🗝️Detective Ryker Viltarin must uncover dark secrets before he loses not only his heart but also his life.🗝️
You're on your own, far from home
The wind is blowing in the top of the pines
A gloomy sky where the sun never shines
Deep...
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The large grandfather clock ticked, and the pendulum swung back and forth and mixed the >>tick<< and >>tack<< with the crackling of the bonfire.
"Evelyn..." she finally whispered after what felt like an eternity and lifted her head to look at him. "Kaylen is no more. I ... I've left this life and everything I was behind, and I don't want to be like this anymore." She wiped the red curls from her face, and Ray could see her fingertips brushing over the burn scar for a second longer. "Besides, everyone here knows me as Evelyn. This here in Silvershore ... Was supposed to be a fresh start, and I'm not going to let Dylan ruin that."
Her gaze flickered to her fingers, still encircled by his in her lap. Then she lifted the one she'd just been stroking her hair with.
Ryker froze like a deer in headlights—and that's how he felt. Unsure whether he had made a serious mistake, he had only two options: Jump on or stand still.
But his unease vanished as quickly as it had come when Eve slid around on the sofa and turned to face him fully. Ryker stared at her hand. The little fingers that had held and comforted him.
And he? Creeped and lied to her. Yes, he deserved to be slapped. He'd put Eve and Liam in danger and betrayed them. Ray would have understood if she had beaten him until he was powerless if only to vent her disappointment and pain. He would have put up with it.
But what did she do instead?
Eve raised her hand and placed it against his cheek. Although her fingertips felt cool on his warm skin, they sent tiny, hot sparks through his body. A tingling sensation settled in his nerves and seemed to travel straight to his stomach. He had been a soldier—a seal—with a firm stance and a steady hand, without hesitation, and calm even in the crossfire. So how could this woman upset him so easily?
Ray's breath caught in his throat as Evelyn's features, which had been hard until a moment ago, softened a little.
A faint smile played around her soft lips as she stroked her fingers over the rough stubble of her beard. The cold in her eyes gave way to a warmer glow. It was like a sunrise in an icy winter when the honey-gold light caught in the last remnants of snow.
