The front door was shut, and there was no sign of movement inside the house. Which meant Thea and my mother had to be out here somewhere. In the dark.
Fuck.
Unsure where to start, I considered calling for Thea. Then again, I didn’t want to alert my mother to my presence, putting Thea in even more danger.
Slowing to a jog, I headed into the woods, listening for anything that might give away their location. Just when I was ready to give up and start yelling, I heard more screams. This time, for help.
“Thea,” I yelled. “Where are you?”
“The cliff. Hurry!”
My heart bottomed out even as I sprinted that direction. I knew better than anyone how dangerous that part of the property was, where the trees ended right at the cliff, dropping down to a rocky shoreline. I used to sit on the edge of that cliff after every fight with my father. Only a close call on a rainy afternoon had caused me to finally find a new place to stew.
When I could see the opening in the trees, I slowed and called Thea’s name again, needing the sound of her voice to lead me to her.
“I’m down here.”
I jolted forward and carefully walked along the edge of the bluff, relying on the moonlight as I searched for her. “I’m here, Thea. Where are you?” Catching movement out of the corner of my eye, I answered my own question. She stood on a narrow ledge, her back to the cliff as she crept along it. “Holy fuck. What are you doing?” Though she wasn’t far from the ground, there was nothing but jagged rocks below her.
She paused to peer up at me. “Hayle. Thank god you’re here.”
“Stop moving. You’re going the wrong way.” I took a few steps in the opposite direction. “Come this way.” She was a couple of yards from a wider ledge, where she could safely sit until I returned with help.
“I can’t. Lily.”
I’d been so focused on Thea that I’d totally forgotten about my mother. My eyes scanned the rocks, and that’s when I saw her. She was wedged between the cliff and a thin tree that jutted out of the side of it. While I watched, the trunk made a cracking noise, and my mother slid closer to the water and rocks below her.
“Mom, hold on!”
As though she’d just realized I was there, she looked up at me, her fear obvious despite the lack of light. “Hayle. Help me.”
My chest squeezing painfully, I glanced between her and Thea, who was still inching closer to my mother. She might be able to make it, but what then? My mother’s weight would more than likely cause them both to fall.
Maybe it was selfish, but I couldn’t let Thea continue. I loved her too much, and I couldn’t lose her. I wouldn’t survive it.
“Thea.” I dropped onto my stomach, wanting to be as close to her as possible. “You have to go back. There’s nothing you can do to help her.”
The tree cracked again, and my mother screamed.
“I have to do something,” Thea said in a wobbly voice, lifting her gaze to mine. “For you.”
“No, you have to stay alive for me. That’s what I need from you. That’s all I need from you.”
“Hayle,” Mom sobbed. “You can’t mean that. You can’t choose her over me.”
Forcing myself to release Thea’s gaze, I turned toward my mother. “Stay there. I’m going to get help and be right back. You’ll be okay,” I said, hoping it was true. Without a rope, I was helpless, and we all knew it.
I pushed up from the ground, ready to sprint back toward the cottage. But the sound of my mother’s trembling voice stopped me in my tracks. “I never thought you would betray me, Hayle. Now, I really have nothing left to live for.”
Before I could say another word, she loosened her grip on the tree and fell into the water below with a deafening splash. Thea cried out, but all I could do was watch for my mother to emerge from the waves. I watched and watched until I lost the ability to see anything. To hear anything. To feel anything.
I had no idea how much time had passed when manly arms wrapped around me, pulling me into an embrace. “I’m so sorry, Hayle,” Leo said, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it.
Releasing a breath, perhaps the first since my mother’s plunge into endless darkness, I