When I close my eyes, that moment of warmth expanding in my chest is blotted out by the darkness as the reminder of what I’ve done haunts me all over again. I see her face. I feel her blood dripping from my hands as I stumble back with the horrifying realization that I’ve killed someone. It torments me. It grabs me and doesn’t let me go until eventually, by some miracle, exhaustion steals me away.

I wake with a jolt, my breath hissing between my teeth as fragments of the insidious nightmare try to drag me back to the hell that unfolded only hours ago. Or was it hours? As I bolt upright, fear crawls up my spine, tickling every one of my senses. How long have I been asleep? Was it all a dream? Could that even be possible?

My eyes adjust to the darkness, and I stare at the figures sitting across from each other in the shadows. Dread curdles the blood in my veins.

“Santi?” My voice fractures as I cling to the covers around me. “What’s going on?”

He rises from his seat, his back rigid, and I want to believe I’m confused. I’m not awake at all, but still trapped in a nightmare somehow.

“You are dangerous,” he says softly. “And you have proven that I can’t trust you. Not in my home. Not in my life. And now, there is only one solution that can save you.”

I’m shaking my head in denial as my eyes move to the other figure. The one sitting like a silent warden as he watches me in the dim light. Instinctively, I know who he is. I’ve known him for years. He’s Santi’s friend, and more importantly, he’s tasked with the Rite of my care should anything ever happen to my brother. Lawson “Judge” Montgomery is an unyielding, razor-sharp beast of a man. He’s as cold-hearted as they come, and he lets it be known in the harsh way he delivers his verdicts, both in the courtroom and outside of it. Nobody dares to question him. Nobody dares to challenge him. Few can even really look him in the eye, and I have to admit, I find myself among that crowd. He terrifies me in ways I can’t admit to myself, but the idea of him stealing me away leaves my heart racing and my head pounding.

“No,” I shriek, yanking the covers off me. “You can’t send me away. You can’t!”

“It’s done.” Santiago nods to Judge, and I scramble from the bed, trying to force my stiff limbs to cooperate.