Liam grins and scoops up Giz from the floor. “Yeah, wouldn’t want to leave the girls by the fire by themselves.”
“Fucking traitors…”
I mutter it under my breath, low enough that I’m sure they can’t hear me, but Raven does, raising a blond brow as she steps in and closes the door behind her.
Just like every time we end up literally anywhere alone together, the energy and tension starts building immediately.
This time, it is one hundred percent my doing.
I created this, ruined that little sliver of peace we found on the mountain, by letting those horrific things happen to her.
And I can’t even look at her because all I see is how she looked that night when I found her tied to that chair, how limp and lifeless she was when I held her in my arms on that drive down the mountain, and it sends me to that dark place again.
I give her my back, continuing my packing, but I can feel her watching me.
It goes on for far too long. Long enough that I’m sure she’s doing it intentionally, allowing the pressure to build until it will eventually crush me.
Finally, she releases a sigh, but I won’t make the mistake of believing that means she’s conceding anything. “So…you’re going.”
I zip the bag and start another one. “Yep.”
“You’re really going to finish the cabin and live up there?”
The hurt in her voice almost makes me drop the box of crackers in my hands, but I manage to regain control of myself quickly enough to shove it into the bag and continue before she notices the trembling.
“It’s best for everyone.”
I truly believe that.
The last two weeks have proven to me that I’m doing the right thing by leaving. I’m saving everyone here—especially Raven—from my instability. From the nightmares, the short temper, the clearly terrible decisions I’ve been making.
“Is it?”
Raven doesn’t say anything else until the silence finally makes me turn to look at her. She stands with her arms crossed over her, clutching the blanket, and the question in her gaze, the judgment, is enough to make my chest ache in the way only this woman can.
“I can’t keep doing this, Raven.”
“Doing what?”
I spread out my hands. “This. Acting like everything’s okay.”
“We’re safe now.”
“Maybe. From the Lorells.” I shove my hands through my hair, pacing away from her, needing the space. “But I thought you were safe up on that mountain, too, and I was wrong.”
She flinches. “That wasn’t your fault.”
“Then whose was it? Who brought you there? Who left you there alone?”
“I could’ve fought you, Connor. Both times.”
“You would’ve lost.”
Despite how tense this conversation is, a smile pulls at her lips, which have finally healed. “I think, if we looked back at all the arguments we’ve had over the years, the numbers would say otherwise.”
Shit.
She’s probably right about that.
