Page 21

Marcus nods frantically, tears streaming down his face as his eyes roll back.

I cut a sharp, lethal look down at Harmony, furious at her interference, before dragging my glare back to the miserable bastard choking in my fist. I give his throat one final, punishing squeeze—just enough to leave a ring of deep, dark bruises—before releasing him.

Marcus hits the sawdust like a sack of stones, coughing hysterically and gasping for air as he clutches his neck.

Heavy, hurried footsteps crunch over the gravel.

Two Blackwood deputies push through the crowd of onlookers, their flashlights cutting bright white beams through the dim secluded corner.

“Step back! Hands where I can see them!” the lead officer barks, his hand resting heavy on the holster at his hip.

Before the tension can explode, I force the murderous rage back down into the dark corners of my chest. I tilt my head back, throwing my shoulders down into a relaxed, effortless posture, and shove my hands casually into the pockets of my jacket.

I pour on the charm, flashing a lazy, unbothered grin at the oncoming cops. “Everything’s fine, Officer. Just a little misunderstanding.”

The deputy shines his flashlight beam straight into my face, his eyes narrowing as he looks between me, Harmony, and Marcus still groveling on the ground.

“What’s the problem here?” the officer demands, kicking Marcus’s boot. “You. Stand up. Did this man assault you?”

Marcus rasps, clearing his throat violently as he struggles to his feet. He looks at me, catching the cold, unblinking promise of death waiting in my eyes, then glances at Harmony’s sharp, warning stare.

He swallows hard, wiping saliva from his chin.

“No,” Marcus croaks out, his voice hoarse and broken. “No assault, Officer. Just... a personal dispute between two grown men. It’s settled now.”

The deputy doesn’t look convinced, but he doesn’t push any further. He sweeps his flashlight beam down my body, letting the harsh white light linger on my jeans.

The dark, stiff stains around my thighs and knees pop under the high-powered bulb.

An empty pit settles in my stomach, though I don’t let a single muscle in my face twitch. I just keep smiling, praying to whatever dark forces are watching tonight that the cop assumes it’s cheap fake blood.

It’s Halloween night, after all. Half the teenagers stumbling through this carnival are covered in red paint and corn syrup.

The officer glares at me for five agonizing seconds, his hand never leaving his sidearm. “Move along, all of you. Clear the area. Now.”

“Will do, Deputy,” I say smoothly, giving him a polite nod before turning on my heel.

Marcus scrambles backward, disappearing into the crowd as fast as his legs can carry him.

The onlookers lose interest, dispersing back toward the neon lights and food stalls of the main fairgrounds.

The second the rest area clears out and we’re left standing in the shadows, my calm facade drops.

I turn on Harmony, stepping into her space until she’s forced back against the same wooden support beam I held Marcus. “What did you mean back there? What happened fifteen years ago?”

I was watching her from the shadow of the game booths before I stepped in. I wasn’t close enough to hear their low conversation over the roar of the crowd, but I saw the way Marcus invaded her space. The look of deep, volatile discomfort on her face before she pulled her knife.

Harmony tilts her chin up, her eyes flashing with defiance. “It’s none of your fucking business, Ryder.”

The dismissal ignites like dynamite in my chest.

Before she can take a breath, I reach out, my hand wrapping roughly around her upper arm, and yank her out of the light. I drag her around the heavy wooden framing, shoving her into the pitch-black space behind the ring-toss game booth.

“Don’t give me that shit,” I whisper fiercely, pinning her against the booth’s plywood wall with the weight of my body. “I almost killed that fucker for you. You better start talking.”

Harmony doesn’t back down. She pushes against my chest, her soul-sucking eyes blazing. “I never asked you to come to my defense! I had it under control!”

I lean down until my mouth is mere inches from her ear. “You had a steel blade halfway out of your shirt. You were two seconds away from ruining your life in front of fifty witnesses. Now answer the fucking question, Harmony.”