How the hell are you going to do this?

Ask the corpse to kindly bury itself?

Goddamn tears sprang to my eyes. In the days since we’d crashed, my temper shielded me from the helplessness inside. But here, in the middle of the night, in the middle of a forest, in the middle of nowhere, I couldn’t hold it back anymore.

I needed help. But was too bloody stubborn to ask for it.

I sniffed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

Do. Not. Dare. Cry.

My eyes burned but I managed to shove aside my need for someone, anyone, to tell me things would work out and keep it together.

I bent over to grab Akin’s wrist.

“Stop.”

My torso twisted toward the soft command. My leg screamed at the extra weight I placed on it.

Then anger blocked everything out but her.

Estelle.

The woman who’d blatantly disobeyed me.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I spun around, doing my best to shield her from the body.

Her gaze zeroed in on him anyway, her face contorting. “You were gone when I woke up.”

“That was the plan.”

“You can’t do this on your own.”

“Watch me.”

“That’s the thing. I don’t want to watch you. I want to help you.” Drifting closer, the moonlight cast her blonde hair into platinum. “Don’t ask me to walk away. Not when I just saw—”

My blood stopped flowing. “Saw what?”

She swallowed. “Saw how much you’re hurting...inside as well as out.”

I turned my back on her. “You didn’t see anything. I’m fine.”

She didn’t say a word. My scalp prickled from her presence.

Straightening, I growled, “Go away, Estelle.”

“No.”

“Do it. Before I get pissed.”

“You’re already pissed.”

My growl became a snarl. “Estelle...goddammit.”

Let me shield you from this. Let me take the horror so you don’t have nightmares.

I already suffered bad dreams from what I’d done. This was nothing compared to those.

She came closer, placing her hand on my shoulder. It could’ve been condescending but the way her eyes filled with understanding turned it into a caress. “Listen to me. I’m not leaving. You can swear and curse but the fact is, you can’t make me leave.”

My hands curled. “I could with force.”

“You could.” Her fingers massaged my flesh, granting comfort and relief to crash-bruised muscles. “But you won’t. Because as much as you don’t want to admit it, you need me. You can’t do this on your own, and I don’t expect you to.”

She gave me the sweetest smile. “Please...let me help.”

I had two choices.

One, continue to waste night hours and my dwindling energy on forbidding her. Or two, accept that I did need help and trust she had what it took.

She knew my answer before I spoke. Knew in the way my shoulders slumped, my eyes closed, every ounce of anger drained into the dirt.

“Thank you, Galloway.”

My eyes snapped up. “Never thank me for letting you do this. Never, do you hear me? This is a thankless task and shouldn’t be done by anyone, let alone you.”

She touched my hand wrapped around my crutch. “Nothing is thankless. No matter what it is. Someone always appreciates it.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is.” Her voice was a soft melody. “A rubbish collector, for example. A thankless task for him. Dirty, smelly, a stigma attached to his profession. But every bin he collects, every removal he does, a house owner is grateful. They might not consciously thank him, but they are thankful.”

I huffed. “They’re alive to appreciate it. Big difference in this case.”

“How so? Conner and Pippa aren’t aware of what you’re doing, but they’re grateful regardless. You’re saving them heartache and pain. It’s best that they don’t know because their thanks is worth a thousand more because you did the right thing.”

I couldn’t win with her. She was so wise, so calm. The exact opposite of who I was. Was it possible to develop such intense feelings for someone so quickly? Was it our situation—stuck on an island and all alone?

Either way, I never wanted to be apart from her.

I reluctantly gave in to her reasoning. “I accept what you’re saying but you got something wrong.”

“Oh?”

“You said me. What I’m doing.” My heart beat faster. “You mean us. What we’re doing.”

Her smile glowed like the moon. “I’m glad you’ve come around. Now...let’s get started.”

.............................

I swayed on the beach, holding my crutch with all my strength because if I didn’t, I’d splat head-first into the sand. Estelle stood beside me, our skin on fire with proximity but not touching.

We didn’t say a word as the tide slowly crept higher the brighter the sky became.

Sweat had drenched and dried on my skin. Estelle’s had done the same. Her hairline was damp, her cheeks flushed, her movements achy and overused. She’d done so much. I would never be able to repay her.

Her suggestion had saved me work I couldn’t have accomplished on my own, and together, we’d ensured the island was dead free and the children would never see what a child should never see.

Amelia and Duncan Evermore were almost gone. We couldn’t give them the send-off they deserved, but they would always be remembered.