Epilogue
VALENTINA
I run the brush through Flynn’s mane, his pale hair soft. He munches on the grain in the bucket at my feet, and I smile at the joy I get from having the giant beast so close, trusting him to be as gentle with me as I am with him.
It’s taken months to get comfortable with each other, but I understand Flynn in a way I don’t the others. We’re both more scared of our own shadow than any outside force and need someone to make space for our demons rather than try to shut them out.
His nose nudges my boot, trying to get the runaway crumbs littering the concrete. I move for him, running the brush down his long back before grabbing his tail.
“It’s almost time we start riding,” I promise, and his ears flick. I haven’t ridden Flynn yet; Faith hasn’t thought I’m ready for that challenge, and I understand. Still, I trust him, and I want to try. Even if he hurts me, he’s deserving of a chance.
Flea Willy’s howling fills the barn, and he goes tearing out the door.
Flynn raises his head, his ears pinning backward, and I know well enough to get out from behind him.
He’s clearly agitated by Willy’s behavior, and I don’t need to test him.
We might not speak the same language, but I understand his boundaries, just like I’m learning to do with my own.
I close his gate behind me, setting the brush down and wiping my hands on my jeans. As I emerge, I see Faith’s SUV racing down the driveway at break-neck speed. Rafael bounds down the front steps of the house, smiling at me like a goon.
“How’re the horses?”
“Clean. Ready for a ride.” I smile back.
He offers me a steaming coffee, and I take it without complaint. My fingers tingle as they wrap around the warm mug—April’s been unseasonably cold for Texas, and even though I hate the chill, I love being outside. It’s become my haven.
Rafael leans down, kissing me, and I grin against his lips. “I love you,” I whisper before watching Faith’s car get closer. She hadn’t said she was stopping by, but it isn’t totally out of character for her.
She’s going awfully fast, though.
When she gets close to the house, she grinds to a halt, jumping out. As if in a whirlwind, she opens the back door, grabbing a duffle bag and an ashen looking Reiny. Her lip is split, and a bruise has already begun to form beneath her right eye.
“What the fuck?” Rafael jogs toward them, and I push past him, my heart in my throat.
“Faith? Reiny, are you—” I gasp as Faith faces me. Close up, I can see the oblong bruise across her cheek, the split in her scalp dark with drying blood. She’s clearly been bludgeoned. “Oh my God, Faith.” I grab for them both, and Reiny falls into my arms, sobs wracking her small body.
I look up in horror as Faith watches Reiny fold into my embrace, her face dark. She looks almost demonic, and for the first time since I’ve known Faith, I fear her.
“What’s happening?” Rafael looks between us, and Faith holds out her hand, indicating for Rafael to take the bag. He does so, and Faith’s arm drops with a thud. She looks at me again, her pupils swallowing the green around them.
Her gaze burns into mine, like she’s trying to decide if she can trust me with her deepest secrets, and then she nods. “You have to protect her, whatever may come. Promise me, Valentina.”
“Faith, what’s—”
“Promise me!” she shrieks, her body trembling.
I nod instantly. “I promise. Now, can you tell me what’s going on?”
She looks over her shoulder right as sirens rip through the air. I feel the pressure of the world closing in around me—I’ve too many secrets, too many unearthed terrors that could ruin the life I’m working so hard to build.
Do they know? Are they finally coming for me?
“Tell us how to help Faith.” It’s Rafael who speaks, his voice calming as his hand wraps reassuringly around my elbow.
“Protect her at all costs. You and McCrae—you might be all she has. Do you hear me?” There’s no room for argument, and I wouldn’t anyway.
I love Faith like my own sister.
“Of course.”
Reiny sobs harder in my arms, her hands clinging to my shirt like she might fall off the face of the Earth if she lets go.
A line of cars come to a skidding halt in a small circle around us, led by a cherry red truck. The man inside jumps out, his blond hair and boyish face recognizable.
My stomach drops.
“Nathan?” Faith sounds shocked, and I rock back at his name, our encounter months ago forgotten but now feeling like a betrayal.
“Faith, please. I can protect you.”
Faith rears back as if he’s slapped her.
There are too many moving parts, too many questions. I feel like I’m on the outside looking in—screaming in a dream, and no one can hear me.
“Faith—” I reach for her, but she sidesteps out of my grasp. A ring of cops stand from their cars, advancing toward us.
I move as if to step in front of Faith and shield her, but Reiny’s like a rock in my arms, and as much as I want to protect Faith, I know she wants me to protect Reiny. It was the promise I made to her, and even if it breaks my heart, I won’t break my promise.
“Faith Rousk, we need you to come with us.” A squat officer steps forward, his hand on his hip like he’s going to fucking draw on her. Unfiltered rage consumes me at the thought, and my arms tighten around Reiny.
“Officer Duffy, please.” Nathan races between the officer and Faith, raising his hands as he does. He places himself in front of Faith, shielding her body from the handsy officer.
I know we’re not supposed to like him, but can he be that bad?
The cops eyebrows droop in confusion, and Nathan takes the spare moment to turn toward Faith, wrapping his hands around her biceps. She doesn’t move—a frozen figure in a field of quickly moving pieces.
“Stay quiet, please. I can help, you know I can. Let me help you, just this once,” Nathan pleads with her, and Faith opens her mouth as if to protest.
“Faith,” I hiss, desperate to make her see reason. She doesn’t have to like or even trust him, but if he can buy us enough time to see this situation to a calmer place, I’ll fucking take it.
She glares back at me, an unspoken warning in her eyes. Her gaze drops to a still sobbing Reiny in my arms, and then she sags, as if the weight of seeing her sister so broken is enough to do her in.
Nathan nods, turning to face Officer Duffy, one hand still wrapped around her arm. “Officer Duffy, please take a moment. You know Faith. She’s a kind, innocent, abused young woman. She’s incapable of what I know she’s being accused of.”
For the briefest moment, I wonder how Nathan knows. It’s like a tingling at the back of my mind pulling me toward some unseen puzzle pieces just waiting to click into place.
Before I can pull them from the depths, though, the officer huffs, his hand tightening on the gun at his hip. From the corner of my eye, I watch Rafael stiffen, his body squaring up like he’s going to tackle the man.
“I’ve seen crazier things, Nathan. She’s not under arrest yet; we just need to bring her in for questioning. It’s protocol, and you know it. Now, step aside, son.”
My mouth flops open, but I quickly close it, trying to keep my surprise hidden. Faith doesn’t so much as flinch.
Nathan shakes his head wildly. “No, no, listen to me.”
“You listen to me,” the officer growls, growing impatient.
“We found her mother dead, in her bed, with signs of foul play indicating suffocation.” My breath catches, the world tilting on its axis.
It’s obvious the officer’s distraught—they’re not supposed to disclose that information, even I know that—but he clearly thinks this is an open and closed case, not even worth his time to do his due diligence.
It enrages me—I know Faith, and I know what she’s capable of.
Don’t I?
Officer Duffy continues, “I have a witness who has pointed us in this direction. I’m just doing my job.” His face is crimson, the effort to explain himself more than he’s used to doing.
Reiny screams, her knees giving out as she drops to the ground. I crumple with her, landing on my ass to soften her fall. She pulls her hands over her face as she cries, and I do everything I can to comfort her, holding her as tightly as my arms can muster.
Faith still doesn’t move. She’s a statue, and I begin to fear the woman she’s becoming right before my eyes.
“But,” Nathan turns back to Faith, wrapping his hand around her elbow, “tell them, Faith. Tell them the truth.” He begins to shake her, and she looks up at him, her face devoid of any emotion.
She opens her mouth, a look of acceptance crossing her features, and I expect her to confess right here and now.
Before she has a chance, a familiar roar fills the air, a crack of electricity cutting through it like a bolt of lightning.
All gazes snap to the motorcycle racing down the driveway, and I watch him approach at maddening speed, my heart in my throat.
The cops all turn defensively toward the newcomer, but he doesn’t seem to notice.
McCrae gets closer, ignoring the perimeter of cars, cutting through a small opening and stopping only once he’s feet in front of Faith.
He doesn’t turn off the bike; he just jumps off, causing the bike to turn on its side and skid along until the tires meet the front steps of the house.
It finally stops with a boom, the structure rattling with the impact.
Everything’s happening so quickly but also in slow motion.
He rips off his helmet, his eyes blazing with a fury I’ve never seen before—icy blue orbs of fire that could cut through any object.
A great man would wither beneath them, but Faith doesn’t so much as shake, staring back at him with equal intensity.
The cops all gape at the unfolding scene, and I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to.
McCrae takes a menacing step toward Faith and Nathan, and Nathan’s grip tightens on her arm.
He doesn’t quiver, and I applaud him for his strength—even though it’s not enough. It’ll never be enough.
I feel Rafael move to stand directly behind me, the heat of his legs pressing into my back in reassurance. A single spark, and this entire place would go up in a devastating explosion. I cling to Reiny, prepared to protect her from the fallout.
And then, McCrae’s mouth opens in a snarl, his words rocking the world like a meteor crashing against the ground. “Take your hands off my wife.”