not built to defend themselves—not against armed men. But the Rangers were, Eden.” Heather’s voice catches. “Even with the odds stacked against them, even with low visibility, I know what Dom can do. And he and the others had a much better chance at any good outcome than we would have.”

Eden shakes her head, but a tear slips down her cheek. She swipes it away angrily.

“I didn’t have a choice,” Heather repeats.

I nod again, throat thick. Heather is solemn and haunted, and relief trickles through me as it all finally starts to make sense. My instincts aren’t broken. She did sell us out... and I would have done the same thing in a heartbeat.

These people had to be protected.

“Fine,” Eden says abruptly, her voice husky. “I might be able to understand that. But you shouldn’t have lied to me.”

Some of the tension eases back as Heather raises a brow. “I didn’tlie?—”

“You lied about your name, and your intentions, and you— You befriended me under false pretenses.” Eden’s glasses slip down her nose, and she shoves them back up like they’ve personally offended her.

“Madison is what Tommy used to call me,” Heather says quietly. “It stuck with this group. I’m Madison to them. I didn’t lie on purpose.” She takes a deep breath. “I didn’t tell you I knew them because I needed a friend, and I didn’t want you to hate me. Turns out, you were a good one.”

Eden crosses her arms over her chest. “A better one than you, I think.”

“Yeah. Probably.”

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