Across the Vanishing Sky (Starlight Grove, #1)(108)

I knew Brae wanted that for herself. Worried she wouldn’t get her own happy ending. And with as much time as had passed, closure and giving Nova peace were likely the best Brae could hope for.

I slid my fingers through hers. “It helped me to give that closure to them.”

Brae studied me, putting the pieces together like she always did. “Because of your father?”

Shifting in my seat, I turned to face her. She was like the sun, warmth and hope and acceptance. I didn’t want to hide from that as I spoke my truth; I wanted to bask in it. And it was then that I realized I didn’t fear telling her. I didn’t worry she’d suddenly turn off that light. I knew she’d meet me in the darkness.

“My father stole these women’s lives—stole them from all the people who loved them. He left their families and friends with endless questions for years, wondering if the worst had happened. Maybe because it was the same with my mom, I kept thinking about being stuck in the in-between. Not knowing whether to hope or to lay to rest.”

“It’s purgatory,” Brae whispered, understanding the way so few could.

“Exactly.” The word was a pained rasp. “I wanted to end their purgatory. And it helped, giving someone closure. I wanted to do it again.”

“So you found another case.”

I nodded. “I found another case. And that led us to a different one. We just kept at it. Now, we have a website where people can submit information to get our help. We can’t help everyone, but we try. We just do it anonymously.”

Brae frowned. “Why anonymously?”

My lips twisted in a mix of grimace and grin. “You don’t think the media would have a field day if they found out the sons of Edmond Archer, the most prolific serial killer of the past two decades, ran some sort of vigilante missing persons group? They’d twist it like they twist everything. And all those eyes would be on us.”

“But—”

I didn’t let her get the sentiment out, whatever her argument would be. “We skirt what’s legal, Brae. If anyone finds out, Kol could lose his job. I could get arrested. And I don’t have a safety net from the bureau now.”

Understanding swept over her expression, and her fingers squeezed mine. “Thank you. For telling me. It’s safe with me. I promise.”

A little of the tension bled out of me. “I know it is.” And for the first time since my world had been turned upside down, I realized I trusted someone who wasn’t one of my brothers or Waylon. I’d given Brae all the ammunition she needed to end me. And she simply held it close like it was a treasure instead of a weapon.

“It’s why your brothers didn’t want to help me at first—because I know who you are.”

Brae didn’t miss a trick.

I grinned at her. “They’re helping now, aren’t they?”

Brae laughed softly. “They are. And I need to thank the one it cost the most.”

I loved that she got that, too. That Orion carried the heaviest weight of all of us. That reaching out for him cost more. But he was doing it anyway.

Three words danced in my brain as I stared back at Brae. Three words that had the power to change everything. But I swallowed them down. Because they scared the hell out of me, and I knew they’d send Brae running for the hills.

“Let’s try to avoid some bear traps, okay?” I said instead.

She grinned back at me. “Don’t lose a foot.”

“I’ll do my best.”

We climbed out of the SUV, and I took in my brother’s house—the one he’d built with the help of Waylon, Blaze, and the rest of their small crew. He’d slowly added on over the years, but he’d done it in a way that was seamless.

It had rough wood so dark it toed the line between brown and black. Weather had aged it in a way that gave the house character but also carried a rough warning. A porch wrapped around the entire house, and I knew it was where Orion spent most of his evenings.

The house itself was on one of the farthest edges of our property, right on the border of our ranch and the land that belonged to Aster’s grandfather. Out here, only animals and trees surrounded Orion. Just how he liked it.

“It’s beautiful,” Brae breathed as she took in the structure. “And those horses.”

“That’s Aster’s grandfather’s ranch,” I explained.

“They’re beautiful. Peaceful.”

“That’s why he likes it out here.”

“I would, too,” Brae said wistfully.

A flash of an image sparked in my mind. A house set on a meadow not far from here. Owen and Yeti running around a yard. Brae and I on a porch swing. It felt so real I could taste it. And then it was gone again. But I already knew I’d be telling the architect to add a porch swing to our designs.

I cleared my throat. “Come on.”

Brae glanced up at the sudden roughness in my voice but didn’t say a word. Instead, she followed me up the path. I pointed out little booby traps along the way. A trip wire that would have a sound grenade detonating. A hole in the walkway covered by false stones. And a bear trap covered by shrubs just beneath the porch in case someone tried to scale it.

Each revelation had Brae’s eyes growing wider. “You weren’t kidding.”

“No, I was not.”