Evidence of a Folktale (Autopsy of a Fairytale #5)

Chapter 1

“We need to talk.”

Eamon’swords echoed throughout the hospital room, their dread bouncing off the sanitized walls, and Bel pushed herself to a seat. Dr. Charles Blaubart, a well-respected plastic surgeon, had made a deal with a devil over a decade ago, but the black magic used to bring him wealth had claimed his beloved wife as the sacrifice. The surgeon had spent years trying to recreate her in the bodies of living women he conned into loving him, and as fate would have it,he’dset his violent sights on Detective Isobel Emerson for his eighth bride. Faking her death for the world to mourn, Charles had dragged her deep into the mountains to carve apart with his cursed scalpel until her face was no longer herown,but that of a deadwoman’s.Only he miscalculatedBel’swill to live,tosurvive even when faced with the impossible. She’descaped his hell ofa surgeryto flee down the mountainside, surviving despite the desperation and falling snow, whichwas why shewas currently confinedto the hospital instead of preparing for the holidays at home.

“What’swrong?”she repeated, aching for Eamon to touch her, to reachout his hand and grip her fingers as he rejoiced in her survival, but his fists remained firmly in his lap.

“The hospital isn’t the place,” he answered.

“No,it’snot,”she agreed.“But you brought it up, and if you believeit’sworth a conversation,there’sno point putting it off.Ifsomething’sbothering you,justtell me because Ican’tbear any more turmoil.I survived a monster and a mountain because I knew you were waiting for me. You were the only thing pushing me to fight when I bitBlaubart’s neck toescape,when I ran coatless through those frozen woods. All I wanted was to make it home to you, so ifsomething’swrong, please tell me.I’drather know now than worry about you while trying to heal.”

“I’mkilling you,”he said, his words so abrupt that she leaned back as if seeing more of him would explain his meaning. “You’rein the hospital yet again, andI’mthe one that put you here,”he continued before she could speak.

“What are you talking about?”Bel pinched her eyebrows at the towering man sinking into the chair before her. Escaping a serial killer was what had landed her in this bed. Her millionaire had played no part in it.

“I’mthe reasonyou’rehere.I’mresponsible for all your hospital visits over the past year.I’mwhy so much death and violence have entered your life.You’vebeen lucky so far, but luck always runs out. How long before I get you killed?”

“Eamon, what has gotten into?—?”

“Iput those scars on your throat,”he cut her off.“I almost killed you with my own hands. And if thatwasn’tsin enough, I moved to Bajka, luring Alcina after me. She almost killed you, and if your doghadn’tinterrupted her magic, I might have bled you dry on the forest floor.”

“Youwouldn’thave.”Bel leaned forward to emphasize her words.“You could never kill me.”

“But I came close.”He jerked to a stand, his chair skidding backward, and she hated herself for flinching at his force. “Then Abel kidnapped you because he was jealous of me. I brought you onto the Darling case, where one lunatic almost blew you up and another shot at you. I introduced you to Charles Blaubart, who dragged you into the mountainswith every intention of carvingup your face until you were no longer my Isobel. Every time I do something, you suffer the consequences. When the news broke of your accident, there were hours when I thought you were dead. I cannot describe the relief I felt when I realized the body on the tablewasn’tyours, but it was a brutal wake-up call because one dayitwillbe yours. One day, youwon’tescape.I’lleventually get you killed, and Iwon’tdo that. Iwon’tlet you die. I love you too much to bury you.”

“What are you saying?”Bel balled her hands into a fist, the injuries on her palms so painful that it stalled her tears of panic.“What are you saying, Eamon?”

“I think you’re safer without me.”

“No.”The word was a bullet from her mouth.

“Isobel…”

“No, I’m not.”

“Isobel.”Eamon grabbed her fists, unfurling them to ease her discomfort.“Seeing you in this hospital bed is a pain so ugly that I’mnot strong enough to bear, and I love you enough to put you first. Iwon’tbe the reason you die.”

“I’mnot going to die.”

“I know. Because I won’t be selfish. I’m the problem, and if I remove myself from your life, you’ll be safe.”

“Stop.”

“Ican’tbe selfish, Isobel. Ican’tstay and let one evil after the next befall you until you end up in the morgue.”

“So,you’vejust decided then?”she spat, unsure if she should slap him or dissolve into tears. Imagining their reunion was the only thing that drove her to brave that endless snow, but with the stroke of a few words,he’dbutchered her reason for surviving.“You’releaving me?”

“No,I’mtalking to you,”he said, lacing his fingers through hers.“I would never just leave you. Icouldn’thurt you like that, but I need you to understand why I feel thisway,because if I get you killed,I’llnever forgive myself.”

“Stop saying that.”

“Butit’strue, and you know it. Your problems began when I entered your life.”

“But you sworeto never leave me.”

“Ialso swore to protect you, yet here you lie.”He released her hands as if he was unsure what to do with his body.“Do you think I want this? Do you think I want to leave you? I would rather die, but if leaving saves your life,I’mwilling to suffer. I would rather love you from afar thanlove youdead in the dirt. My old self would never put your safety above his desires, but I refuse to return to the monster I once was.You’vechanged me, andI’mputting you first. If wedidn’tat least have this conversation,you’dwake up one day and realizeI’dbrought so much suffering into your life, yet refused to do anything to stop it. You would resent me.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“Yes, you would.You’resmart. You have self-respect, andyou’deventually look back and see that I never took action to resolve the harm I knowingly caused you. You would hate me for never putting you first.What’smore,I’dhate myself.I’veseen wicked men love women before. Those girls often paid the price for loving mentooselfish to save them from themselves. Iwon’tlet that be you.”

“Eamon…”she trailed off as the tears came because she wanted to fight him. Shewantedto scream and rage and beat him with her fists, but did he have a point? Would she hate him if he never grew self-aware enoughto at least admit his concerns? Shedidn’tblame him for her almostdeaths, but if he blamed himself yet never acknowledged his guilt, would she grow to resent him?

“Idon’twant this,”his voice broke, and Bel swore tears threatened his eyes. Eamon never cried. Shedidn’tknow he could, yet his black irises glistened as he stared down at her.

“Iwant to keep my mouth shut and pretendI’mnot to blame. I want to ignore thatI’mhurting you, but I hate myself for even considering that.Thisis new for me, willingly accepting pain to save someone else. But for you,I’dburn the world, myself included. And if saving you means leaving so you can live a long and beautiful life,I’lldowhatever’snecessary to keep you out of the grave.”

“Please stop,” she begged.

“Isobel…”

“Stop saying goodbye.”

“I’mnot saying goodbye,”he argued.“I’mdiscussing this with you, but Ineed toexpress my feelings first. You are the love of my life. Please see that I only want your safety.”

“I know that, Eamon. I’ve always known that.”

“So promise meyou’llthink about whatI’vesaid, okay?Reallythink about it because what would your family say if they knew I was to blame for your neardeaths? What would Griffin say if he knew I was the reason monsters kept coming for you, yet I never removed myself from the equation? What about your father? What would he say if he learned I was the one who ruined your throat yet stayed despite the constant threat to your life?”

“You what?” a horrified voice interrupted, and both Bel and Eamon’s eyes snapped to their intruder.

“Dad—”Belstarted,her mind scramblingfor an explanation forwhat he just heard. How long had he been standing there? How much of their discussion had he witnessed?

“What did you say?”Her father ignored her as he stepped for Eamon, his finger pointing accusingly atBel’sneck.“Did you do that to my daughter?”

“Dad—”

“Yes.” Eamon’s shoulders sagged with defeat. “I’m the one who left her disfigured.”

“That’snot the whole story!”Bel shoved the blankets off her legs and stumbled off the bed.

“Get out,” Reese growled.

“Dad, stop.”Bel feared she might choke on her panic.

“Get out!”her father roared, and with an expression of unbridled pain, Eamon stepped for the door.“Idon’twant you near my daughter again.”

“Iam sorry,”Eamon said.“More thanyou’llever know.”He grabbed the handle, and Bel launched herself at him. But before she could cross the tiled floor, Reese caught her waist.

“Eamon!”she shouted as he crossed the threshold.“Eamon, look at me.”

He obeyed, and this time,therewas no mistaking his tears.

“This conversation isn’t over,” she growled at him. “Don’t you dare leave me.”

Eamon stared at her without a word.

“You’llbe home when I get released, right?”she asked, refusing to let himwalk out ofher life so easily.

“Bel.”Her father dragged her back.

“Swear it!”she demanded, fighting herdad’shold with every ounce of strength left in her aching body.“Do it, Eamon. I order you to do it. Swear to me thatyou’llbe there when I get home.”

“I’llbe there.”Eamon addressed his promise to her father, a battle of wills passing between the men as ifhe werewarning Reese that no matter what he wanted, Belowned him, and her word was law.“I’llbe there.”

“Where’s Eamon?” Briar, Bel’s oldest sister, asked as she plopped onto the couch beside her. “After Thanksgiving, I figured he’d be at all our family holidays going forward.”

“He had to work,”Bel lied. It was Christmas Eve, and she hadn’t heard from or seen Eamon since her father kicked him out of the hospital. Upon her discharge, Reese had insisted she spend the holiday with him. She’d rented a vehicle since hers was in pieces, but Griffin refused to let her return to the station until after the New Year, so here she sat at her dad’s house, Eamon’s words festering inside her. For all she knew, he’d packed up his mansion and vanished into the world to change his nameyetagain so she’d never find him.

“No wonder you look so miserable. I would be too if I had to spend Christmas without Flynn.” Briar patted Bel’s thigh as they watched her husband help Reese put the kids’ gifts under the tree. Briar, Flynn, and their two toddler boys were sleeping over for Christmas Eve, but their four other sisters, along with their husbands and children, were coming in the morning, and the living room was overflowing with presents. Normally, the colorful wrapping paper filled Bel with joy, but her father had barely spoken to her since the hospital, and the other half of her soul was ignoring her. There was nothing joyous about this holiday.

“All right, that’s all the gifts,” Flynn said, oblivious to Bel’s misery. In his defense, their sons were finally old enough to understand Christmas, and his head was in the clouds as he prepared for that morning’s magic. “You ready for bed?” He extended a hand to his wife.

“I should be,” Briar said. “It’s after midnight, but I’m so excited. I can’t wait to see the boys’ faces.”

“Well, this Santa is tired,” Flynn said. “Night, Bel.”

“Night guys.” Bel watched her sister climb the stairs with jealous tears in her eyes. Eamon should be here to carry her to bed. This wasn’t how their first Christmas as a couple was supposed to play out.

Her vibrating phone interrupted her self-pity, and her heart stumbled at the name on the notification.

Eamon

Merry Christmas.

Two words. A single phrase. That’s all he wrote, but after days of nothing, she knew. He’d kept his promise. He hadn’t left her, not yet at least, and she burst into tears as she typed a response...

And then deleted it. A text was too small to contain the scope of her emotions, so she shoved her phone into her pocket and climbed the stairs to knock on Briar’s bedroom door.

“Bel?” Flynn pinched his eyebrows in question as he answered the door. “Are you okay?”

“Yes… sorry.”Back inher father’s house, habit made Bel forget that she couldn’tjustbarge into her sisters’ rooms anymore. “I can talk to Briar tomorrow.”

“Actually,I forgot to eat the cookies the kids left for Santa,” Flynn said. “They’ll be bummed if they wake up to whole cookies. I should go take a few bites.” He smiled graciously at his sister-in-law and left the room to give the siblings privacy.

“I feel bad for kicking him out,” Bel said.

“Don’t be.” Briar patted the mattress beside her. “With two young boys, we’re always too tired to stay up late, but with family here to help, he can afford to stay up for a beer to watch a show that isn’t animated. He’ll have a blast.”

“Okay.” Bel climbed onto the mattress and collapsed onto her stomach like she used to when she was little.

“I can’t remember the last time you crawled into my bed.” Briar rubbed her back before pulling the blankets over them. “You okay?”

“No,” Bel said. She’d been young when their mother had passed, and Briar had stepped into the maternal role for her. She hadn’t needed mothering in recent years, but she was suddenly twelve again andin need ofher big sister.

“Is it Eamon?”

“Yes.”

“He isn’t working, is he?”

“No.”

“What happened? Did you two break up?”

“No,” Bel said. “I don’t think so. Ihope not. We were fighting… well, having a conversation I didn’t like, and Dad interrupted at the wrong moment. He heard somethingthat’strue, but hedoesn’tunderstand the context, so he kicked Eamon out of the hospital. We haven’t talked since, and I’m afraid it ruined us.”

“Conversations, no matter how difficult, don’t end healthy relationships,” Briar said. “I saw you two at Thanksgiving. You seem to have a strong connection, so I doubt one fight will ruin things. Can I ask what the conversation was about?”

“Eamon blames himself for my problems this past year, and he stupidly believes I’ll be safer if he leaves.”

“Oh…” Briar blinked as she realized she might’ve put her foot in her mouth. “Why does he assume that?”

“Abel kidnapped me because he was jealous of my attraction to Eamon,” Bel said, omitting the story of her scars. She already had one family member ready to murder her boyfriend. She didn’t need another. She also didn’t care to explain to her sister that Eamon’s immortality demanded he consume human blood.

“Then he dragged me into the Darling kidnappings only for me to almost get blown up,” she continued.

“Blown up!” Briar shouted before clapping a hand over her mouth to keep from waking her sons in the next room. “Blown up?” she whispered. “Oh my god, Bel.”

“Right…” Bel’s cheeks turned pink. She’d forgotten who she was speaking to for a moment. She usually hid the fatal stories from her motherly older sister. “I guess I should call more.”

“You think?” Briar looked on the verge of tears. “Blown up, Bel? You were almost blown up?”

“The kidnapper placed explosives around the property,” she explained. “He hoped to raise the death toll when Wendy and ultimately the police started searching for John and Michael. I nearly died when the IEDs were triggered, but Eamon saved me.”

“Oh my god, Isobel.” Briar used her full name as she rested a hand on her back. “Oh my god. I recognize your line of work is dangerous, but blown up? I’m going to be sick.”

“That’s why I don’t tell you everything,” Bel said.

“But you should. I’m your sister. I should know these things. Maybe don’t tell the others, but I raised you, Bel. You can talk to me.”

“I know. That’s what I’m doing right now.”

“I realizeI’m busy with the boys, but you were my honorary kid first. You can always come to me.”

“But I don’t want to scare you.”

“News flash, baby sis. I’m always scared. I was afraid when Dad was on the force, and now I worry about you. It’s part of loving a cop.”

“I think that’s happening to Eamon,” Bel said. “He blames himself for everything, including taking me to the island where I met Charles Blaubart. He thinks Charles targeting me was his fault.”

“I don’t know the whole story. Clearly.” Briar gave her sister a pointed look. “But how could he have known that surgeon was a lunatic? And as for that Abel guy? That wasn’t Eamon’s fault, either. Falling in love doesn’t warrant a kidnapping, so unless I’m missing something, he isn’t guilty in either situation. He didn’t hand you over to those men. He took you on vacation. Plus, didn’t Dr.Victorsinvite you?”

Bel nodded.

“So someone you both trusted invited you to the island and introduced you to Charles. Eamon isn’t to blame for that. And as for the Darling case. I guess he involved you, but you’re a cop. Kidnappings are kinda your job.”

“They are,” Bel said. “Just not when I’m the victim, and that’s what haunts him… and almost watching me explode.”

“Oh god, please.” Briar shut her eyes. “Don’t say that.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.Ijustcan’t handle picturing my baby sister like that.”

“I don’t like picturing myself like that. Ireally thought I was going to die.”

“But Eamon saved you?”

“He’s saved me more times than you realize.”

“How?”

Bel froze, trying to work out a plausible answer that didn’t involve her boyfriend’s flesh being flayed from his ribcage.

“Never mind.” Briar waved her hand dismissively. “Enough bomb talk. It’s Christmas.” She shifted against her pillowsso she couldrun her fingers through her sister’s hair as she returned her focus to Bel’s relationship. “It seems Eamon isn’t to blame. Of course, I could be missing something, but is he at fault? You don’t have to tell me. Just think about it for yourself. Will you wake up one day and hate him for jeopardizing your safety, or will you wake up next to the love of your life?”

“He asked me the same thing.”

“Andonlyyou can answer that, but this story might help. We never told you because it happened before you were born. Then, once you were old enough to understand, you wanted to be a detective, so Dad didn’t want to scare you. But you know that scar on his leg?” Briar asked.

“The one he’s always had?”

“Yeah, above the knee. That’s from a gunshot.”

“A gunshot?” Bel jerked off the pillow. “Dad was shot?”

Her sister nodded.

“Dad was shot, and you never told me?”

“He didn’t want you to be afraid,” Briar said. “Plus, it wasn’t serious.”

“All gunshots are serious. Griffin was shot while shielding me during our last case. I was almost shot during the Darling case. They are always?—”

“You were shot at?” Briar blurted. “Oh my god, Bel, is there anything else you'd liketo spring on me?”

“No… I don’t think so.”

“Good lord. Seriously, Isobel Emerson, start calling more. You are my sister, yet I didn’t know you were almost shot and killed. Good god.”

“Eamon saved me from that, too.”

“Of course he did.” Briar smiled. “The more you talk about him, the more I think this story will help.”

“Okay.”

“A month before Rose and Luna were born, Mom wanted to go on a babymoon,” Briar said. “Dad worked weekends, so he switched shifts with a night officerso he couldtake Mom on their mini vacation. That night, dispatch received a domestic disturbance call. Dad assumed it was just a couple fighting, but when they arrived, they found the father threatening his family with a gun. The man opened fire on his son, but Dad jumped in and saved him. The boy lived, but a bullet grazed Dad’s thigh.

“He went to the hospital, which canceled their trip, and Mom blamed herself. If she hadn’t wanted to go, he wouldn’t have switched shifts, and he wouldn’t have gotten shot. Her guilt damaged their marriage, but she couldn’t forgive herself. She believed Dad’s scar was on her shoulders until Dad received a card delivered to the precinct. The little boy he’d saved drew it to thank him, so Dad took it home to Mom. He told her she needed to forgive herself because while he got hurt, he also saved a kid. A child wasn’t murdered by hisownparent because of him.

“That card changed mom. Shestillworried, but she came to terms with Dad always being in danger. He defended the innocent, and she could live with the guilt if it meant that kids got the chance to see the future. His job was cruel. It eats at you when you seethe thingshe saw, so he neededhometo be his safe place. He needed Mom to be his refuge, and when she passed, we took up that mantle. Until her death, Mom protected Dad’s mental health. She loved and supported him no matter what work threw at him. It’s why they were so good together. In a world that was consistently dangerous for him, she was his sanctuary.” Briar reached across the mattress and captured Bel’s hand.

“It sounds like Eamon is experiencing what Mom went through,” she continued. “Now, if he’s to blame, that’s a different story and you should leave him, but if he’s going through the same guilt Mom dealt with, he needs to decide. Can he live with it and be your safe place, or is it too much for him? And if it’s too much, he isn’t the right man for you, anyway.”

“He is the right man for me,” Bel insisted.

“Then let him express his guilt and fear, and then tell him Dad’s story,” Briar said. “Because, like Dad, you almost got… well, you know… yet you rescued two kids. You also saved that surgeon’s wife when you carried her down that mountain. As much as I hate it, you risk your lifeevery dayto help people because it’s your calling, and Eamon needs to accept that. Like I said, if you’re afraid you’ll wake up ten years from now and hate him for putting you in harm’s way, youabsolutelyneed to leave. Please don’t stay with a man who doesn’t prioritize your safety… which doesn’t sound like Eamon, though. Honestly, I think this conversation was good for you two.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. It proves he’s self-aware enough to realize that if he’s the problem, he should remove himself. A selfish man would stay, regardless of the consequences. The fact that he’s willing to walk away to save you proves he adores you. But should heactuallyleave? Only you can answer that.”

“I won’t resent him in ten years,” Bel said. “I will hate him if he leaves me, though.”

“Then tellhim that.” Briar rubbed her back, and Bel shut her eyes. Howmany timeshad her older sister rubbed her back when she didn’t feel good as a kid?

“And I don’t know what Dad overheard, but talk to him. We all love you too much for this fighting.”

“I love you guys too.”

“You’re an amazing person,” Briar said. “I like to take credit for that.”

“You should.” Bel sank further into the pillows. “I’m sorry you had to raise me, though. That’s a lot for a teenager.”

“I’m not.” Briar settled beside her and wrapped her in her arms. “You were and always will be my baby sister. It was an honor to raise you. Plus, I can claim responsibility for all your heroics since I’m the one who taught you goodness.”

“There itis.” Bel smirked. “Thank you. For talking. For everything.” She kissed her sister’s cheek.

“Always, Isobel… just start calling more, okay?”

“Okay… I should give you your bed back. Flynn will miss you.”

“Flynn will be fine.” Briar hugged her closer. “He and Dad probably grabbed Cerberus for a boys’ night, so you stay here.”

“Yeah?” Bel shut her eyes, barely able to form words as sleep overtook her.

“Yeah.” Briar kissed her cheek.

“I love you,” Bel said, or at least she thought she said it. She was too tired to focus.

“I love you too, little sis. Merry Christmas.”

“Why are your bags packed?” Reese asked as he entered the kitchen the following morning.

“Because I’m going home,” Bel answered from where she sat at the table with a pot of freshly brewed coffee, Cerberus lying at her feet to warm her toes. Briar’s words had lit a fire inside her, and she wouldn’t rest until she metaphorically slapped Eamon upside the head. She might physically slap him as well if the conversation called for it. He’d had his turn to voice his fears. It was her turn to speak.

“But it’s Christmas,” her father argued.

“And I belong with him today,” she said.

“Isobel.” Reese used her full name, which was never a good sign. “Did I fail you as a father? Did I not love you enough?”

“Of course you loved me.”

“Then why are you returning to an abuser? By hisownadmission, that man almost killed you. You’re forever marked by him, yet you want to go back so he can hurt you again.”

“Eamon isn’t an abuser, and he won’t hurt me.”

“Don’t make excuses for him. You’re better than that.”

“I know,” Bel said. “I deserve the world. You, Mom, and Briar taught me that.”

“So why reduce yourself to a man’s punching bag?” Her father’s shoulders sagged, the pain of what he suspected she’d endured eating him alive, and Bel ached for the people in her life. She wasn’t the only one who paid the price for hunting down the world’s monsters. Everyone she loved suffered alongside her.

“I’ve always known I wouldn’t love someone unless he loved me the way you cared for Mom,” she said, her voice softening. “For me, that’s Eamon.”

“Isobel—”

“Dad, please sit,” she interrupted because she couldn’t leave this house until her father understood, but every second she spent apart from Eamon was another second that the hole in her heart burned wider. “Because it’s true. Eamon left these scars on my neck, but you don’t know the whole story. The truth… you can’t judge until you learn it, but before I tell you, I need to ask you a question because what Ihave tosay will change everything.”

“What are you talking about?” Reese sank to the chair across from her.

“The truth was thrust upon me, and I can never unlearn it, but you have a choice I didn’t,” she said. “I don’t have to tell you everything. I can tell you just enough so you understand, but if I confess the entire truth,it’ll irrevocablyalter how you see the world.”

“Of course I want to know.”

“Don’t answer now,” Bel said. “Griffin knows some of what’s going on, and he’s made it very clear he wants to learn nothing more. I’ll give you the same option, andI need you tothink about how much you want me to divulge. I’ll tell you some because you need to understand Eamon isn’t the villain. He’s saved my life more times than I can count. He used his own body as a shield for mine when the bullets started flying. That man would die for me. He’s killed for me, and I’ve been dying to tell you the truth, but the extent of what I share is your decision. You deserve the choice I never got.”

“What do you mean, he’s killed for you?” Reese pinched his eyebrows at his daughter.

“Remember my first case in Bajka?” she asked. “The woman who built people into furniture? She was living next door and came after me in the woods.”

“I recall.”

“Eamon stopped her. Cerberus helped, though.” Bel reached below the table and scratched her pitbull’s head. “But it was mostly Eamon. She was… like him, and she wouldn’t stop coming for me. He killed her to save my life. He also killed the kidnapper in the Darling case. You visited me in the hospital. You saw how he beat me up. The official report says I fought Peter Pann off, and he broke his neck in a fall. That isn’t the truth.”

“Eamon broke it?”

“He did. I was on the ground, and I couldn’t move. I was going to die, but Eamon came for me. He always comes for me.” She paused, wondering if she should continue because her father looked seconds away from passing out. “You might think these deaths make him violent, but they don’t… not when you know the truth.” She decided to barrel onward. She’d started this. Her father deservedshefinish it.

“What did you mean ‘like him’ ?” Reese asked, circling back to her earlier comment. “You said your neighbor was like him. Was the kidnapper in the Darling case the same?”

“In a way,” Bel answered. “You were at the morgue when Eamon figured out Blaubart hadn’t killed me with that staged car crash. Haven’t you wondered how he knew I was alive when myownfather confirmed I was dead on the table?”

“Yeah…” Her dad paused. “Griffin believed him immediately, and I worried they’d both lost their minds… You said the sheriff knows?”

“Some, yes.”

“I guess I assumed that…” He took a deep breath. “I assumed Eamon realized it wasn’t you because you two are intimate, and he noticed a discrepancy on your skin that I wouldn’t recognize.”

“It wasn’t that, and you know it.”

Reese sagged in his seat, and Bel could practically see the gears in his brain fighting to process his swirling thoughts.

“He’s always made me nervous,” he finally said. “I liked Eamon, but something about him terrifies me. A bone-deep, ancient kind of fear… there’s a reason for that,isn’t there?”

“Yes.”

“And I’m not going to like it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t mind, but it took time for me to come to terms with it. It’s why I’m giving you options.”

“Is he human?” her father asked, but Beljuststared at him.Seemed he wasfiguring it out on his own.

Reese cursed and ran a hand over his salt-and-pepper hair. “That makes me more nervous for your safety.”

“It shouldn’t.” Bell stood up and crossed the kitchen to pull him into a hug. “If there’s one person powerful enough to protect me, it’s him. These scars resulted from something else. Something neither of us could control. Something he shouldn’t have been able to fight, yet he did. Eamon fell for me the moment he met me, and he’s been fighting to keep me alive ever since. But there are things in this world beyond our understanding. Terrifying things, but despite his brutality, he isn’t one of them. He’s beautiful, and I don’t belong here today without him.”

“You swear to me he isn’t hurting you?” Reese said. “You aren’t returning to a man who puts his hands on you?”

“I would shoot him between the eyes if he ever tried, and he knows it,” Bel laughed.

“I suppose you would. I worry about you, that’s all. I want you safe and happy.”

“And Eamon is my happiness. When you decide how much of the truth you want, you’ll see that,” Bel said. “And if it makes you feel any better, I didn’tjump intoa relationship with him until he proved himself. The first moment I realized he would rather die than hurt me was during the Darling case when he shielded me with his own body. There was blood everywhere, Dad. Hisblood, not mine. I forgave him for my scars thatday,because while he didn’t die, he’d been prepared to. He didn’t even think. He just stepped between me and the threat, and he paid the price. It’s hard not to love someone who would die in your stead.”

“How come you never told me that?” Reese asked, his tonedoinglittle to hide his offense.

“Because if I told you, I’d have to admit the truth about him, and I wasn’t sure you were ready. He didn’t protect me like a normal person would. He didn’t throw me to the ground to cover me from the flying debris. When I say shield, Dad, I mean shield. If you’d seen it, if you knew what happened to him so he could save my life, you would forever be in his debt.”

“You’re scaring me, baby girl.”

“I’m sorry.” She kissed his cheek as she finally pulled away. “It’s why I won’t tell you anymore. Mull it over, and decide how much of the truthyou’re willing tolearn. It’s a lot, though, so take your time.”

“You mean there’s more?” he asked. “More to him than finding out he was a human shield for you.”

“A lot more. Some he hasn’t even shared with me yet.”

Reese cursed as he leaned back in his chair, his face drained and limbs limp. “Youreallylove him, don’t you?”

“I do…” Bel laughed, the emotion bubbling in her chest. She loved Eamon Stone, and this was the first time she’d admitted it to herself.

“And you’re safe with him?”

“In every sense of the word.”

“And you can’t be convinced to spend Christmas with your old man?” He looked up at her with a hopeful expression.

“No, Dad.” Bel cupped his cheek. “I love you. I always will, but I don’t belong here. I need to fix my relationship. Let me know what you decide. Eamon won’t care. He’ll let me tell you whatever I want.”

“Okay…” Reese trailed off. “I love you. So much, and I may be just a human parent, but if that man ever hurts you.”

“I’ll call in the big guns,” Bel laughed.

“I don’t care what he isorhow rich he is or how tall he is. I will come for you.”

“I know, Dad. He does too. Trust me, he does too, because he knows where I get my personality from.” She kissed his head one last time before calling Cerberus to the front door. “For such a terrifying man, I’m pretty sure Eamon is afraid of two people, and you, my dearest father, are one of them.”

Bel didn’t bother knocking before she unlocked the Reale Estate’s impressive front door and barged in, dropping her luggage on the foyer floor with a loud thwack. Cerberus raced through her legs and disappeared down the hall in search of the home’s owner, and Bel barely shut the door behind her when an alarmed Eamon burst into the room. His hearing had clued himin toa car’s arrival, but by his expression, he hadn’t expected her to walk into his mansion this Christmas afternoon.

“Isobel?” he started.

“I’ve had a lot of time to think,” she interrupted. “And I’ve decided that no, you don’t get to make me love you and then leave.”

“Isobel—”

“You had your chance to talk. This is mine,” she cut him off again as she stepped further into the foyer. “I love you, Eamon Stone. Do you hear me? I love you, and you swore to me you’d never leave. I intend to hold you to that promise. I understand your fear. I understand why you feel responsible, but you aren’t, Eamon. You fell in love. You took me on vacation, and those aren’t sins. They are signs you care, and I cannot fault you for that. I appreciate your willingness to put me first,tosacrifice so I don’t have to. It makes me love you more, but you don’t get to leave when things get difficult.”

“I’m not leaving you because things are difficult,” he interrupted.

“If you’d purposely thrown me in harm’s way, that would be a different story, but you couldn’t predict those tragedies would happen. You aren’t to blame. I’m a cop, and the unfortunate truth of my job is that every officer leaves the house in the morning not knowing if we’ll make it home. You didn’t feed me to the wolves. Those monsters took me, so I don’t blame you for what’s happened. I forgave you for scarring me. I forgive you for taking me on vacation and accidentally introducing me to a serial killer, but I will never forgive you if you walk out on me.”

“Isobel, it’s not that simple.”

“Yes, it is because we’re not that kind of couple. You don’t get to decide for me. You don’t get to leave because it’s what you think is right. We’re either in this together, or we aren’t who I thought we were.”

“You were dead!” Eamon shouted so loudly that Bel flinched, and she unconsciously stepped backward as the custom chandelier shook above their heads. “You died, Isobel!” He pounded a fist against the wall, causing the plaster to splinter below his skin, and then, with an agony she’d never witnessed from him, he sank to the floor as if his heart had given out.