Page 104 of When the Smoke Clears

“This is bear country, Isla. You’ve been a city girl for too long.”

She laughs before planting a quick, playful kiss on my lips.

While there isn’t a defined trail near my cabin, there are areas where the thicket thins—paths I’ve carved out over the years that now bear the mark of countless footsteps.

With my fingers intertwined with hers, Isla and I weave through the dense trees, surrounded by the symphony of nighttime creatures and the soft glow of the moon. “I had forgotten how beautiful this place can be at night,” she marvels, her eyes wide and mouth slightly open as if seeing it anew.

“Did you miss it?”

She pauses before replying, “I couldn’t allow myself to miss it. If I stopped and thought about everything I left behind, I wouldn’t have been able to move forward.”

“And now that you’re back?” My voice breaks on the question.

“Now that I’m back, I understand that Wildhaven isn’t just in my blood—it’s the marrow of my bones, the pulse in my veins.” Her fingers dig into my arm. “Being with you is part of who I am.”

The confession hits me like a physical blow. My chest constricts, memories flashing of her walking away, the hollow ache that consumed me for months. The thought of her vanishing again—claimed by San Francisco’s lights or whatever darkness stalks these woods—makes my heart hammer against my ribs.

I won’t survive losing her twice.

“Don’t go back,” I growl. “I know it’s selfish, but I want you here. With me.”

I brace for rejection, for hesitation. Instead, her eyes blaze in the moonlight, wild and certain.

“I’m staying, Luke. This second chance? It’s ours to seize or to squander. And I’m done squandering.”

I crush her against me, one hand tangling in her hair as my mouth claims hers with desperate hunger. This isn’t just a kiss—it’s a vow, a binding oath sealed with the taste of her lips and the thunder of our hearts beating as one.

“Will you do something for me?”

No hesitation. “Yes.”

I wince as I move my injured arm, fumbling with the clasp of my watch. Isla’s eyes follow my movements.

“Wear this watch.”

Her laugh bubbles up, soft and light. “This is the ugliest engagement ring ever, but okay.”

“I can track you with this in dead cell zones. We use them for search-and-rescue operations. I just—” My voice catches.

Her fingers brush against mine as she takes the watch, slipping it over her slender wrist. The band hangs loose, rotating freely even at the tightest setting. She holds her arm up and smiles.

“Imagine how nice it’s going to be when we can be together without worrying about being killed.”

An ironic chuckle leaves my throat. “What will we possibly do with all of our extra time?”

“I can think of a few things,” she replies, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

“You’re lucky my shoulder is injured, or we’d be doing a few things up against that tree.” I grin and wiggle my eyebrows, the movement making her laughter ring out, bright and infectious, as she tosses her head back.

“We should head back,” I say, glancing at my phone’s screen, which stubbornly shows only one flickering bar of signal.

The moment our feet touch the wooden planks of the front porch, my phone buzzes to life as the signal bars shoot up to full strength. Two messages pop up instantly. The first is from my mother, letting me know that my father won’t be coming back until tomorrow morning.

That’s unsettling, but I’ll deal with it later. I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to deal with him tonight anyway. The second is from Doc Stevenson, asking me to call him back. My heart rate skyrockets as I punch in his number and pace around my living room, turning on every possible light until he answers. “Hello?”

“Hey, Doc. It’s Luke.” My eyes squeeze tight for the briefest of moments after releasing a deep breath. “You got something for me?”

“I do, Luke. I’m afraid it’s not much, but the lab sent the results back.” He clears his throat. “First, Gretchen Tanner. No anomalies—everything in her bloodwork and tissue samples points to natural causes. Coronary artery disease.” My chest tightens—natural, my ass. With the MDMA and beta blocker gone by now, of course, the lab sees nothing, which is precisely what her killer was counting on.