building across the way. Lexy is talking to him, but his full attention is locked in my direction.
I close my eyes and listen to the thunder roar over Paragon like a lion on fire.
“I love you,” Gage whispers directly into my ear.
“I know.” I can feel it, deep, in the marrow of my bones.
***
As soon as I get home, my mother whisks me away downtown. Turns out I’m magnificently late , as she phrased it, for my appointment with Dr. Booth.
Branches whip across the window of his office as we sit across from one another with matching folded hands, somber expressions, which I’m sure reflect boredom more than any other emotion.
“There’s rumor of a killer roaming free on the island.” He leans back without perforating his bleak expression. Dr. Booth is the psychiatrist I pretend to see in order to appease my mother and Tad.
His dark mat of hair, coupled with his squared off glasses gives him a comical quality I can’t quite pinpoint.
“Are you the killer, Skyla ?” There’s no change in his affect. He may as well have asked if my mother and I plan on picking up fast food on the way home.
I don’t say anything, don’t dare posture myself, or so much as blink.
His fingers press together at the tips as he rocks back into his seat. “Thought so.”
***
I’m still reeling from my appointment with Dr. Booth. He saw right through me. It’s like I have the word killer etched on my forehead or something.
I run my fingers over the tiny paper butterflies pinned to the wall as I wait for Logan. I remember how Gage made them come to life for me, how he let one go and it flew to the ceiling like magic.
Logan shows up close to ten-thirty. For a while, I thought he wasn’t coming and started to fall asleep on the floor.
“Hey, sorry I’m late.” He gets on his elbows and lies down beside me.
His cologne smells fresh as he brushes my lips with a quick tender kiss.
“I had someone quit tonight, so I had to close.” He gives my back a gentle rub. “Heard Gage made his move. He came home and threw the L word around all over the place.” He looks startled, afraid, as though it rocked his very existence to witness it.
I don’t know what to say to that. Gage is diving in deep, and he’s starting to pull me down with him.
“Anyway, I’m not here to talk about Gage.” He lets out a heavy sigh. “Just wanted to let you know that I found out a little more about Holden Kragger .”
“What?” I’m thirsty to know anything.
“Their family owns a coffee shop out by Rockaway Point. They were always there. That, and the fact he and his brother were infamous for the way they treated girls.”
“I heard Nat is dating his brother.”
“Sort of. Lots of people are dating Pierce.” His fingers twitch in air quotes when he says the word dating . “Turns out, there’s an entire list of girls from East he toys with on a regular basis.”
“Oh,” I say, just taking him in. It feels strange with Logan sometimes. As if all this time I’ve spent with Gage has severely punctured something in our relationship.
“Is that all you have on Holden and Pierce?” I ask biting the tip of my finger then tracing his lips with it.
Logan leans in and gives a slow lingering kiss. His features soften as he pulls away. He studies me with an infinite sadness masked by the weakest smile. “One more thing. I’ve been combing through the copies from the book of Counts with my uncle. We’re able to see some kind of hierarchy. It has a list of regional leaders and locations in the back. There’s an infrastructure in place, that’s for sure.”
“Locations? Like Paragon?” A spike of adrenaline shoots through me.
“Like Paragon,” he says without blinking.
“Who’s in charge of the Countenance here?”
“A man named Arson.”
“Arson? What the hell kind of name is that?”
Logan shakes his head just barely. “Father of Holden and Pierce.”
“Oh no, I killed a Count.”
“Oh
I close my eyes and listen to the thunder roar over Paragon like a lion on fire.
“I love you,” Gage whispers directly into my ear.
“I know.” I can feel it, deep, in the marrow of my bones.
***
As soon as I get home, my mother whisks me away downtown. Turns out I’m magnificently late , as she phrased it, for my appointment with Dr. Booth.
Branches whip across the window of his office as we sit across from one another with matching folded hands, somber expressions, which I’m sure reflect boredom more than any other emotion.
“There’s rumor of a killer roaming free on the island.” He leans back without perforating his bleak expression. Dr. Booth is the psychiatrist I pretend to see in order to appease my mother and Tad.
His dark mat of hair, coupled with his squared off glasses gives him a comical quality I can’t quite pinpoint.
“Are you the killer, Skyla ?” There’s no change in his affect. He may as well have asked if my mother and I plan on picking up fast food on the way home.
I don’t say anything, don’t dare posture myself, or so much as blink.
His fingers press together at the tips as he rocks back into his seat. “Thought so.”
***
I’m still reeling from my appointment with Dr. Booth. He saw right through me. It’s like I have the word killer etched on my forehead or something.
I run my fingers over the tiny paper butterflies pinned to the wall as I wait for Logan. I remember how Gage made them come to life for me, how he let one go and it flew to the ceiling like magic.
Logan shows up close to ten-thirty. For a while, I thought he wasn’t coming and started to fall asleep on the floor.
“Hey, sorry I’m late.” He gets on his elbows and lies down beside me.
His cologne smells fresh as he brushes my lips with a quick tender kiss.
“I had someone quit tonight, so I had to close.” He gives my back a gentle rub. “Heard Gage made his move. He came home and threw the L word around all over the place.” He looks startled, afraid, as though it rocked his very existence to witness it.
I don’t know what to say to that. Gage is diving in deep, and he’s starting to pull me down with him.
“Anyway, I’m not here to talk about Gage.” He lets out a heavy sigh. “Just wanted to let you know that I found out a little more about Holden Kragger .”
“What?” I’m thirsty to know anything.
“Their family owns a coffee shop out by Rockaway Point. They were always there. That, and the fact he and his brother were infamous for the way they treated girls.”
“I heard Nat is dating his brother.”
“Sort of. Lots of people are dating Pierce.” His fingers twitch in air quotes when he says the word dating . “Turns out, there’s an entire list of girls from East he toys with on a regular basis.”
“Oh,” I say, just taking him in. It feels strange with Logan sometimes. As if all this time I’ve spent with Gage has severely punctured something in our relationship.
“Is that all you have on Holden and Pierce?” I ask biting the tip of my finger then tracing his lips with it.
Logan leans in and gives a slow lingering kiss. His features soften as he pulls away. He studies me with an infinite sadness masked by the weakest smile. “One more thing. I’ve been combing through the copies from the book of Counts with my uncle. We’re able to see some kind of hierarchy. It has a list of regional leaders and locations in the back. There’s an infrastructure in place, that’s for sure.”
“Locations? Like Paragon?” A spike of adrenaline shoots through me.
“Like Paragon,” he says without blinking.
“Who’s in charge of the Countenance here?”
“A man named Arson.”
“Arson? What the hell kind of name is that?”
Logan shakes his head just barely. “Father of Holden and Pierce.”
“Oh no, I killed a Count.”
“Oh
Similar Books
