Chapter 48 Matter

• The slow walk up the stairs was excruciating as I fought the urge to run. I didn’t want to alert my sister or cause suspicion. I didn’t utter a word and neither did she. The conversation with Father hung in the air between us. Would Shane hate me as much as I hate myself for what’s happened to him? I didn’t deserve to, but I wanted nothing more than to see him, feel him, kiss, and hold him. I couldn’t pay any attention to him downstairs and it gutted me. It took everything to resist running to him, checking if he was okay, and wrapping my arms around him. Doing so would have signed his death warrant.
• Father wanted to see if I’d have a reaction to any of them. He wanted to see if I would give away any hint of emotion to try and weed out if there was any merit to the rumors. He wanted to know if the man I loved was among the men on their knees. I wouldn’t give it to him. I knew he would have killed them all. I still felt a hint of relief knowing that Shane had lived. I feared he would have killed them all anyway but when he didn’t, I was so relieved I could have cried. My hands trembled and I squeezed them closed tightly to stop the movement. Ava stopped in front of my door and turned to me.
• “Your suspicions are going to get people killed if you don’t stop,” I said.