Echo(75)

His eyes only take a second to scorn. The flip is instant, like it always is with him, and I know what set him off when he spews, “But you did walk away.”

I don’t know what else to say, so I plead for penance in the absence of words. And as we sit, his touch on me fades as his animosity breeds. It stirs in the reticence between us, and I know our expiration date is near.

The awareness that we have this death sentence over us makes me want to do two things, but I don’t know which one to choose.

Do I run away, or do I stay and watch us die a painful death?





I’VE BEEN DRIVING around the countryside trying to find the house the old lady at the Water Lily told me about. I was able to track Nina down once I found out she was going by Elizabeth Archer again. Made my life a little easier, and when I found out where she was staying, I was grateful when the owner was forthcoming about where I could find her. She never doubted me when I lied and told her I was Elizabeth’s uncle and had been trying to get in contact with her.

I had to laugh to myself because when Bennett had me follow her not so long ago, she was the easiest little thing to trace. And now, exactly as I thought, she’s with the same bastard she was with back in Chicago.

But now, I’ve wasted the light of day because this f*cking town isn’t very considerate with street signs. I round yet another bend in the road with no houses in sight. I slow down, peering out the window, when my headlights catch a small plaque on a stone wall, and it’s then I see gates. Slowing more, the sign reads what I was told it would: Brunswickhill.

“Checkmate,” I mutter under my breath as I kill the headlights and pull up to the gate.

Stepping out of the car, I look up the steep hill, but can’t see anything in the dark. No lights. Nothing.

“Fuck.”

Getting back behind the wheel, I decide to just call it a night. I know that beyond this gate, they are more than likely here. For now, I’m tired as shit, but at least I have my stakeout position. And knowing there’s a manhunt back in Illinois, my next steps need to be quick and deadly.





I CAN STILL feel the vibrations that ricocheted though my bones with each gunshot. The two that Pike fired into Declan’s chest, and the single blast from the gun I held that took my brother from me. The sound is something I’ll never forget. A bang so loud, it knocks your shoulders back, deafening and startling. And when the mark is hit, the ice your heartless heart pumps fills your veins, and you know you’ll never be the same again.

Forever changed.

Forever a monster.

Each bullet leaves a soot stain on your soul that you can’t get rid of, and you never forget the taste of burnt gunpowder on the back of your tongue. Each life you take brands you for eternity.

I hoped it wouldn’t. I hoped the aftereffects would wither away as the echoes did. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in this life, it’s the realization that echoes live forever. I may no longer hear the screaming demons of my past, but they do indeed continue to scream. It’s a reminder that you’re never truly free.

I don’t know where I’m going or what I’m doing, but I don’t think this is the place for me. I’ve been lost in my head all morning. Declan left at sunrise for the airport. When he did, I needed to find comfort and realized I left my doll behind.

I called Isla to tell her I would be stopping by to collect the remainder of my belongings. Since he took the SUV, I take his Mercedes roadster to Isla’s.

As I pull up to the charming house that I’ve stayed at since my arrival several weeks ago, I know, that as much as it hurts, there’s nothing here for me in Scotland. I never knew what it was I was looking for when I came here. The last thing I thought I would find was Declan alive, but I did. And maybe that’s gift enough, to know he’ll go on and that his life wasn’t sacrificed because of my deceit.

The key is under the ceramic planter right where Isla said she would leave it. I walk in, and even though I’ve only been at Declan’s for a couple of days, it feels much longer. But then again, each day with him is filled with insurmountable emotions and conversations. It’s taken a toll on me, having to face my past and confess the truths I’ve hidden for so long. The hardest is having to see the pain Declan battles inside of himself—pain that was birthed because of me. I own it; he endures it.

I head upstairs, and after finding my doll, I begin to pack my things and focus on keeping the dread at bay. I wish I had direction, I wish I knew what I’m doing and where I’m going. It’s a heavy emotion to carry, to know how alone I really am. But I fight to keep myself numb to all the questions there are no answers for.