Page 118 of Dark Horse

“You’re my everything too.” She smiles through her own happy tears, and I take the ring out of the box to put it on her finger. “What if I want to keep this one though? Would that be okay?”

“Of course.”

“I really loved your mom. She had such a good heart. Maybe a little bit will wear off on me.” Her finger traces over the edges of the ring.

“Trust me. Your heart is every bit as big and pure and sweet. People just have to get through a few walls first—as they should. I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure it stays that way.”

When we get backto the ranch house, my phone buzzes with a text, and I pull it out to see Levi’s name flash across the screen. I swipe to open it, and it’s a picture of a woman. She’s sipping a cup of coffee and eating a pastry as she looks out across the city square, clearly somewhere in Germany or Austria, judging by the words scrawled on the chalkboardsign in front of the cafe door. She looks contemplative, worried even from the way her brow furrows.

My phone buzzes again, and another message comes through.

LEV:

Found her.

You’ll never guess where.

Another photo comes through, one that appears to be of the same woman, only this time she’s dressed in a way I can barely process. She’s in all black from head to toe, her hair shrouded under a veil, as she walks with a group of women dressed the same. I blink and rub the heel of my palm over my eyes, but when I open them again, I’m still seeing the same thing on the screen in front of me.

He’s right. I would’ve never guessed. Not in a million years. But we desperately need answers, and time is running out.

Do whatever it takes.