Wretched (Never After Series)(58)

She smiles.

And my chest feels like it will explode.

“Keats is my favorite,” she sighs.

“I remember.” I tighten my arms around her, bringing one of our tangled fingers up to press a kiss to the back of her hand.

“For someone who doesn’t believe in romance, you’re irritatingly good at it.”

“Is this what romance is?” I chuckle.

“You’re quoting Keats and comforting me.” She shrugs. “And not just any Keats. He was writing about wanting to die if he couldn’t live forever with his love. I don’t think it gets more romantic than that.”

She glances down at the water, her body tensing again.

“Don’t be afraid,” I whisper, the wind sending a strong gust of air whipping around us, making her shiver. “I’ve got you.”

She sucks in a breath, moving her gaze back to me. “Promise?”

I want, with every single bone in my body, to give her the truth. But I can’t.

So I lie instead.

“I promise.”

“This is cute,” a high-pitched voice interrupts.

Eveline shoves me off her before spinning around and adopting a blank look as she stares at her sister.

“What are you two doing?” Dorothy looks between the two of us.

“Just admiring the view,” I reply, placing my hands in my pockets.

“Hmm,” she hums, sipping from a champagne flute as she walks toward the edge of the deck. She rests against it, her bright-red nails tapping against her glass as she looks at us, then glancing into the dark waters below. “People really do come and go so quickly here, don’t they?”

My brows furrow, but Eveline jolts next to me.

When Dorothy looks back up, there’s a manic look in her eye and a wide smile on her face. It surprises me how much it reminds me of the way Eveline looks right before she snaps.

I guess the gene runs in the family, after all.

“You’re a fucking bitch,” Eveline spits.

Dorothy chuckles as she looks at the two of us.

I’ve never seen her this way before, as if she’s transformed into an entirely different person. Like the innocent daughter who loves to be in the public eye and wanted to be Daddy’s girl was nothing more than a facade, hiding this sinister woman who was lurking underneath.

“I’m just stating a fact,” she says.

Sighing, I run a hand over my face. This family is exhausting. “What are you talking about, Dorothy?”

“Oh, didn’t you know? This is where our sister died.”

Shock hits me in the chest and I swing my eyes to Eveline. But they aren’t paying any attention to me at all. They’re laser-focused on Dorothy.

Eveline cocks her head. “Want to refresh my memory on how exactly that happened again?”

The left side of Dorothy’s red mouth lifts. “She slipped.”

Eveline sneers, and I feel the shift in energy before it happens. Still, I’m not quick enough to grab her. She lunges forward, gripping Dorothy around the throat, both of them tumbling to the deck floor, Dorothy’s champagne flute shattering beside them.

Dorothy is flailing, her nails scratching at the back of my jacket as it slips off Eveline’s shoulders, and I rush toward them, grabbing Eveline around the waist and tearing her off.

Dorothy’s hand shoots to her throat. “Jesus, Evie. You need to be institutionalized.”

“Take off those shoes!” Eveline yells, her face blotchy and tears streaming down her cheeks. “How fucking dare you wear those here.”

My eyes drop to Dorothy’s feet, where bright-red, sparkly heels are gleaming in the moonlight.

Dorothy scoffs. “You’re always so dramatic. It’s not like they’d even fit you.”

Eveline’s head twitches and she turns to me, her gaze feral. “Do you have your gun on you?”

I do, but I’m extremely uncomfortable telling her that right now. She notices my hesitation.

“May I see it?” she asks sweetly.

Stepping back from her, I shake my head. “I’ll let you do anything you want with it once we leave.”

Dorothy sighs loudly, dusting off the front of her dress before toeing off the shoes and picking them up in her hand. “Fine, you want them so bad? They’re yours.”

She holds them out, and Eveline steps forward, reaching out to grab them. Then Dorothy flings them over the side of the boat. I can barely hear when they plop into the water.

“No!” Eveline cries, throwing her body into the railing. As soon as her eyes hit the water she freezes, and I’m after her, gripping her by the waist and pulling her into me, her body trembling as I sink us down to the deck floor.

“Maybe if you dive in after them, they’ll take you home to her,” Dorothy quips.

My eyes narrow as my head snaps up. “Dorothy, shut the fuck up before I shoot you myself.”

She laughs. “God, imagine I wanted to sleep with you. Pathetic.”

Her footsteps are loud even without her heels as she walks closer, and she crouches down in front of us. “I’ll tell you a secret though, Evie.”

Eveline looks up, mascara streaking down her face, her lips swollen and red. I’ve never seen her look so defeated, and my chest cracks at the sight. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. This isn’t who she’s supposed to be.