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It didn’t matter what she had to say from there on. I’d made up my mind. I couldn’t risk her tainting her hands with the killer’s blood.
‘Things were already off-balance; we’re just setting a new course. You’re not the problem, Bea, but you might be the solution.’ The whole Pit was given a new chance because of her.
She just needed to see that, even though she might have doubted it at that moment. ‘And what if we’re not the solution?’
‘You are my solution for everything. That has to count for something,’ I whispered slipping beside her on the couch. If she had it in herself to fix me, then nothing seemed impossible anymore. And just at that moment, I made my decision, we were going to set the town on the right course. I was going to be the governor — not just by name but with dedication.
The tormenting questions followed her throughout the night. Thewhat if’skept repeating themselves even though we didn’t really make sense of what had happened. We couldn’t tell who the killer was, or if he had shot Jenna by mistake, or if it was intended.
All we could do was to try and face the night. The first hours are usually the hardest. I of all knew that best.
Eventually, I moved Bea to bed, trying to convince her to sleep. I was arranging myself in a comfortable spot to be next to her, after just changing her clothes, when Brax decided to burst into my room.
He was as worried as I was, even though he would never directly express it. His communication skills were way worse than even my own, hence he didn’t do much talking and I didn’t expect him to. He just slipped next to Bea on the other side of the bed right after her hand traced the sheets inviting him there.
I knew that she needed him. Maybe not in the same way that she needed me, but with the same intensity. I was okay with the thought that she wasn’t only mine because for the first time I was beginning to think that Brax was finally worthy of her. I had convinced myself the same of Cole a while ago, I just never could tell for sure what were Brax’s intentions. But let’s face it, I wasn’t exactly entitled to be the judge of any of them since my actions were making me more flawed than the both of them together.
It was time to make amends for my mistakes, and for that, I did have my own request of Brax. I wanted the one responsible for the crime brought to me alive so I could be the one who would end him. I made a promise to Bea and I was going to keep it. We didn’t linger on the topic since Cole had also entered through the door and was very determined to join us.
I wasn’t surprised when he found a space between Bea’s legs, using her thigh as a pillow. I quickly understood that I needed to get myself accustomed to nights like this since we were heading toward this being a new kind of normality.
Bea finally managed to fall asleep, and so did we. The day seemed to have drained all of us emotionally, especially as we had realized one way or the other what kind of danger we were really facing.
I woke up early next morning at the same moment as Brax. He also seemed to be tormented by the threat hovering over us. Not that I could say the same about Cole. I couldn’t make many claims when it came to him. He could sleep through the end of the world. Besides, someone needed to remain to keep an eye on Bea, so leaving him in bed with her was a wise decision.
Both Brax and me headed off to get ourselves some coffee while his phone already started to ring with the morning news. He was getting reports from everywhere, even from the police chief.
Most of the information was useless anyway, no one seemed to find much, except for a gun ditched in a trashcan. It was a starting point, but not a great one as we were on a very tight time schedule. I just hoped they would find the killer as soon as possible because it would only be just a matter of time before Brax would burn down the city in search of him.
We were just debating that when Bea walked in. I wasn’t really sure what she was doing there. I had a feeling that she just wanted to get rid of Cole and be alone, but she accidentally stumbled upon us.
And I was right.
The next thing I knew she left to go to her room, locking herself away there for the days to come. She didn’t want to see any of us and we all respected her privacy.
Alfred was the only one checking in on her and bringing her meals. This was only after I had to threaten her that I would break down the door if she kept refusing to eat. He was also the one I put in charge of Jenna’s funeral. I offered to take care of all the expenses, but I couldn’t personally attend to see things done. My own past was threatening to come back to haunt me. I had just crossed the finish line when it came to that and I had no desire to risk regression. However, on the day of the funeral, I buckled up my pants to be there for Bea. No matter how badly the chapel or the cemetery could have affected me, I need to be strong for her.
Luckily, Cole covered most of the chapel part. I needed to leave a couple of times and have a few smokes to calm down. I wasn’t comfortable with the surroundings, yet I convinced myself to be beside her during the actual burial. It was time to face my fears and be strong, if not for me then for her.
To my astonishment, I was succeeding. I was there for Bea and I needed to ease a little of her pain by letting her know that at least Jenna’s loved ones will have a better life. ‘I’m going to take care of her family. They’ve been through enough,’ I whispered to her as soon as the minister finished his last words.
But it seemed I wasn’t that good at comforting since I only managed to get Bea to snap back at me. ‘How could that bring a life back? How could that bring Jenna back?’
‘Nothing would bring her back, but nothing gives you the right to leave with her. We still need you here.’I needed her there.It was time she would understand that.
I didn’t get to say much more to her. Brax was signaling for me to join him and as I approached I also noticed his men gathering around him. There had to be news.
‘I’ll be right back,’ I whispered to Bea, leaving to see what the meeting was about. It was only going to be a minute. Yet, sometimes a minute makes all the difference between life and death.
Brax didn’t get a chance to say what the gathering was about because the very next second, Jenna’s mother crashed on the ground. The poor woman couldn’t handle the excruciating pain and collapsed unconscious next to her daughter’s grave, creating an amazing commotion. Everyone was either calling for ambulances or pushing in to see what had happened.
It took only a split second of distraction to lose Bea from my sight.
Panic immediately set in, especially since I noticed her bodyguard standing next to Brax.
It was a new fucking nightmare and we needed to do something that instant.
‘Bea’s gone,’ I growled towards Brax, venturing through the tombstones to look for her.
