Page 119 of Shadow Of Sin

I blow out a slow breath.

By midnight, I’ll either have saved everything that matters to me or lost it all.

CHAPTER 29

EVA

The last time I cried this hard was when I found out our parents were killed in that car crash. My heart was split in two when that hammer dropped.

I didn’t think I’d feel such agonizing pain ever again.

I wake up in Sal’s bed with swollen eyes and no idea where I am for about three terrifying seconds.

Then it all comes crashing down around me. The cabin. The laptop. The highway. And then showing up here at close to two in the morning with mascara running down my face and a hole in my chest where my heart used to be.

Sunlight pushes through the blinds. It’s morning. Thursday morning.

My stomach clenches because I know what today is. And I know what tonight is supposed to be.

A knock on the door jolts me from the toxic thoughts looping through my mind.

“Come in,” I croak out.

Sal pushes open the door, his forehead pinched. “What happened?” He stands there, arms folded, looking at me like he’s bracing for the worst possible thing.

“I had a fight with Wolfe.” I pull myself to a seated position and tuck my hair behind my ear.

“A fight that has you showing up at my door at almost two in the morning?”

“It was a really bad fight.”

“How bad?”

I pick at the edge of the comforter, dropping my eyes. “Bad enough that I need to be here and not there. And I didn’t want to be alone.”

“Did he hurt you?” His voice drops and my head pops up. His lips twist like he just tasted shit and his shoulders square. He’s probably running through every violent abuse scenario his brain can manufacture, which for a guy who grew up in this neighborhood, is plenty.

“No. He didn’t put a hand on me. It’s not like that.”

He steps forward and sits on the edge of the bed. “Then what is it like?”

Shaking my head, I say, “I can’t get into it right now, Sal. I just need to be here. With you. Okay?”

He stares at me. I can see the war waging behind his eyes. Push or let go. Demand answers or trust me. His jaw tics for about five seconds before he lets out a long, defeated breath.

He’s letting it go. For now, anyway.

“Okay,” he finally says. “But you need breakfast. It’ll be good for you to put something into your stomach.”

“Fine.”

“And if I ever see him again, I’m going to need a very good reason not to break his face.”

“Gotcha.”

He pulls me into a hug. It’s tight and solid, and it tells me exactly what I need to be reassured of right now. I’m here, I’ve got you, nobody gets through me. I press my face against his shoulder and breathe him in, holding on for longer than I should because the only other person who’s held me like this in the past month is the reason I’m in this apartment at all.

He leaves a few minutes later and it isn’t long before I hear the sizzle of bacon frying on the stove. I love bacon, but the scent of it has bile crawling up the back of my throat. Still, I promised my brother I’d eat, so I head into the kitchen.