He nodded slowly. “I can’t lie.”
She knew that, but…
“How?” The words barely made it past her heavy tongue.
She had so many questions she wasn’t even sure which one she was asking.
How was this possible? How come she didn’t know? How come she was just finding out about this now? How many times had Jelisette lied? How was Brynleigh so stupid?
Pity flickered through Ryker’s eyes.
That was worse than everything else. Worse than the hurtful comments. Worse than his obvious hatred and anger. She didn’t want his pity.
She wanted his love.
He cleared his throat and slid the phone back over to himself. “These photos came from a security camera in the Southern Region. They were pulled as part of an investigation into a murder that occurred around the same time.”
Brynleigh stared at the empty table, trying to wrap her mind around this.
“I’ve never met that man before.”
How could she not have met her Maker’s Bound Partner? It seemed inconceivable.
“No, you wouldn’t have.” Ryker’s voice hardened. “Emery Sylvain is dead.”
CHAPTER 5
Living with Half a Soul
Brynleigh froze, her heart a booming drum as Ryker’s last words echoed in her mind.
Dead, dead, dead.
For the longest moment, she couldn’t breathe, let alone think. Dead? How could he be dead?
When her mouth started working again, she breathed, “Impossible.”
It couldn’t be true. Bound Partners didn’t up and die on their other halves.
All vampires were immortal unless killed, but if a Bound Partner perished, the surviving partner would be living with half a soul.
A Binding was more than just a physical connection. It wove the tapestry of the partners’ lives together until they were so interconnected that separation was impossible.
A frown tugged at Ryker’s lips as he navigated through the phone.
“I assure you, it’s possible. Look,” he said gruffly, his voice far harsher than it had ever been in the Choosing.
Anger radiated off him like steam. Once again, he slid the phone over to her, careful not to touch her hand.
The moment she saw the screen, it was like someone threw her headfirst into a lake of pure ice.
She shivered, goosebumps erupted on her flesh, and her stomach turned. She wanted to tear her eyes away and look elsewhere, but she couldn’t make her body function.
The blood she’d consumed soured in her stomach, her heart pounded, and her shadows screamed. Their cry was haunting, loud, and unending as they throbbed in her veins.
She’d seen death many times before, but this…
Oh, gods. This wasn’t just awful. This was gruesome.