Cabin of Axes - Bea Paige Page 0,40

tense, and a feeling of unease crawls beneath my skin. “But not everything in the Cabin of Axes is a fairy tale with a happy ending.”

“What do you mean by that…?” I ask, but he ignores me and drags me towards a door at the back of the shop. When he pulls out a key and slides it into the lock, Mathieson makes a sharp noise.

“Where did you find the key? We’ve been looking for it for days!”

When Franklin doesn’t answer, Berrin adds his complaint. “Franklin, what the fuck, man?”

“I found it the day after…” His voice trails off as he glances over at me.

“… I arrived?” I finish for him.

He nods. “Yes.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? This is our business as much as yours. We needed to get into the studio to get started on our next commission. We’re already behind,” Berrin points out.

“I have my reasons. Good ones, actually,” Franklin says.

Mathieson raises a dark brow. “And those reasons are?”

Franklin turns his attention back to me. “When I found you on our bed, you were muttering in your sleep. Admittedly, I was going to call the police, but then you began calling out our names and I waited to see what else you would say…”

“And what did I say?”

“Amongst other things, you mentioned the key to this very studio. You told me where it was hidden.”

“I did?” My brows pull together in a frown and a shiver tracks down my spine.

“Yes. I found it hidden beneath our bee hive…”

“What the fuck?” Berrin repeats, seemingly at a loss for anything to say other than curse words.

“…With a note attached,” Franklin continues.

“A note?” Mathieson interjects. I glance at him and he looks just as bewildered as the rest of us do.

“This note…” Franklin pulls a piece of paper out of his jean pocket and hands it to Mathieson who unfolds it and reads it aloud.

“To my three bears. I love you. I’m not sure that there are three more powerful words than these. I love you and I’m doing what you asked, I’m leaving. It won’t be long now until I forget, and I don’t want to forget you. Not now, not ever. But I’ll do it because you asked me to.” Mathieson’s voice trails off as he looks up at me and I stiffen at the look he’s giving me. It’s one of confusion, yes, but also a trickle of understanding. I swallow hard when his focus falls back to the note and he continues to read. “I hid the key here hoping that you would find it eventually, that you would unlock the studio and the secrets to our relationship, but also to give you a hint at what keeps your memories hidden. These bees, this honey, is what brought me to you all in the first place. Its healing qualities are second to none, but the side effects are unprecedented. Amongst other things, this honey makes a person forget that which they long for the most. In my case you three, and in your case, me. Please know, I don’t hate you for what you did in the beginning when we first met. We all have darkness within us, me included. Why do you think I love you so much?

Yours, in darkness and in light, Goldie.”

“Oh my God…” My hand rushes to cover my mouth as I stare at Franklin. Berrin is cursing under his breath and Mathieson has gone a deathly pale, his grey eyes stormy and violent.

“You found that note and didn’t fucking think to say anything?!” Berrin shouts, making me jump as he snatches the note from Mathieson’s hand and reads it through, confirming with his own eyes what he’s just heard.

“I was going to, but then I found the key and saw what was locked behind this door and couldn’t,” Franklin responds, his hazel eyes flashing with fire.

“You knew all this time?” I whisper.

“I was trying to protect you…” he responds, giving me a pained look.

“Why?”

He scrapes a hand over his face, trying to shake whatever it is that’s he’s feeling. “Because beyond this door are things that will shock and scare you. They shocked me… that is, until I began to remember.” Franklin steps into my space and I stumble back into Berrin’s hard chest instinctively, trying to get away from him. I stiffen at the look in his eyes. He’s on the verge of letting go of something and for the first time in his company, I feel truly afraid. “It was