I found a tray with a store-bought cake and placed it on the counter. Prying the lid off with one hand was more difficult than it should have been, but once I got it off, I eagerly dug into the buttercream roses on the top. It shouldn’t have been so satisfying to deface the cake, but I laughed to myself as the sugar entered my system.
Once I had my fill of the cake, I peeled my other hand away from my stomach and lifted the shirt. The warm presence of Ryder reached my back like the soft fingertips of a lover. I glanced back just as he reached to turn me around.
He took the shirt from my hand and lifted it. When he ran his thumb over the mess of blood on my stomach, I shivered. He let out a sigh that sounded very much like relief. When I looked down, I saw that the skin had healed over.
Ryder’s fingers dug into my hip as he held me. I watched him unclench every muscle one by one until his shoulders finally fell away from his ears.
“Nervous much?” I asked teasingly even though my hands were beginning to shake.
“Ness.” There was a tired note of warning in his voice that tried to tell me this wasn’t a joke.
If I couldn’t joke about being stabbed in the stomach, then what could I joke about? There certainly wasn’t anything funny happening.
I wanted to wind my arm around the back of his neck and pull him tight, but I yanked my shirt from his hand and turned to wash my hands in the sink. When I glanced at the cake tin, I noticed that there was blood on the lid. Well, no one would want that now. I might as well take it home with me.
“Where’s Candi? If no one is watching her, she might escape.” I finished washing my hands and wiped them on a towel.
After thinking about it for a heartbeat, I shrugged and used it to wipe my stomach clean as well. I didn’t hang it back up because that would have been rude. Instead, I threw it into the trash. Obviously, that was rude, too. It was just a little less gross.
“Candi seemed pretty distraught. She sat down and started crying after you left the room. I don’t think she’s in any shape to go anywhere.”
I gave Ryder a dubious look. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe him, just that…I didn’t trust Candi. Listen, those were two very different statements. Okay?
I marched back out into the dining room, completely expecting Candi to have disappeared. Instead, I found her in the chair that I’d pulled away from the table earlier. I rocked on my heels warily as I watched her shoulders shake. Her sobs were silent, but obvious, nonetheless.
Well, shit.
When I entered the room, she lifted her head a bit to peer at me over her fingers. For an instant, anguish darkened her features. Then it fell apart into grief all over again. Watching her breakdown made me more uncomfortable than I expected.
I wanted to be angry at her. She had just stabbed me in the stomach, after all. But this woman had lived through more than I could imagine. She’d married the love of her life only to find out that he was a psychotic serial killer and that her beloved son was on the same path. Now, one was dead and in the ground. The other would join him soon, if I had my way.
Her life was one that I couldn’t imagine, and I could imagine a lot of horrible things.
Candi didn’t apologize for stabbing me—not that I expected her to. Ryder placed himself between us again when he addressed her. She sat upright, rolled her shoulders back, and stifled another sob. When she answered, she kept her gaze on the floor.
“I have no idea where my husband is. He hasn’t contacted me.”
Ryder heaved a sigh. When he glanced in my direction, I could tell that he wanted to ask if I believed her. I had every reason to doubt her, but that sad, flat tone of her voice betrayed the pain she tried to hide.
I put my hands on my hips and cringed when I felt the new skin on my stomach pull taught. “Where does he go when he needs to hide? You’ve known about his…pastimes for a while now. I figure you’ve had to help him here and there. If he’s lying low, where can we find him?”
Candi’s brows gathered together in thought. When her lips twisted to the side, I knew she had an idea but that she didn’t know if she should tell us.
My lip curled in annoyance. Ryder touched my arm and the anger in me bled away. It rushed out and left nothing but exhaustion behind. I much preferred the anger. At least it kept me going. Exhausted, my limbs were heavy, and the road ahead left me even wearier.
Candi shook her head. She sat upright, her lips firmly pressed together, and looked at each of us in turn. “I can’t. I’m sorry, but I can’t. There’s nothing I can do to stop you, but I want out of this mess. He won’t let me go if I tell him where the two of you can find him.”
I tilted my head to the side. “You want out of the pack?”
Candi was human. She had every right to leave. She could go anywhere she wanted. Human/Shifter divorces happened all the time. Sometimes, the human partner would seek a witch’s help to remove certain memories—usually memories of the supernatural. Other times, the human partner simply moved on to a different supernatural lover.
I’d only ever known Candi as Alvin’s wife. I couldn’t imagine her any other way. Though I knew that was my limited view of the world holding onto a childish ideal, I couldn’t help this uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“You’ll be able to go anywhere and do anything without looking over your shoulder if you tell us where to find him,” Ryder said. “You don’t want to spend the rest of your life living in fear, do you? Let us help.”
Ryder had a point. Candi wouldn’t have to worry about anything if we dealt with Alvin. She would be free, once and for all.
Still, Candi held firm. She kept her lips sealed. She even crossed her arms over her chest.