Thicker Than Blood (Thicker Than Blood #1)(109)

“Lei?”

“Hmm?”

“Remember what you said to me at my wedding? Right before I was supposed to walk down the aisle?”

My lips attempted to turn upward, wanting to smile, yet I hadn’t the strength for it. “Yes,” I said. “I remember you were scared out of your mind, and so I told you to put your big-girl panties on and get your ass out there.”

“No,” she said. “After that, right before you were supposed to walk out there. You looked over your shoulder and smiled at me, remember what you said?”

“I remember.”

“You said, ‘If you don’t walk down that aisle and marry the best thing to ever happen to you, then I’m going to lose the best friend I’ve ever had. You can’t be best friends with your husband’s best friend’s ex-girlfriend, you know?’”

Evelyn rolled her head toward me, her blue eyes glistening with tears. “I didn’t want to lose the best friend I’d ever had,” she whispered. “So I put my big-girl panties on and walked down that aisle.”

I stared into her eyes and gave her the best smile I could muster. “I remember,” I said. “I also remember what you said to me when I found out I couldn’t have children.”

Evelyn’s eyes closed, more tears spilling out from beneath her lashes. “I said,” she replied hoarsely, “that I’d have babies for both of us.”

“And Thomas had asked if that meant he got to have sex with you, remember?”

Through her tears, Evelyn smirked. “He was only joking, but I’d never seen you so mad.”

I shrugged. “It wasn’t funny.”

“Lei, it was funny. Even Shawn thought it was funny.”

I shook my head. “It wasn’t funny.”

“It was.”

“No.” I cleared my throat and glanced down at Alex. Even with only the light of the moon, I could tell that his lips were now blue, his skin a waxy sort of white. Gently, I combed my fingers through his short beard before glancing back up at Evelyn. “In fact, I’m still annoyed with him for that.”

“He loved you. He would never have touched another woman.”

“That’s not the point.”

“You’re silly.”

“I know. And yet, you love me anyway.”

Reaching out, Evelyn placed her hand over mine, and together we ran our fingers through Alex’s hair.

“Thomas would have liked him,” she whispered.

“I know.”

Letting my head fall sideways onto her shoulder, I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. “I could’ve loved him, you know? Not like I loved Thomas, but…I really think I could have.”

Pressing a kiss to the top of my head, Evelyn inhaled slowly. “I know.”

“I love you, Eve.”

“I love you too, Lei.”





Chapter Forty



Evelyn

I’d been dreaming of Shawn. Nothing specific, just another ordinary day in our ordinary life together, lost in the daily humdrum. I dreamed of washing clothes and ironing them, vacuuming the throw rug in our living room, grocery shopping, the feel of his strong arms wrapped around me and the gentle kisses we’d shared. It had all seemed so vivid, so real, that when I awoke, still leaning back against the wall, slumped sideways over Leisel, I sobbed from the loss of the dream, the loss of Shawn, the loss of the woman I’d been.

The sight of the motel room only made my slap back to reality that much harsher—the filthy, blood-soaked carpet beneath me, the dirt-stained walls, the cracked and crumbling ceiling above, and the body of Alex, his once sun-kissed skin now mottled with the bruising appearance of rigor mortis. The smell in the room was awful, the stench of the dead always was, an unforgettable mixture of feces and urine amid the rancid smell of rotting meat. But beneath all the foulness there was always a hint of sweetness, a tinge of fragrant perfume, as if in death, underneath all its ugly glory, lay a sort of beauty trying to claw its way forth.

Worse were the twelve or so rats gathered around his ankles, chuffing and crackling noises coming from them as they chewed happily through his pants.

Pulling away from Leisel, I stood on shaky legs, kicking at them with all the strength I could muster. They squeaked loudly as they were flung across the room, one even going so far as to hiss at me while it scurried across the carpet, disappearing into the tiny bathroom.

Leisel stirred in her sleep, her lips parting as she sucked in a noisy breath, her hand clutching tighter to the grip she still had on Alex’s hair. Choking back a threatening sob, I turned away from her, unable to watch her cling to yet another thing she’d lost.

Approaching the window, I touched my face, gently probing my stitches and the tender skin surrounding them. My face was hot, too hot, my cheek burning beneath my fingers. Closing my eyes against the sunlight, I wondered what on earth we were going to do if my wounds became infected. Yet, that was the least of our problems. Where were we going to go? Were we going to make it out there on our own? With no man to protect us?

Did we go back to Purgatory?

Despite my tears, I nearly laughed out loud. Go back to Purgatory? They’d kill us for sure, or worse, enslave us to a lifetime of prostitution. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the horrors E would have in store for me.