simply pulled her into my arms with a rough tug and buried my face in her hair. The familiar scent of lavender and something uniquely Shay calmed my most feral edges. But it wasn’t enough to numb the anger and pain.
She didn’t pull away, just drew me closer, rubbing her hands up and down my back. “What’s going on? Talk to me.”
“Caelyn found a body at the store. It’s not over.”
Shay’s body stiffened in my arms, but she didn’t stop trailing her hands over my back. “Who?”
“I don’t know.” I hadn’t even thought to ask. And what kind of bastard did that make me? I’d been so focused on how this affected me, but some family out there had lost someone.
I released Shay and stepped back, running a hand through my hair as I paced. “I don’t know what to do. I’m not putting out any more art. I can’t pull down every image from the internet, it would be impossible. I thought I’d moved to the edge of the world, but clearly it wasn’t enough. Do I have to move to fucking Antarctica?” I gave the box I’d just put together a swift kick, sending it into the wall.
Shay caught my arm and halted my frenetic pacing. “Stop it.” There was a bite to her words I’d never heard before. “Don’t you dare let this bastard into your head. None of this is your fault. I refuse to let you spiral down a road that isn’t yours to walk. The only person who should be drowning right now is the person who killed those people. You’re a scapegoat, and you’re just letting him herd you into the role. Fight back, damn it.”
I watched in awed fascination as fury lit Shay’s face. The way it moved through her features and seemed to light up the golden flecks in those hazel eyes. I love you. The words almost tumbled out of my mouth before I pulled them back. Too soon. Too many other things going on. A million and one reasons kept me from giving those three little words the voice they deserved.
Instead, I pulled Shay into my arms and held her as tightly as I could against me. The feel of her breaths against my torso was soothing and calmed the things raging inside. “I’ll fight back.”
30
Shay
I watched as Brody guided the boat towards Anchor Island’s dock. I could already see the assorted emergency vehicles and the crowd gathered near The General Store. But my gaze kept drifting back to Brody. As if I might be able to catch him before he spiraled into another cycle of self-loathing and blame.
I wanted to throttle whoever was doing this. For the loss of life, yes. But also because of what they were putting Brody through. They were eating away at the thing he loved most in this world. And I wasn’t sure how long he could hold on.
We tied off the boat, neither of us saying anything, just moving in that quiet, tandem rhythm we’d developed over the past few months. We could predict each other’s moves and speeds and knew just how to fill in where the other left an empty space.
Brody offered me a hand as I climbed over the side of the boat. As soon as our fingers linked, I didn’t let go. I willed all the strength and reassurance I could muster through that single point of contact, pushing myself as close to his side as I could. We made our way towards the growing crowd. With each step that brought us closer, I felt more tension radiate from Brody’s body.
Bell caught sight of us approaching and waved us over to where she, Griffin, and Caelyn were gathered, just outside what appeared to be a makeshift command station. Brody and I ducked under the crime scene tape and headed towards the group.
“I really thought this was over,” she muttered as we approached.
I took in Caelyn, who was wrapped protectively in Griffin’s hold, her face pale and eyes rimmed in red. “I’m so sorry, Caelyn.” The sentiment was completely lacking, but it was all I could think to say.
She tried her best to muster a smile. “I’m okay, really. It was just a shock. I’ll be fine.”
Griffin grunted something undecipherable, and I turned to Bell. “Where’s everyone else?”
“Kenna, Crosby, and Ford went to hang out with Will, Ava, and Mia. Caelyn didn’t want them to be alone.”
Understandable, given what was happening on this thirty-mile island. I wouldn’t want anyone