Chapter 62 - The Husband I Buried

Now

He took me to his cabin, tucked away from the main building, where it was quieter. Designed to feel like a refuge from the rest of the chaotic world.

‘This should buy us some time,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry about Elena. She’ll come around.’ He knew her better than me, but if her expression back there was anything to go by, we didn’t have as much time as he thought.

A sitting area opened onto tall windows framed with sheer curtains, the afternoon light diffused into something calm and flattering. There were fresh flowers on the table and a carafe of water with citrus floating on the surface.

On the coffee table sat a framed picture of me and Luis. It felt warm. Welcoming. As if I had finally come home.

Before Luis had time to shut the door, Tess came barreling toward me, nails skidding on the floor.

‘Tess,’ I breathed, dropping to my knees. She leapt into my arms, tail wagging so hard it smacked against my ribs. Luis watched us, something loosening in his expression.

‘I had her brought here,’ he said, as I buried my face in her ears. ‘You called her Tess? I thought for sure you’d go with Legally Beagle.’

A small, unwilling laugh slipped out before I could stop it. ‘No. Just Tess.’

‘Right,’ Luis said. ‘Like justice – Just Tess.’

He smiled then. Really smiled. The way he used to, back when everything between us felt effortless. When one look was enough to undo me.

For a second, it pulled me apart.

Then I remembered – that version of him didn’t exist anymore.

He wasn’t reaching for me, he was trying to bring me to him.

‘Just Tess,’ he said softly, scratching her ear. ‘That fits you.’

The air shifted as Tess went to find a toy she’d been given, leaving Luis and I there together.

We stood too close. Goosebumps crept up my arms. We were almost touching – my body remembering how easily we fit, how dangerous that had always been. It could overtake my senses and leave me blind.

I took a step back.

‘You know how fucked up this is, right?’ I said. ‘You let me bury you. You lied.’

He stepped closer. ‘You lied to me, too, remember?’

My breath caught.

‘But I know you weren’t trying to kill me,’ he went on. ‘Not in the way Elena thinks, at least. You were trying to stop me.’

‘When did you know, about the car?’ I asked.

‘I woke up, and you weren’t there. I got out of bed and I saw you go out to the garage. I watched you loosen something and go back to fix it just a little.’

‘So . . . you disappeared to punish me?’

‘To show you what you really wanted.’ He took my face in his hands, forehead resting against mine. ‘Elena will kill you if you stay,’ he said urgently. ‘She thinks sacrifice is devotion. I need time to talk her down. But after that . . .’

No. I wouldn’t consider it. I couldn’t.

A tap at the door interrupted us.

Luis hesitated.

The door opened.

Thomas stood there.

‘They took my phone,’ he said. His eyes flicked to Luis and then to me. ‘They’re not going to let us leave.’