Page 240 of What We Burn

“I fixed it,” he says. “They can’t hurt you now. They’re dead. Gone.”

Sage crosses the space between them.

Milo glances down at himself. “Don’t. I’m disgusting.”

“I don’t care.”

“I did it for you.” His voice catches, but the grin stays stretched across his face. “Because of how much I love you, kitten. You’re safe now.”

“Come here, Milo.”

She wraps her arms around him.

Milo breaks.

The change is instant. His grin disappears against her hair. His hands hover behind her as if he’s forgotten what they’re for, then slam around her hard enough to lift her onto her toes.

A sound tears out of him.

His knees buckle.

Knox catches him under the shoulders before he can drag Sage down with him, taking Milo’s weight while Milo clings to her shirt. His entire body convulses around each breath.

“I had to,” he chokes, finding his feet again. “Tyler came back. They keep coming back. I had to make sure they couldn’t⁠—”

The words disintegrate. He buries his face in Sage’s neck and sobs.

“I’ve got you,” she murmurs. “You’re with me now.”

Milo tries to answer. Nothing coherent comes out.

Knox steps back, satisfied Milo’s holding his own weight.

Dean and Amy have appeared in the service doorway. Amy is wrapped in the blanket, one hand locked around Dean’s forearm. Her gaze moves from Milo to the covered truck bed.

I turn to Knox when he moves to stand beside me.

“Are there seriously fourteen bodies under there?”

He nods.

“All Kennel?”

“Everyone who came through the door.”

“Anyone get out?”

“No. He got them all.”

I look from Milo to the truck bed. “He did this alone?”

“All I did was guard the door and keep them in the warehouse.”

“Holy fuck.” I rub a hand down my face. “Fourteen is a lot.”

“He did it quick too. Never seen anything like it.”

I stare at the tarp and try to fathom what happened. Fourteen bodies. One warehouse. One Milo.