Page 37 of Burned

Mine.

“Continue,” I say, feeling more connected to the present than I have since I saw that laptop screen.

Rafe’s eyes drop briefly to my hand, then to Erin’s face, then back to the laptop.

There’s an apology in his voice.

“There’s more.”

“Of course there is,” Blaze mutters.

Bayne stands at the window, arms still crossed. His steady gaze is still scanning his woods.

Erin looks up at me and whispers, “I thought there were only three points of contention.”

Rafe says, “Confirmation.”

All I can say is, “I’m sorry.”

I lean down, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and kissing the top of her head, not giving a damn if I look soft in front of these men.

Rafe clicks again.

This time, a message fills the screen.

No image.

No signature.

Ten words.

Your past will rise from the ashes like the Phoenix.

The room goes colder than the woods.

Erin reads it.

Once.

Twice.

Then she looks up at me. “What does it mean?”

I don’t answer.

“Is she coming here?” Her voice is so small it hurts.

Because I don’t know.

I have no idea what I lost in that fire, what any of these messages mean, or who is coming.

I don’t know whether Isobel escaped hell or helped build it. I don’t know if the woman in that image is a survivor, a traitor, or one of Carlos’s knives wrapped in old skin. I don’t know if Carlos is building an army off this island.

And Erin is looking at me like she is waiting to see whether my past outranks her future.

And all I can do is wrap my arms around her tighter.

She lets out a little gasp, touching my hand.