“Save Cole,” Beckett told her as he straddled the motorcycle. “I don’t intend to put my life at a premium, so no matter what happens, just get him out.”

“Beckett wanted only to get his brother on the motorcycle and out of Dodge. He’d refused to discuss his own options, and Eve didn’t see a whole lot of opportunity for Beckett to get out alive—no matter how well she picked off the enemy. Beckett was ready to martyr himself for brotherhood and past mistakes.”

“Sometime later, Cole entered the situation. Beckett wasn’t sure if Blake had confided in Cole or if Cole just stumbled upon the ritual, but one night he joined Blake and Beckett. And then there were three.”

“Cole had made this commitment to save Beckett from hell. So he had to keep it, no matter how endlessly his soul cried in the corner of the church, begging and reaching for Kyle. At that moment he’d built a wall between her soul and his. Confusion turned to anger, which turned to panic as Kyle tried desperately to bring him back, to reconnect.She tried to kiss the truth out of him, but he turned his head and held her at bay. She fell to her knees, but he just shook his head. His future was predetermined. Even if banishing this newborn love sliced his heart in half, it had to be done.”

“But she’d spared him. She’d used all her deadly skills to save him instead. She’d spit on the memory of David and her baby to give Beckett a get-out-of-jail-free card.She surveyed her work in the Hummer’s headlights. Perfect. She’d done it so many times now it was second nature. Now I’m just a murderer, not an avenger. I’m just like him.”

“I’m taking this, Beckett. I did this. I could have just disabled them. But when I heard her say no I just…” Cole seemed resigned to his fate.“They were trying to rape her?” Beckett hit the wall with enough force to hear something crack—either a tile or a knuckle.“She said, ‘I do not want this,’ and they were all over her.” Cole glared at the men on the floor.”

“I will not let you lose your family. I won’t let it happen to you.” Eve’s hands circled his big, tense neck.He shook his head and let out a defeated breath. “I’m so sorry, Eve. I can’t even…Well, now I guess I can imagine what I did to you—just a little.”Her words had hurt him, knocked him down. That’s not what she’d intended. She would have to lay it out.“Beckett, I’ll save you from that fate because I love you. I love you.” She let her hands slip to his chest.His heart. His beautiful heart, surrounded by thorns, guns, and pain.”