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Tilting his head to the side to get a better look, I tell him, “You’re going to need stitches.”
Putting his hand on my cheek to get my attention, Hawk doesn’t look nearly as bothered as he should as he says, “It’ll be okay, Em. Scars are all the rage nowadays. It’ll give me a sexy, rugged appearance.” His soft smile melts my heart.
“You’ll have to beat the ladies away with a shovel.”
“So long as one woman still wants me, I don’t care about any others.”
Planting my hands on his cheeks, my gaze bores into him. “I will never not want you, scars and all.”
“I love you.” Sincerity bleeds into his voice, matched only by the intensity of his gaze.
Tears sting my eyes as I choke out, “I love you, too.”
We share another, sweeter kiss, only pulling apart when Kai reappears with the first aid kit. He helps me clean Hawk up and applies butterfly stitches to close the wound while I give him some pain meds to swallow down. It’s a temporary solution but will suffice for now.
When we’re done, I untangle myself from Hawk and climb off his lap, allowing Kai to cut the rope around his thighs.
Needing the confirmation of feeling Kai’s warm skin beneath mine, I reach out and squeeze his bicep. Heat scorches my palm. Real. He’s real. He stares down at the point where my skin touches his, as though he, too, needs the reassurance.
He turns so he can wrap his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him until my nose is buried in his top, his sage scent working its magic as it cloaks me in its comfort.
I don’t care that I probably look like I’ve lost my mind as I inhale him, my face pressed against his chest as I cling to him like a child. When I finally pull back enough to look up into his face, I notice the pain etched into his features, and I’m reminded of the horror scene he faced when entering the house. “I’m sorry you had to go through that again,” I say softly.
“I’d relive that whole night over and over if it meant keeping you safe.”
He plants a chaste kiss on my lips before the three of us turn to face Mel. Kai keeps his arm protectively around my shoulder, and Hawk stands a little in front of me as though they think Mel might jackknife off the floor and rush at me. I shiver just at the notion.
“I-is she dead?” I ask, looking between the two of them. She hasn’t moved, from what I can tell, and I don’t think she’s breathing, but someone should probably make sure.
Hawk and Kai share a look—a conversation without words. “Flip a coin?” Hawk suggests.
Kai rolls his eyes. “I’ll do it.” He sighs, removing the comforting weight from my shoulder as he steps forward. My eyes drop, spotting the gun gripped tightly in his hands. I hadn’t even noticed he was carrying.
With cautious steps, he approaches Mel’s prone form and rolls her onto her back. I gasp as she flops over, her sightless eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. Crouching down beside her, Kai feels for a pulse. Turning to face us, he shakes his head, and I step out from behind Hawk, observing my dead best friend as I approach.
Standing over her, I’m both relieved and surprised to feel absolutely nothing. It’s like looking into the face of a complete stranger. The woman in front of me isn’t my friend, my roommate. She’s terrorized me for years, murdered my boyfriend, murdered Louis, who was nothing but nice to me. She tormented Kai, butchered Wilder, and sliced up Hawk. Her actions are unforgivable.
Hawk steps up beside me, his fingers threaded through mine, as Kai joins my other side, our shoulders brushing. Still, I can’t take my eyes off Mel. “I should probably hate you,” I say to her. Perhaps I’m simply too numb, and the torrent of hatred will come later, but at this moment, I can’t bring myself to hate her.
Lifting my gaze from her, I glance at Hawk, who gives me a reassuring nod, reminding me of what he said in the car. Flicking my gaze to Kai next, I find nothing but love and admiration staring back at me.
“But I owe you a thank you,” I say, looking back at Mel. I squeeze Hawk’s hand. “If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have found my way back here.” My attention turns to Hawk. And despite the blood on his face, the dead girl at our feet, and the harrowing day we’ve had, I can’t help but smile at him. “I wouldn’t have realized what I was missing out on all these years.”
I hold his gaze for a heart-thumping moment before giving Kai the same smile. “Or found my missing pillar of strength.”
With one last look at Mel, I state, “I wouldn’t have found true happiness. So for that, thank you. But for everything else, I hope you rot in hell.”
A moment of silence follows my speech before Hawk bursts out laughing. The sound breaks the ice and sharing a look, Kai and I start laughing as well, until the three of us are bent over like lunatics, tears in our eyes.
“Best eulogy ever,” Hawk gets out between fits of laughter.
When our hysterics pass, we all focus back on Mel at once. “What do we do with her now?” I ask.
Kai glances out the window before consulting his watch. “It won’t be long until dawn.”
The two of them share a look before Hawk suggests, “There’s a storage room downstairs. Would suffice for now.”
I wrinkle my nose as Kai nods. “Why don’t you go take a shower and let us take care of this?” he suggests.
