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“But, your brothers—” she started, but I cut her off with a shake of my head.
“My brothers aren’t upset, either. They care about you, too.”
Something that looked like hope flashed in her eyes. “They do?”
My lips barely found a smile. “Of course they do. You’ve been a part of this family for a long time.”
Her cheeks pinked, her eyes glistening. “Oh,” she said, like that thought had never occurred to her.
I nodded. “I promise you, Lark,” I said, stepping even closer. I held her gaze with mine, hardening my expression. “We are going to do everything in our power to keep you safe.”
18
Lark
I wiped my damp palms on my leggings as I sat curled on a chair in the basement of Emersyn’s house. She flitted around the space, which doubled as her studio, busying herself with checking the multiple cameras set up at different angles, the microphones, and the lighting that was so bright I had to resist squinting.
Emersyn’s operation was impressive. She had soundproofing all over the walls and ceiling. The backdrop behind my chair was meticulously curated. The tall shelves were loaded with books and little pieces of decor here and there that hinted at the genre of the podcast: a magnifying glass propped up in the corner, a silver skull acting as a bookend, and a set of handcuffs rested on a stack of horizontal books.
I glanced toward the corner where Reid sat, off-camera. He gave me an encouraging grin and a thumbs-up. My skin heated the moment our eyes met. It had been two days since the Ramsey family dinner—and our almost kiss in the Hearthstone office—and I didn’t know how to comprehend it.
We hadn’t discussed what had happened, or almost happened. Reid had been so distracted by the threatening messages and note I’d shown him that he hadn’t brought up much else. He had a hard time with the fact that I refused the security cameras, and had checked up on me often because of it. I’d received a few more of those text messages, but no more notes, and sometimes, these things needed to be waited out.
Reid had his brother Fox working on tracing the number the texts were coming from, and he’d given the note to August to look over. So far, there wasn’t any new information on either of them. That was enough for me, for now.
I’d distracted myself with running the Flutter Nook, keeping up on my marketing work for my employer, and communicating back and forth with Emersyn about this interview I’d decided to go ahead with.
Still, every time I looked at Reid, my stomach tightened in a pleasant way, a way that had my knees weak and my heart racing.
Reid had spent almost all his time pouring over the security footage that Xander had sent, and checking up on me whenever he could. Yet, the moment I mentioned the time I was doing the interview, he said he’d be here.
“All right.” Emersyn finally plopped into the chair opposite mine. “All the tech looks good.”
I inhaled a measured, deep breath, trying to ignore the camera lens pointed directly at my face like a giant, all-watching eye. It felt like there was a hive of bees buzzing beneath my skin. My fingers drummed across my thighs in a nervous dance. I’d never given an interview before, not unless you counted being questioned by police after the murders.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever been so nervous.
Emersyn gave me a warm smile. She straightened her long double braids and smoothed down her bangs. “Are you doing okay?”
I wasn’t sure I was, but I nodded anyway. I kept telling myself that this needed to be done for Lily Baker—and for Delainey, too, in a way. I hadn’t known her all that well when we’d lived together, and most of my grief threshold was taken up by the loss of Thea. But if anyone was going to interview me about what happened that night, then I was glad it was Delainey’s sister. I was glad it was someone who deserved to know.
Emersyn settled back in her chair; it was a soft royal-blue color that made her green eyes pop. They weren’t quite the same vivid green as Reid’s, but they made her feel more trustworthy to me for some reason. She fiddled with a notebook she’d placed on her lap before she leaned toward me. “I want to thank you again for agreeing to do this, Lark. I know that this can’t be easy.”
My mouth went dry. “This can’t be easy for you, either,” I said, nodding toward her. “Delainey was your sister, and she lost her life that night, too.”
Emersyn stilled, her back straightening like someone had shoved a rod through it. A shadow passed over her expression—a grief I recognized. As much as I was trying to be brave for this interview, Emersyn was, too.
Eventually she cleared her throat. “Yeah, it’s hard.” But that’s all she said before she shoved that grief down and adjusted her glasses. “Okay, well,” she said, moving on with the subject.
My heart constricted. I knew what it was like to hide the most broken parts of yourself. It never ended well.
Her brows pulled together and she hesitated before continuing. “I think we should go ahead and get started. I know we’ve already discussed the type of questions I’ll be asking you through our emails, but I usually open the episode with a monologue about the case I’m covering. In this instance, I’m going to open with speaking about Lily’s case before moving into the Shadow Stalker murders.”
I cleared my throat. “Got it.”
“I usually would do that as a voiceover in post-production, but I think you should hear it so you have the full context of everything I’m going to be saying.” She glanced down at the notebook before her eyes bounced back up to mine. “And I want to reiterate that even though I’m going to focus your interview on your experience that Halloween night, this is going to reach a wide audience. In turn, it will spread the word about Lily. I’m not trying to brag or anything, but this podcast has an established audience and the fact that you’re giving me your first, exclusive interview means that this will reach a lot of people.”
My heart raced. Despite already knowing that, having so many people watching felt overwhelming. My eyes instantly sought out Reid; the moment I saw those deep-green pools, I felt grounded.
