The air felt electric thick with the scent of rain and betrayal.

Raven’s voice came out like a broken whisper. “You… killed my father?”

Jaxon didn’t look away, not even for a heartbeat. “It’s not what you think.”

“That’s exactly what people say when it’s exactly what I think,” Raven shot back, her hands shaking. She hated that they were shaking. She hated that she still couldn’t stop looking at him, desperate for him to deny it.

The woman still dripping stormwater ...