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soul, and he gave up his life so I could live out a second version of mine. And now that I’m dead, locked in this semi-state of being known as a Treble, I made it a point to arrange for him to get one, too—sort of my attempt to thank him for all he’s done. Not that a Treble can ever replace his life. It’s just a frozen state of being that leaves you nothing more than a visitor. I’m not sure he’ll ever age. I know for a fact I come back and marry Skyla at some point, but Liam is most likely going to be a young stud for the rest of his days. You can’t age naturally in a Treble.
    “This is home,” I say, taking in the boats docked in the harbor. “And like they say, there’s no place like it.” An oversized raven glides overhead toward the sign reading Welcome to Paragon .
    “So why the harbor?” He gives a wry smile as a group of girls giggle their way to the ferry.
    “I wanted to watch Skyla take off for her first day of school.” I still don’t feel right about interrupting any bonding time she needs with Gage, but it’s been weeks, and I’m dying to see her. I hope to hell they’ve got their kinks worked out because I’d do anything just to be near her again.
    I glance around the lot and don’t see a sign of either his truck or the Mustang.
    “Hey.” Liam slaps me over the arm. “Check out that couple dry-humping in the back of the pickup.”
    I squint over at the all-too-familiar truck nestled off the grid with two bodies writhing over one another in the back.
    Shit.
    My heart stops. I can’t catch my breath.
    “That’s them,” I whisper, mostly to myself.
    “Get out.” Liam takes a few steps forward. “Look at him go. He’s going to fuck her right there, out in the open.” He cups his hands over his mouth and gives a whoop.
    “Would you shut the hell up? They can see and hear us.” I take a step forward. Unfortunately for me, I can’t seem to take my eyes off them. My body goes numb just watching. Gage may as well have parked that mega ton truck of his right over my heart. It feels as if the weight of the world has landed on my chest.
    I thought I could handle it.
    I thought I would be glad just to be near them—that I would be happy for them. It turns out it was nothing but the worst lie I’ve ever fed myself. To think I’d ever want to see Skyla with anyone else is a cruel joke to begin with.
    “Let’s go.” I start heading back toward the woods we came from.
    “Where to?” Liam is slow to catch up.
    “Paradise.”
    “Whoa.” He pulls me back by the shirt. “No can do, baby bro. That’s a one-way ticket, and I still haven’t had my first cheeseburger in almost twenty years. You owe me that much and maybe a small crowd of loose chicks. I’ve got a serious itch to scratch, if you know what I mean.”
    “People don’t say ‘loose chicks’ anymore. And if you even imply to someone of the female species that you’ve got a rash on your balls, they’re going to run like hell the other way. But it doesn’t matter because we’re not staying. We’re going to find Candace and tell her this was just a big mistake.”
    “You know I care about you. I don’t want to see you hurting.” He yanks me in by the collar, stern as shit. “But I’m not opposed to giving you a little tough love by way of my fist just to get the point across that we’re not going anywhere. You got that?” He pulls back his hand, locked and loaded and ready to bust a jaw to prove his point.
    Liam and I are a two for one deal. The only reason Liam gets to stay is because of me. I guess you could say he’s riding on my coattails quite literally, but I owe him that much, so I don’t mind.
    A violent wind whips through the vicinity, and we look in the direction of the unexpected gust.
    A woman appears in a dense, dark cloud. Her black hair flows like a necrotic river, her eyes knife through the darkness like shinning green lanterns.
    “Holy hotness,” Liam whispers.
    “More like holy