“No.” My vision was going unfocused as that dread sank its claws in deeper. “We have to go somewhere else first.” This was about Vi, her death. Whether it was Ethan or someone else, there was only one place they’d take Bell.

“Where?” Kenna asked.

“The cliffs.” Where the nightmare began.

45

BELL

Over. Ethan wanted to toss me off a cliff. Like a rock or a piece of trash he’d kick over the side. His eyes seemed to gleam unnaturally in the moonlight. Garbage was exactly what he thought I was. “W-why?” I couldn’t help the slight tremble in my voice.

Ethan stopped his pacing and turned to look at me. “Someone has to put Violet first.”

“How is sending me over a cliff putting Violet first?” Yes, I was buying time, but I also genuinely wanted to know. Needed to understand how a mind had twisted things to such an extreme.

His face hardened. “You’re spitting on her grave. On Violet’s dead body. You say you love her, but you’re fucking the man who killed her!” Ethan began pacing again, muttering to himself about traitors and other things I couldn’t quite make out.

My hands shook as I tested the ropes again. Too tight. They weren’t loosening. But my feet were free. That would have to be enough. Ethan was bigger and faster, but I had adrenaline on my side. Adrenaline and a desire to live. I just needed a chance to break away.

Hands slammed down on the side of the SUV as Ethan’s face appeared in the smashed-out window. “Why did you do it? Why did you let her killer in?”

I let out a shaky breath. “Because I love him.”

Ethan’s hand struck out quicker than I could move, and he latched on to my hair with a viciousness that startled a yelp out of me. He yanked on the strands, bringing my face close to his. The pain had tears gathering in my eyes. “You’re so damn selfish. You love him more than your sister? Your blood?”

“I love them both.” I did, there was no one on this Earth I loved more than Vi and Ford. I could feel it, rooted deep in my chest. It wasn’t a competition like I had feared. It was like trying to compare the sun and the moon. They both tugged at me like they pulled the sea, strong and swift, but I needed them each in different ways.

Ethan’s face reddened as his grip on my scalp tightened. “You are sickening.”

Spittle dotted my face as he cursed, throwing me back against the seat. My head rang with the force of it, a renewed beat thundering through my skull. Nausea swept through me in waves. I let myself close my eyes for just a moment, trying to still the riot of pain and sickness coursing through me.