Just who is Sophia Blackwood anyway?

She is the only mystery remaining in this tangled web I’ve been repeatedly fucked in.

With Keiran arrested, I wasn’t able to breathe as easily as I thought. In fact, I was more worried than ever. When Keiran came back into my life a few months ago, he came with a vengeance. As it turns out, his vengeance was misplaced, but this time I earned it.

I turned Keiran in.

I fought back.

And somehow, I knew it wasn’t over. He would be back.

“Yeah, so come on. It will be fine because we’ll make it fine,” Willow ordered. Willow wasn’t taking any prisoners. She and Sheldon spent the last two weeks campaigning for me to stay. I think there was even a threat or two thrown in there.

In the end, I relented because what else could I do? I loved them too damn much. Now here I was, about to walk the halls of Bainbridge for the first time in three weeks. Thank God I was caught up on my work or else I wouldn’t be graduating this year, and that just wouldn’t do.

“Besides,” Sheldon added, “he can’t get to you now. You’re safe.”

“But what about tomorrow? What happens when he gets out?”

“He burned two people alive. He won’t get off.”

But did he really do it? The question burned my throat, and I almost blurted it out but resisted. It didn’t occur to me until it was too late that I had no real proof of Keiran’s guilt. Sure, he was the last person to see them alive but—

The shrill of Sheldon’s phone broke through my thoughts and she immediately answered. The look of relief mixed with pain on her face held my attention as she spoke into the phone. Her side of the conversation consisted of terse, clipped answers as she looked down at her feet, sometimes only nodding. If the sunlight hadn’t picked that moment to break through the clouds, I might not have ever caught the lone tear that trailed down her throat.

“I can’t, Dash. I just can’t. I’m sorry. No. Yes. Oh, God,” she sobbed and hung up the phone. Willow and I were on her instantly as her knees buckled.

“What? What is it?” I asked fearfully. We fought to hold her up but eventually, let her crumble to the ground as we followed her.

“The doctors were able to patch the part of his lung that was failing, but it’s only a temporary fix. He’ll need a lung transplant or he won’t live a full life.”

“Oh, no,” Willow whispered with a sheen of tears in her own eyes.

“Oh God. He’s—” She brought her knees to her chest and began rocking back and forth. We were oblivious to the fact we were in the parking lot of the school. Most of the other students were inside, but there were a few who watched us while talking behind their hands.

“He what?” I urged.

“He’s awake,” she forced out through trembling lips.

“Well, that’s good news… isn’t it?” Willow asked

“Yes but—” She shook her head furiously. “Dash said he’s barely able to talk, but he did ask for one thing.”

“What did he ask for?” I asked while fighting back my own tears. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and complete desolation as she looked at me.

“Me.”

* * *

“How was your first day back at school?” Aunt Carissa asked as soon as I was through the door after school.

“Uneventful.”

If you don’t count Sheldon’s emotional breakdown in the school parking lot. I attempted to make a clean getaway to my room, but my aunt’s next words stopped me in my tracks.

“A Detective Daniels came by here today.”

A lie immediately spilled from my lips. “Oh, really? I wonder what he could have—”

“So help me, if you are seriously thinking to lie to me…” she growled and stood up from her seat on the couch, planting her fists on her hips.

“No more than you lied to me, you mean?” I swallowed down the sting of bitterness

“Lake…”

“No, Aunt Carissa. I can’t hear this right now.”

“You have to hear it sometime,” she argued.

“I know, just… not right now.” She nodded her understanding, but instantly, anger reappeared in her eyes, and I knew our fight was only just beginning.

“Why is a detective coming by here for you?”

Good question since he would know I had school. But I knew what game he was playing. I turned Keiran in, and they made an arrest, but they didn’t have a case against him unless I testified. After the shock of turning Keiran in, and Keenan’s condition wore off, I began to have second thoughts. I even tried once to go back and retract my statement to which they didn’t react kindly.

Keiran was denied bail given his record and his history with Trevor Reynolds, one of the two victims who were burned alive. The other being Anya Risdell, Keiran’s ex… something.

After I sat down to think on the possibility of Keiran’s innocence, I realized my reluctance to go through with it was more because I didn’t want him to be guilty. Keiran was the last person to see Anya and Trevor alive. After the fair, Trevor attempted to kidnap and hand deliver me to Mitch, Keiran’s father, who wanted to use me as a pawn to kill his own son for money.

The things that can occur on Monday nights…

“Lake?” my aunt prompted with a raised brow after I took too long to respond.

Shit, shit, double shit. “I, uh… forgot to tell you… the house was broken into a month ago. I’m so sorry, Aunt Carissa,” I rushed out at the perturbed look on her face.

“What? Were you hurt?” She rushed to me and immediately began checking me over.

“No, I was able to lock myself inside my room until the cops came.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” she screeched. I wasn’t prepared for her strong reaction, and I realized it was the calm before the storm.

“I didn’t want you to worry. I thought you were on your book tour,” I quipped.

“Lake, you have to know I had the best intentions. I didn’t want to get your hopes up in case I came back empty handed.”

“It’s too late. My hopes died a long time ago.”

“Oh, honey, don’t say that. Your hopes aren’t dead. You just need to find them again.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner about the burglary,” I said, changing the subject.

“As long as you’re okay, but don’t ever think about pulling that stunt again. I don’t care what you think is best for me. I am the adult, and you don’t make those decisions. I decide what’s best for us, got me?”

It was safe to say I was feeling a little bit more than uneasy when she was done. My aunt’s tongue was as sharp as a whip and could bring grown men to heel, but one would never know just by looking at her.

“I got it.” We hugged before I finally managed to escape upstairs. I released an audible breath once I was safely inside my bedroom.

One day down and six months to go. I’d be free.

Only… would I really be free?

Keiran once told me, no matter how far I ran, he would never let me go. It seemed my sole chance at a new start would come only if Keiran remained behind bars.

Even so, Mitch was still out there… somewhere. Waiting and lurking for his chance to kill his sons.

Wow. Just a couple of months ago, Keiran and Keenan Masters were cousins, and now they are brothers. Once the truth was out, it suddenly all made sense. Of course, they were brothers. The two were more alike than anyone could see with the naked eye. Keiran carried a dark aura everyone could feel, but Keenan’s was more of a shadow.

I crossed the room to my bed and flung myself on the mattress wanting the comfort of sleep, but as soon as I felt the soft material engulf me, memories burst forward. Suddenly, I could smell him. His scent still lingered in the fabric.

When I decided to return to Six Forks, I did everything I could to wash him away, starting with my bed sheets. I didn’t want the memories. I didn’t want to remember how it felt to let him push me to my limits and beg for more. But he was there, even today. When I tried to be strong, he was always there, and I fought to hide it.