Page 161 of XO Karma

My hands shake on Aster’s stomach, and he places one of his on mine, steadying me. He veers off the road onto a familiar dirt path, and a minute later, we’re at the spot on the lake where he told me he loves me. The second he parks the bike, we dismount, helmets yanked off and thrown to the side.

Our eyes meet, and his lips are on mine once more. Fuck, I missed him. His tongue slips in, and I allow it willingly.

“I thought you died,” he says, planting kisses on my face, in my hair, on my neck, then returning to my mouth.

“I’m so sorry about that.” Kiss. “I don’t know—” Kiss. “What they were thinking.”

“Baby.” He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close, his head falling in the crook of my neck as he breathes me in. “I thought I lost you.” His voice cracks on the last syllable. “For real this time.”

“Hey.” I pull away to hold his face in my hands. My usual strong man’s emotions are on his sleeve. “I’m right here.”

His hands wander my body, touching and squeezing as if he still can’t quite believe that I’m real. “You’re right here.”

I bring his hand to my neck. “I’m alive.”

He nods, thumb finding my pulse point. “You’re alive.”

Taking his chin between my fingers, I tilt his gaze to meet mine. “I love you.”

He rests his forehead against mine. “I love you, too.” He releases a warm breath against my lips. “So damn much.” Tears prick the corners of my eyes, and he huffs a laugh. “I went a little crazy there when I thought you’d⁠—”

“But I didn’t,” I remind him, and he nods.

“I know…” We stand there embracing each other until our breathing is in unison and our heartbeats follow a similar steady rhythm.

“Anything you’d like to share?” I ask, eager to know what string of events led to a bonfire at the Westerford estate.

“Well, I killed Jude.”

I can’t find it in me to feel bad for the guy. Especially knowing he was keeping me from Violet. “Anything else?” He fights a smile. “Aster…?”

“I may have personally lit his body on fire on top of that desk in his office.” He grimaces.

“Are you serious?” My nose scrunches. “That’s dark, bro. Even for you.”

“Hey.” He places a hand on his chest. “I was in a very dark place. My girlfriend had just supposedly been murdered by an infamous serial killer.”

“What?” I blink at the new information. “What do you mean?”

“They made me think Kodak killed you,” he says, and my mind whirls.

“Why?”

“I think they were hoping to lead me to Jude? He asked me to work for him in exchange for your life.”

“So my best friend used me as bait?” My lips part, and I glance out at the water, stomach sinking. “Fuck… And we still don’t know who the real Kodak Killer is.” I drag a hand through my hair. “Do you think it was Jude? Or did he just use their M.O. to disappear Violet?”

“I mean, it’s an easy explanation,” Aster says. “If you pin someone’s death on an existing serial killer, no one will suspect otherwise. And people really did think she was dead…” He bites his cheek, hesitancy in his features.

“There’s something you’re not telling me.”

He rubs the nape of his neck. “I have a hunch.”

“About?”

“That Jackson could be the Kodak Killer.”

“Why?”