Wordlessly, Houston lifted his phone. He’d been the only one smart enough to grab his.

I started to pace as he dialed Braxton. Emily didn’t say a word, and surprisingly, neither did Loren. I was still walking back and forth when my gaze caught the damage on the wall near the entrance.

Was that a hole?

Just as I headed toward it to inspect it closer, the sound of a phone ringing filled the room.

It sounded like Braxton’s.

“What the fuck?” Loren barked.

Turning to face them, I found Emily holding Loren at gunpoint while waving Braxton’s phone in the air.

“As I was saying,” she taunted, “I’m not going anywhere.”

The look Loren gave me told me he was more annoyed at the inconvenience than afraid for his life. “I told you not to marry her.”

“Shut up! Just shut up!” Emily screamed. “This is all your fault! You ruined everything!” She walked up to him with a vicious smile. “So how about I kill you first? You can join your little slut and rest in pieces.”

The irritation left’s Loren’s face until there was nothing left.

Only the sheet of ice that seemed to cover the room.

“Where is she? What did you do?” Houston asked her calmly.

I knew he was anything but calm. We were all just biding our time. The problem with Emily was that she was too damn sure she already had the upper hand. Gun or no gun, there were three of us and one of her. She’d turned her back on me, and now we already had her surrounded.

Loren would take that bullet if he had to.

For Braxton.

For us.

I just prayed it didn’t come to that.

“In hell by now, I suppose. I bashed her skull in and left her bleeding.”

I felt my knees buckle at her announcement.

The breath that rushed out of my chest caused me to tremble violently.

What Emily was telling us couldn’t be true. No way Braxton was dead. It wasn’t possible. My heart wouldn’t continue to beat even for a moment after hers stopped. I believed it so much I held on to that irrational hope.

“Sweet ride she was driving too,” Emily continued to taunt. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind that I borrowed it considering she’s dead and all.”

“Emily,” Loren said with a humorless chuckle. He smiled at the ceiling, and I knew he was close to losing it. “Pull that trigger right now, and hope you kill me.”

I knew it wasn’t simply a threat.

He wanted to die.

If Braxton were truly dead, neither of us would live longer than it took to get our revenge.

“You should kill us all,” I told her. She turned to face me like I knew she would. The gun was no longer on Loren. It was pointed at me where it belonged. “If you don’t, there will be nowhere you can run. You thought I was relentless before? I won’t stop, I won’t rest, and I won’t eat until I’ve buried you, bitch.”

“Tell us where she is,” Houston advised her. “Give yourself a head start.”

“I don’t believe you,” she told me while ignoring my friends. “You won’t let them hurt me over her. It’s obvious you love me more.”

I tilted my head to the side. There wasn’t anger in my tone when I spoke. Just genuine bafflement and curiosity. “Why is that?”

“Because you would have never shared me with them. I make you jealous. She doesn’t.”

“Yet he wouldn’t hesitate to push you in front of a train,” Loren deadpanned.

“Not to mention,” Houston added, “I would rather stick my dick in a garbage disposal.”

She switched her aim to Houston, who didn’t flinch, but I did. I didn’t want my friends to be hurt over my mistakes. I might have already lost Braxton. I couldn’t handle losing them too.

“I didn’t love you.” Emily kept her gun trained on Houston as she cut her gaze toward me. “I was in love with filling a void, and you were the only one willing. You used me, but I used you too,” I said, recalling Braxton’s confession about Jacob Fried. I now understood why she wasn’t convinced she was wholly innocent. Emily and I had destroyed each other in vain, searching for what was never there. “I lied, I stole, and I hurt people for you, but it was never enough because I wasn’t enough. There were limits to what I would do for you, and you were too empty to fill my cup.”

Emily’s hand shook when she aimed the gun my way again. I gave Houston and Loren a look not to say another goddamn word. I couldn’t risk them. I wouldn’t.

“And you think Braxton will complete you?” She scoffed with a sardonic laugh.

“She already has.”

That made her smile drop.

I could see the hysteria in her eyes rising even as she fought to retain control. “You gave me limits, but how far are you willing to go for her, Jericho? Are you willing to die?”

She thought she was taunting me, testing me, and putting me in my place. Emily truly didn’t know me anymore.

“Yes.” There was no hesitation. “Tell them where to find her. Let them go, and then pull the trigger.”

I kept my gaze on Emily, but I could see Houston and Loren shift. I knew they were looking at each other and silently forming a plan. Because they hadn’t given in to the inevitable yet—the truth that there was only one way we were getting to Braxton.

One of us would have to go down.

“I cannot believe you,” Emily said as tears, real tears, fell. “I was there for you! She wasn’t! You were supposed to love me.”

“That’s not her fault, Em. It’s mine. I should have waited. Braxton was out there, but I was too busy pretending with you.”

“Pretending? Oh, yeah? Well, she’s dead now, so you can go be with that bitch.”

I wasn’t looking at Emily when she aimed for my heart. I was staring at my friends and memorizing their faces as they rushed to stop Emily before she could pull the trigger.

Too late.

Where was I?

Everything hurt. Everything.

I slowly lifted my hand and whimpered my frustration when it seemed to take all of my energy and concentration too.

Had it always been this hard?

I didn’t think so.

My eyes were still closed, and I didn’t want to open them. I couldn’t be sure of what I’d find. I was slowly becoming aware of all the telltale signs—the beeping machines, the antiseptic, the bed underneath me, the bandaging my stiff fingers found wrapped around my head, and the sensor clamped on my finger.

Hospital.

I was in a hospital.

And I couldn’t remember why.

I searched for my name. Another sound of distress, louder now, ripped from me when I couldn’t find it.

“Baby?” a voice croaked. It was masculine, cultured, and full of disbelief. Or was that hope? He sounded a little groggy, too, like he’d been sleeping. Had I woken him?

I know you.

But I didn’t know me.

I recognized his voice, but I couldn’t remember his name.

Or mine.

“Braxton?” This voice was different—melodious and strong. I recognized him too. He’d make a wonderful vocalist.

And now I knew my name.

Braxton.

I was Braxton.

How did I get here?

Why was I here?

I listened to the chairs scrape the floor when they hurriedly rose, and then their soft footfalls coming closer as I waited for the answer that never came. I fell asleep before they could reach me, and I welcomed the darkness.

Being awake was just too hard.

A baby was crying.

I frowned and flinched when the sound reached a high-pitch. It pierced my bruised skull and already aching brain. I couldn’t stop my groan.

“Why don’t you take Braxen out into the hall until he settles?” my mother suggested immediately after.

My heart started racing at the sound of her voice. I quickly grabbed for her name and rejoiced when it came. Amelia Fawn.

My mother’s name was Amelia, and she was here.

“Okay,” my sister said with a reluctant sigh. I heard her stand and quickly leave with her baby.

Rosalie.

My baby sister had come. She’d had her son a few months ago, and she named him after me.

I remembered.

Or at least…I was starting to.

I still didn’t know why or how long I’d been here.

My lips quivered at the possibilities. My muscles tensed, ice crept up my fingertips, goose bumps peppered my skin, and my heart pounded so hard it made my chest hurt.

I couldn’t be sure of what any of it meant, though.

Because the phantom smell of copper that always told me when I was afraid was missing. Nothing lingered in the air as my body tried to warn me of my rising panic.

Nothing at all.

So I passed out again.

“Braxton?” my mother called out to me. She was still here, and I was once again wondering how long it had been.

I didn’t answer right away.

I was too busy trying to recall basic motor functions like opening my eyes.

They’d never felt so heavy.

Eventually, I managed to force my lids to part, only to snap them shut again to shield them from the bright light.

“I’ll get the doctor,” my father announced before leaving the room.

He was here too? I thought he hated me. I didn’t know how I felt about his presence because there were no tastes or smells to tell me.