she walked in and clicked the door shut behind her; she locked it as if she was trying to keep someone out when all she ever should have been worried about was letting me in.
Eden peered up then stopped in her tracks like she was frozen in place; her eyes darted behind me to the living room and then back to me again.
Her keys fell to the ground in a loud crash, and I couldn’t tell if she was angry or terrified.
“Eden?” I tilted my head. “Is everything okay? Where’s Naz?”
“Safe,” she snapped while something flashed in her eyes before she picked up her keys and very slowly walked into the kitchen.
She walked right past me.
Which pissed me off.
Hadn’t things been better? “What the hell do you mean safe?”
I reached out and grabbed her wrist, keeping her from going past me.
“Let go,” she whispered, still not looking at me.
“Eden, what happened?”
A tear slid down her cheek. “Nothing.”
“Talk to me.” I squeezed her wrist then tugged her against me until both hands pressed against my chest. “I can keep him safe. I have been keeping him safe, you too, so why isn’t he here? Why are you lying to me?”
She tried pulling away. I pinned my arms around her body and held her close, so close I could feel her heartbeats, measure her small breaths.
“Let go.” Another tear slid down. “Please.”
“I don’t understand.” I shook my head. “I’m here to protect you, and you’re looking at me like I’m going to murder you any second. I would never touch you or Naz, you know that—”
“Good to know we aren’t on your list of people to kill.” Ice dripped off her words. “I won’t ask again, Romeo, let go.”
“Red—”
“Don’t you dare!” she yelled, her eyes flashing. “You don’t have the right to call me that, to claim me, protect Naz or me. You don’t have the right!”
Desperate for answers, I kept her close, my mind trying to piece together what could have possibly happened to get her to this state. “Eden, I can’t protect you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong. Did someone hurt you?”
Her laugh was humorless. “That’s rich since it’s always you! You hurt me! Over and over again. You protect me. You reject me. You give me hope. You take it away. You lie while you smile, and you do it constantly until I believe you. Until I lie to myself in order to love you! I hate you, Romeo! I hate you!”
“You still love me?”
“Let me go!” she roared.
My heart slammed against my chest as she struggled against me. “I would do anything for you, anything!”
“I know!” She burst into tears. “Because you did!”
Cold chilled down my spine. “What?”
“Let me go before I scream!” She struggled against me. “I can’t even look at you, I can’t touch you. I can’t, I can’t, Romeo, I just can’t—”
“Calm down!” I pulled back and cupped her face. “I will always have you—”
“Until you’re bored! Until my name comes up. Is that it? Until I’m no longer useful? What happens when I age? Is that another get out of jail free card? Is that how this works? You claim me until you no longer want me, and then I die?”
“Die?” I shook my head. “What the fuck, Eden, did you miss the part where I said I’d do anything for you?”
“I know what you did!” she screamed, nearly loud enough to break glass.
I dropped my shaking hands to my sides. My entire body went numb. “What are you talking about?”
“I. Know. What. You. Did.” She spoke with conviction.
“Red, you’re not making any fucking sense. You’re talking in circles. I can’t keep up with you.”
“No! I can see very clearly for the first time, and I know what and who you are. Finally! After all these years, I know who you truly are, Romeo Sinacore!”
I shook my head. “Eden, I’ve never pretended to be anything I’m not. Especially with you.”
“Bullshit!”
“I’ve done everything for you. Everything.”
“Oh, I’m fully aware. Don’t you worry about that.”
“Can you stop speaking in code and just spit it out already.”
“I know who killed Tristian.”
I stumbled back. I could see it in her eyes.
All these years.
All this time.
I was protecting her from me.
Only to have her figure what I was capable of, destroying both of us when she seethed…
“YOU!”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
“What we call evil is simply ignorance bumping its head in the dark.” —Henry Ford
Eden
Then: Right before the funeral
It seemed all I did in that living room was wait. It