Page 45 of Bound By Blood
The look he shother almost made her squeak. While she was fairly certain hewouldn’t kill her or throw her to the Savages, she was certain hejust contemplated doing both.
Okay, sothatwas the too far button, she decided.
“So, you stoppedkilling because of a mouse?” she asked instead.
When his gazeswung away from her, her shoulders slumped. Her head would remainintact, and he wasn’t abandoning her to the fate of the wolvesbehind them.
“It was alsobecause I remembered who I was, who Ineverwanted to be butbecame. We are always evolving and changing in this world, and Istarted to do so again.”
“That we are,” shemurmured.
Though everyoneshe’d ever known hadn’t gone from raising baby mice to slaughteringhumans and beyond to…this. Whateverthiswas forhim.
She decided tochange the topic. “You said you believed humans murdered yoursister. What happened?”
“It turns out shesurvived. I learned that yesterday.”
“That’sgreat!”
“It’s good she’salive.”
Caro wasconsidering clapping and dancing for him, and he acted as excitedas someone who’d stepped in dog puke. “You don’t soundthrilled.”
“I’m happy she’salive.”
He steered heraround a pack of kids running down the fairway with theirbedraggled parents trailing them. One of the kids bumped intohim.
“Sorry,” thelittle hooligan muttered before racing away.
Saber almostsmiled but buried it. Their enthusiasm for life and constant joy inthings adults had stopped caring about brought him a small bit ofhappiness. He squashed it.
“It must have beengreat to see her,” Caro said as she glanced over her shoulder butdidn’t see one of the women. “Where is she?”
“To your right,about fifty feet, near the ticket booth.”
Caro had no ideahow he knew that when his head didn’t move, but there she was,exactly where he said she would be. This man could make her entirebody burn with a kiss and chill it to the bone.
“What did you sayto your sister when you saw her?” Caro asked.
She had to know ifsomethinghad pierced the armor he’d constructed aroundhimself. If anything could do it, it would be the resurrection of adead sister, wouldn’t it?
“Not much. What isthere to say? We don’t know each other anymore.”
At first, Carothought he must be joking, but he didn’t seem to have a sense ofhumor. “Were you close to each other when you were younger?”
“Very close. Shewas my little shadow.”
Something aboutthe way he said this saddened her. He had no idea how to deal withhis sister now, but he couldn’t hide the love in his voice when hecalled her his “little shadow.”
He preferred to beapathetic now but wasn’t, at least not entirely. That didn’t meanhe was someone to cozy up to, though. Like a cactus, he’d probablystab her a thousand times over if she got too close. She had toremember that if he tried to kiss her again.
“So, you found outthe sister you believed dead was still alive, and you didn’t sayanythingto her?” Caro asked.
Saber stared aheadas he recalled the moment it clicked into his brain that he waslooking at a ghost. For a minute, the pure joy had been so brightand shining that he briefly recalled what it was like to be a childagain, with endless days of laughter, exploration, and joy ahead ofhim.
And then reality,that heartless bitch, slapped him in the face with the truth. Hewas not a man who could, orshould, be loved. He wasincapable of loving another and having the kind of relationship heonce enjoyed with Brie.
He’d been finewith that for years, then Brie returned, and now he had Caro toprotect, and they were both making him nuts. When he glanced atCaro, the memory of their kiss returned, along with the solace shegave him.
