The Chasm by Bronwyn Hall

Author:Bronwyn Hall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Pty Ltd
Published: 2023-06-16T00:00:00+00:00

14

I watched his face. The flicker of confusion, then the tightness of suspicion. Then his expression went slack from the shock of understanding what I might be alluding to.

‘The second last …’ he repeated. ‘Who was the last?’

‘Will Hoffman.’

We stared at each other for a few more seconds, then, when I couldn’t bear the silence, I bent and gently stroked Angel. Her body was limp; the fact it was warm the only indication she was still alive.

I didn’t hear Ethan come up behind me, but when I stood, his arms were around me. My eyes filled with tears—some of the grief of the last decade catching up and taking me by surprise.

‘No, please don’t be nice to me,’ I spluttered.

‘Why not?’

‘It’ll make me cry. I h-hate crying.’

He responded by turning me around and folding me in against his chest. I put my hands over my face and buried it against his shoulder, breathing in his brandy and cinnamon scent.

‘Crying is fine,’ he murmured.

Of course, that just made me nearly dissolve into a full sob. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath, narrowly avoiding even more of a disaster. Ethan’s arms around me were warm and some of his strength seemed to flow through them and into me.

He didn’t say anything while I got myself under control, but when I pulled my hands off my face and straightened up, he let me go.

‘Sorry. I’m okay now,’ I said, and met his eyes, which were dark with concern. ‘Uh, I don’t really know where that came from. It’s … There are some people I don’t like thinking about.’

He nodded and looked like he was going to say something, but he turned away and went to pour two more glasses of wine. He brought them over, and in silent agreement, we sat down with our backs against the wall, Angel a fragile casualty between us. I was still feeling fragile myself, but not enough that I’d cry again. Crying had never achieved anything when it came to Graham Gillies.

I knew I had to explain some things to Ethan, give him enough information so he knew what he was dealing with, but I didn’t know where to start. I was also hamstrung by all the stuff I couldn’t say. In the end, he was the one who spoke first, and his question wasn’t one I’d been expecting.

‘Andy, how dangerous is it for you to be here in the valley?’

My response was automatic. ‘It’s fine.’

‘But … you seem to know what happened to Eddie—and Will, maybe. That doesn’t make you a target?’

His hesitancy underlined how unreal this all was. How unreal to him that the shadows of murder might be crossing his path. In so many ways, it was nearly impossible to comprehend and for a sane, logical and, most of all, kind person like Ethan, it would be impossible. But not understanding could result in terrible things for him and his family. In relation to Angel, it may have already.

I made a decision.

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