Hush (Black Lotus #3)(81)

“Declan . . .”

“Marry me.”

And that was the moment all my dreams came true. We sat there in the garden of daffodils as he held that ring, which embodied exactly what we were between his fingers—two people who harbored so much darkness. The cushion-cut diamond was brilliant and so very black with intricate facets, encircled with tiny, sparkling white diamonds that also adorned the delicately thin platinum band.

But it wasn’t the ring, it was him. It was always him. The only one who was strong enough to love me for me. He took all my rot and all my scars and somehow made me feel like a true princess.

My whole life, I was waiting for someone to save me, and he did. I knew in that moment that I would never be unloved, I would never be abandoned, and I would never be left to fight the monsters alone.

“Yes!”

My eyes never leave his beautiful face as he slips the ring on to my finger, and once in place, I throw myself into his arms, knocking him back to the ground. And we kiss like no two people have ever kissed. I pour my soul into his mouth as his hands grip me tightly—we’re so needy for closeness.

But that closeness is severed the moment I hear the snick.

I jump back and turn in an instant to find myself staring down the barrel of a pistol.

“You move, I shoot her,” the man snarls to Declan. But I know Declan isn’t armed right now.

We’re helpless.

I’m frozen in place. I can’t even feel my heart beating anymore.

“This is vengeance. Your father f*cked with the wrong family the moment he handed my brother’s name over to the feds sixteen years ago. But because I’m sadistic, I’m going to give you the choice. Either you die or your father dies. You have five seconds.”

I turn to Declan, already knowing my choice as I mouth I love you through razor-sharp tears.

“Elizabeth, no!”

“Don’t hurt my dad. Kill me.”

“Eliz—”

BANG.





I LOOK UP into the brilliant, rich blue sky. There isn’t a cloud in sight as the sun shines down in rays of glittering warmth. I look around to find I’m surrounded by gigantic, lime-green canopies, but when I take a closer look, I realize they aren’t canopies, but instead, blades of grass.

Carnegie?

My eyes dart down to reveal my bright pink accordion body.

I’m back.

“Hello?” I call out, wondering why I’m all alone, and when I hear a rustling in the distance, I call out again, “Carnegie? Is that you?”

“Elizabeth!” he hollers back, but his accent isn’t right. “Elizabeth!”

No. It can’t be.

“Declan?” I scoot around to see a blue caterpillar emerge from behind a blade of grass.

“Elizabeth,” he exclaims in his unmistakable Scottish brogue as he inches over to me.

“What are you doing in my dream?”

“Dream?” His beady eyes drop in dread.

“What’s wrong?”

“Darling . . .”

“What’s going on?” I question in fear.

“You died.”

Horror fires off inside me as I look at him. “Then . . . Then what are you doing here?”

“Don’t panic.”

“Oh, my God!”

“We’re together, Elizabeth. That’s all that matters.”

“If I’m dead, then . . .”

“I am too,” he tells me. “He shot me right after he shot you.”

“NO!” I cry out, and he’s right here next to me, comforting, “It’s okay, darling. We’re still together. Nothing can hurt us now.”

“But you’re . . . you’re dead because of me!”

“No, baby. You made the right choice. That guy was there for revenge, and no matter what you said, he would’ve killed us anyway,” he tells me. “But look around you. This place is incredible.”

I stare at him in utter shock and ask, “How are you so calm?”

“We’ve both been here for a while, a few days or so, but you’ve been sleeping. I’ve had time to digest it all, but this place doesn’t allow stress to last very long.” He slinks his way closer, running his body along mine, and the moment I feel his touch, my heart settles peacefully.

“We’re okay?”

He nods and then tells me, “We’re not alone either.”

“You mean Carnegie? Did you meet him?”

“I did, but there’s someone else you’re going to want to see.”

“Who?”

“Your brother.”

“Pike?” I perk up in astonishment. “He’s here?”

“He’s out with Carnegie right now gathering berries.”

“You talked to him?”

“Yes, but don’t worry. We’ve had a lot of time to reach an understanding with one another.”

“He’s not a bad guy,” I immediately defend, and he stops me.

“I know that now. Come on. Let’s go find them.”

We maze around enormous flower stems and even more gigantic tree trunks as we scoot together, side by side. Every now and then Declan looks over to me and smiles, which makes me giggle. He’s right, the stress doesn’t last long. As I frolic along, I feel weightless, I feel exuberant, I feel . . . free.