Chapter 43

Belle lets out a satisfied sigh as she snuggles next to me in the bedroom of the family jet. I don’t think my pulse has settled until we’re in the air, leaving New York behind.

She almost died in front of me yesterday.

If I hadn’t arrived just then, hadn’t seen her from afar and asked my driver to drop me off so I could surprise her by being there early, she would’ve gotten hit by the car.

And she would’ve been gone. Once again, I would’ve been helpless to stop it.

Chills run down my body as I hold her tighter in my arms, needing to feel her warmth, her chest rising and falling.

I’ve gotten too complacent, too addicted to her love. I’m tempting fate again, and this is a sign from the curse. The Grim Reaper is lurking nearby, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

But I don’t want to give up what we have, this connection I’ve never had with anyone before.

Fuck.

“Maxwell,” she mumbles and buries her face in my chest. She inhales deeply and sighs, “Home.”

The backs of my eyes burn as my pulse wreaks havoc in my ears, my heart feeling like it’ll explode and give up on me.

I can’t lose her. I can’t lose this. There has to be some way around this curse. Once we get back to the city after our trip, I’ll search the library to see if there’s anything I’ve missed over the years. I’ll reopen the autopsy files of the most recent deaths and see if there’s anything that was missed before.

Anything to give us hope.

Closing my eyes, I listen to the soft sounds of her breathing, the whirring of the jet in the background as we head to Innsbruck, Austria for a quick weekend trip I’d planned as a surprise ever since Lana reminded me I should take my wife on a honeymoon.

Before the incident yesterday, I was excited about the trip, about seeing her eyes light up when she sees what I’d planned for her, but now I’m just relieved.

She’s alive and in my arms and we’re escaping the city that has cursed my family. Who said the curse is just contained in New York City?

I shove the annoying thought away. For now, I’ll hold on to this trip as an escape from everything haunting us.

I’m calm. I’m at peace. Everything will be fine. I repeat the mantras as memories of my conversation last night with Elias rise to the forefront.

“Tinted windows. That sounds suspicious,” Elias murmured. “I pulled the camera footage and there were no plates as well. I have my team tracing the car’s movements via traffic cams to see if we get lucky and can identify the driver. You’ll be the first to know if anything comes up.”

I swallowed, my hand fisting my phone in a tight grip. Fucking helpless again. A sitting duck.

“Elias, could it be the curse?”

He knew about the curse. He told Ryland and me before, not that we were surprised. Elias Kent made it his business to know the secrets of important people. Rumor was, he amassed his power through bartering information and eliminating threats.

The silence was heavy on the line before Elias replied, “I’ve long given up on believing in a higher power or supernatural entities. Curses fall into that realm for me. But I have to say between the fall at the shelter, the frequent dizzy spells, all the other seemingly unrelated events you’ve told me about, and now, with the car, something is wrong. ”

He heaved out a sigh, and I could imagine his brows pinched, his face hidden in the shadows. “If I were you, if this woman was important to me, I’d stay away. Do anything to protect her. Then I’d raze this earth to get to the bottom of this and kill anyone who tried to hurt her.” His voice deepens, and for a moment, I wonder if we’re still talking about my situation.

He clears his throat and continues, “Something or someone obviously has ill will toward Belle, and it all began after she married you. So, curse or not, until the threat is eliminated, I’d recommend leaving her.”

Leaving her.

His words echo in my ear as I reflect on his sage advice. It’s rational. Logical. The right thing to do. But why does the idea of leaving her make me want to claw at my scars, opening the outside wounds so it bleeds the way I’m bleeding inside? And what if we couldn’t find a way around the curse? This separation would be permanent then.

The answers don’t come, and I fall into a fitful sleep until the flight attendant rouses us a few hours later for landing. Soon, we’re whisked off to a luxury cabin in the Austrian Alps two hours from the city.

Belle grins as she hops off the car in front of the cabin, her nose tipped pink from the brisk winds. Luckily, she didn’t hurt herself yesterday, and other than a bruise or two, she’s the picture of good health. She looks like a snow bunny, jumping up and down with an abundance of energy, all warm in her thick, pink puffer jacket, the kind with the faux fur around the hood because I know she’d never wear real fur.

My chest warms from looking at her. God, I don’t deserve her. Shaking my head in amusement, I chuckle before unlocking the door and stepping inside the quaint space, already heated by the owners when I called them on our way over.

“This place is gorgeous!” she exclaims and immediately goes to the roaring fireplace to warm her hands.

The cabin is full of history and character. There are tall, arched windows in the living room, which let in some natural light from the winter skies. A vintage armchair and a plush sofa center the room, which is also lit by a large wrought iron chandelier with candle-like lightbulbs. The wood crackles in the fireplace, the embers lending an orange glow to the dim space.

She spins toward me and asks, “You never told me why you whisked me halfway across the world.”

Smiling, I walk toward her and tug her to me. “I owe you a honeymoon.”

Her tawny eyes flutter and her lips part. The enticing blush is back on her face and I laugh softly, dipping my head to kiss those sweet lips, savoring the softness of her skin and the addictive taste of her.

Perhaps here, far away from the estate and the city, I can pretend the curse doesn’t exist.

Just for a little bit.

Just so I can carry these memories when we return, when reality catches up to us.

But the curse, aren’t you afraid? The insidious voice asks the question that has been echoing in my brain on repeat.

The answer is yes, I’m deathly afraid, but I’m a weak man.

I just desperately want these stolen moments, these breathtaking fragments that’ll keep me company when I have to lock away my heart again, chaining myself in the prison I was born in.

Unless I can find a way out of this curse. I have to find a way to break the curse.

“So, what are our plans?” Belle pulls away and asks.

I brush my hand over her hair, dusting away the snowflakes that have gathered on her dark tresses.

“Anything we want, really. Here, we are Anna and Silas again, just you and me. No press, no work, no worries.”

No death. Or at least, that’s what I’m trying to tell myself.

“There’s only one place I’ll take you the day after tomorrow, but the rest of the time is free for us to do whatever we want.”

She beams, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “You, mister. You surprise me. ”

My heart jolts as I remember what she told me at Nellie’s. I want to be the Silas she saw that night, the one who surprised her and made her smile like she had everything she could possibly need in the world.

But I know I’m just delaying the inevitable, that every moment she’s with me, she’s in danger. Until I find out how to break the curse, I have to do the right thing to save her, even if it kills me to do it.

“Do you regret getting into my car then? Since I’m Mr. Bad News ?” I smirk, throwing her words that night back at her.

Belle grins, and I fight the urge to kiss her again. If only I could bottle this moment to keep with me always.

She winks. “No, Maxwell. Never. There’s nothing in this world that can ever make me regret knowing you and being with you.”

My breathing quickens and my resolve fails as I crush my lips to hers again.

I hope that’ll still hold true later when we get back to the city.

I’d recommend leaving her, Elias’s voice whispers in my mind. If I need to leave her to protect her while I find the answers, I know it’ll still break her heart. I’ll be taking the choice away from her again and she’ll hate me for it.

And I don’t know what I’ll do if she ever looks at me with hatred in her eyes.