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The rest of us wept bitterly, and Luke hugged me as I rested my face on his chest.
We were still trying to adjust to the loss of one of our own when JB found us.
Freezing worriedly in the doorway, he quietly said, “Dax Freston is dead.”
No one responded. No joy was gleaned from that news.
Luke merely glanced at his brother and answered, “So is Nia.”
36LUKE
Chloe had closed down and barely talked to me or evenlookedat me since I’d brought her home from the hospital the day we lost her sister-in-law.
Everything about our relationship felt tainted by this. Chloe would never be able to see her ring now without thinking about the day Nia died. A real wedding between us seemed out of the question because it’d be like going against Nia’s death wish. Hell, we’d only gotten together at allbecauseNia’s murderer had terrorized Chloe first.
Seriously, if Freston hadn’t kidnapped her, to begin with, I wouldn’t have grown as close to her as I had, her dad wouldn’t have pushed me at her, and she wouldn’t be with me at all. So I felt as if I only had bad, traumatic memories written all over me, and I was just making everything worse by staying by her side through her grief, reminding her what horrors our relationship stemmed from.
I had no idea what to fucking do. I felt useless and inept, and watching her suffer killed me.
I loved this woman; I would do anything for her. And if removing myself from the equation could return peace to her, then…
Fuck, I’m not sure if I could do that. It was the one thing that gave me cold sweats. So I just prayed that my leavingwasn’twhat she needed most.
After glancing at the time, I sought her out and found her standing at her dresser, staring sightlessly at her assortment of lotions and perfumes on top.
I approached without saying a word, and when I just stood there beside her for a moment, she finally said, “I don’t know which one to wear.”
I opened my mouth to tell herJapanese Cherry Blossom, of course,because she needed the soothing comfort of her favorite scent in her nose, but then I asked, “Which one was Nia’s favorite?”
She glanced at me in surprise as if she couldn’t believe I would dare say that name in her presence, but then she said, “Hibiscus Paradise,” and she reached for a bottle with that label on it.
“I can put it on,” I offered, scrapping for any reason to get to touch her.
But she shook her head. “I got it.” Then she slipped off her ring before filling her palm with lotion.
My heart stopped as I watched it settle on the dresser top. I found myself holding my breath every time she took it off…to shower, for bedtime, whenever. I kept thinking she’d never put it back on again. Except so far, she had, and it felt like a miracle each time.
She slathered her arms and hands and then set the bottle back.
“What time do we need to be there again?”
“In about fifteen minutes,” I answered quietly.
She nodded and started to turn away. “I just need to get some heels on, and I’ll be ready.”
“Chlo…?”
“Hmm?” She turned back, her eyebrows lifted in question.
I picked up the ring and held it out to her.
“Oh.” She looked slightly unsettled, then held out her fingers for me to slip it on. “Can’t forget that. Everyone would wonder where it was.”
I lifted my gaze to her as I slid it over her knuckle.
Was sheonlywearing it to make the rest of the family think everything was okay? Did she not want it otherwise? Did she not wantme?
My stomach clenched in dread.
