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He lets out a sigh. What I am asking him to do is hard, knowing Ezra won’t be well received here. “Okay, I’ll do that for you. I’ll bring him back. And if I run into Nigel?”

I flick my eyes up at him. I want Nigel dead, but he’s proving to have nine lives. And considering he’s the cause of all my torment, I don’t want him hurting one more person I care about. “If you see Nigel, promise me you will run. Don’t interact with him, don’t engage, just fucking run.” From what I’ve witnessed and experienced the past couple of days, Nigel is the most dangerous person I’ve ever encountered. He’s turned into something none of us understand, and every single person left alive has good reason to be terrified.

Chapter Nineteen

Micah

Ibrought Naomi back to the cabin for one more night. She wouldn’t speak to me through the long, cold walk home. Even as I helped her over the dark patches in the rock, her iciness ran deep. It appears I have finally succeeded in breaking Naomi Wilson—traumatizing her is more like it. I’ve never heard her be so quiet.

As soon as James and Jade had arrived, I quickly had led Naomi out through the plane’s back door, ensuring she wouldn’t have a chance to scream or be noticed by them. Trying to explain why I had a knife to Naomi’s throat would have been extremely difficult in that moment.

Her face is as pale as the moon as she steps inside the cabin and curls up on the bed. “Don’t touch me, Micah,” she snaps, her voice breaking. “Don’t come near me.”

I run my hand through my hair, taking a moment to remember the bond we formed as childhood friends. She’s not an enemy nor a threat. She’s just Naomi shaking like a leaf because she fears me. If Ezra had done anything to London, she’d be dead.

I sit down next to her. “I’m going to take you to Jade, Serena, and the others tomorrow. This is over with me, and you’ll never have to talk to me again.”

She doesn’t respond because there is nothing more to say. Our friendship is broken; it always was. I’m not that guy for her, and I never have been. And I’m doing a terrible job being the guy I want to be for the one girl who has ever truly meant anything to me.

I don’t crawl in next to Naomi, even though my body is dead tired. I won’t sleep tonight anyway. Not that I ever really do, and especially not with Ezra lurking around. I don’t know what transpired on the airplane after I left, but I plan to find out as soon as the sun rises.

I head outside, letting the wooden door creak behind me. There’s a tease of pink and green light in the sky as the Northern Lights break through the stars sparkling across the sky. I make a small fire and sit next to it, placing my head in my hands. I try not to avert my gaze, knowing it’s a sign. Maison loved these lights. He used to go and chase them—a benefit of living in a northern climate. He’s with me right now, and I bet if I looked hard enough, I’d see him watching me.

I finally stare at the sky and at the stars behind those celestial lights and think of every way I’ve failed the few people I love in this world. Maison’s presence is all over me, hovering around me and suffocating the air I breathe. His judgment is pouring in from the other side.

“Yeah, I know, brother,” I whisper. “I fucking know… Now, get out of my mind.”

He has no business being so self-righteous. He killed someone after all. He took a life. He fucking died and left me. The devastation of that is unforgivable. He can rot in hell.

I’m not a killer. I’m not a monster.

I whisper those two phrases to myself over and over as the fire dwindle to flickering embers and ashes. She was right there… I fucking had her within my grasp, and I let her slip. London’s eyes were glazed over, and she looked at me like I was a stranger.

I sit in silence for hours without moving in the cold, frozen and still as the wind cuts through my hood and bites my face. My mind is in a prison, the guilt eating me alive for my heart being the one that’s beating right now. My throat tightens… and for nearly an hour, I can’t breathe.

It’s a hint of light in the sky that shakes me and pulls me back to reality. The morning breaks through the clouds, and I rise, head inside, and nudge Naomi awake. She is sleeping soundly, sprawled out like she’s on vacation—like I didn’t nearly slit her throat eight hours earlier. “Get ready. It’s time to go.”

Without uttering a single word, she rises from the bed and begins cramming her stuff into her bag. Her demeanor has noticeably shifted since last night as she appears more collected and composed.

She finally makes eye contact with me. “They aren’t going to want you there when they find out what you did to me last night. I’ll tell them what you are, Micah.”

A smile hints at my lips, and I open the trapdoor in the floorboards. “Yeah? We’ll see about that.” Her eyes widen as I pull out the medical kit and some canned food and stuff it into my backpack. “This is my peace offering, and they’d be stupid not to accept it. They have no food either, Naomi. It’s my peace offering to you too. Take what you want.”

I’m not worried about Naomi seeing my supply stash. It doesn’t matter anymore. I won’t need it because I won’t be here next winter to eat it.

“How do you have so much left?” she asks as she leans down, cautiously grabs a few cans, and places them in her bag. She doesn’t take it all, and she doesn’t question why I purposely leave some behind.

“Because I know how to live off the land,” I answer. “Nature has everything you need to survive.”

She waits with her arms crossed and her lips pursed as I finish packing and head outside. She follows me as I scan both directions of the dark forest, half expecting Ezra or Nigel to pop out. A fresh breeze hits my skin.

I head south along the creek. She says nothing to me, still frightened or scared but quiet, which is what I always prefer when I’m with Naomi. That’s why I used to just shove my dick in her mouth. However, that tactic wasn’t an option this time around.

After about an hour of walking at a steady pace, she stops in her tracks. I ignore her and keep walking until I realize she isn’t planning on moving until I acknowledge her.

“What is it, Naomi?” I ask with an edge of irritation in my voice.

She bites her bottom lip. “What if they don’t want me here? I haven’t seen them in months.”