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Eva shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position, and said, “We didn’t know he was sick. We haven’t seen Thomas Beck or his sons—”
She stopped short, causing him to look up. Her muscles tensed under his gaze as the truth hit her hard. He was one of the sons.
He cleared his throat. “When my father started getting sick, I was voted in as heir. Then, he had my training sessions doubled. Everything from hand-to-hand combat to weaponry. He wanted to make sure his heir would be able to not only survive but also lead the people.” Cillian laughed. “I would beg him to let me have more of a role in Stone Haven, but he wouldn’t budge. He just kept saying, ‘Your time will come, Cillian.’ He probably thinks I’ve been dead this whole time...”
He gazed into the fire, wondering what his father would think of the mess he had made. He should have dealt with General Rush sooner and protected peace between the settlements.
“You were trying to disarm it, then.” Eva’s voice cut the silence that hung between them.
“What?”
“The bomb that the general had planted. That’s why you were close to it when it went off—why you had the head injury and lost your memory.”
He nodded. “Yes. The soldiers I brought with me, Adam and Scott, tried to drag me away—they put themselves in front of me when it went off. T-they didn’t make it.”
Eva leaned her head back against the rock wall. “There’s one thing I don’t understand. Why would the general want to kill the people in the caravan? How would that bring him closer to ruling the settlements?”
Cillian raked his fingers through his hair, then said, “I didn’t really understand that myself until the other day when he ambushed me in the woods. I don’t think he planned on killing everyone. He either wanted someone left to use as ransom—someone important to Everwood, say a daughter to their leader—to leverage Samuel into giving over Everwood, or use someone from the settlement that was willing to help him get close enough to Everwood without getting shot.”
She pressed her hand against her forehead as if it pained her. “Derek.”
With a shake of his head, he grunted. “Derek must be seriously delusional if he thought handing over Everwood in exchange for you was going to win your love. I had a feeling about that guy.”
“I don’t think he did it just for me.”
“How so?”
Eva rubbed her eyes. “The feud, it was started by someone firing a gun—chaos ensued, each side blamed the other. You must know the story?” He nodded, and she continued. “Derek, he—he fired that shot. He told me that day you found him in my room. It’s possible he was trying to set things right, in a psychotic sort of way.”
Cillian felt heat rush to his face. “You mean to tell me this whole time, almost a decade of feuding between the settlements, was all over that asshole firing a gun? Eva, how many lives have been lost over the years?”
He watched a shiver sweep through her as she said, “I know.”
Was she cold? He stood and walked over to her side, and sinking to the ground, he tried to wrap an arm around her, but she flinched.
“Angel, I would never hurt you. You know that, right?”
“That’s what I used to think,” she said as her eyes bored into his.
“Nothing has changed. I’m still the guy you’ve known over the last two months. I just have my memories of the past now.”
She shook her head. “No, you’re . . . different. Everything is different now.”
His gut swirled with unease as the wind gusted through the cave, causing the fire light to bounce across her face... that beautiful face.
“You are safe with me. I can promise you that.”
Her brows furrowed, and she bit the corner of her mouth. She seemed conflicted as she considered his words.
With slow motions, he moved his arm once more, tucking her in the crook of his arm. This time, she didn’t protest. Her lavender scent surrounded him as her head eased against his chest.
“Now get some rest,” he said.
He watched her eyes shut and her breathing slow. A coyote howled in the distance as another gust of wind twisted the roaring fire. The snowstorm raged outside, but it was the storm they were about to face that made his blood run cold.
Chapter 18
Eva gripped the bark of an oak tree as she peered around its base into the open landscape of the mountain. The sun was shining, making them visible to their lurking enemy.
