Chapter 8

“My sister is dead and it’s all my fault.”

My heart sunk.

“What?” I whispered, shock beating a steady drum in my veins. The butterflies in my stomach completely died at his words.

Chase drew in a shaky breath that echoed in the suffocating silence.

“Two years ago, I...I lost my little sister in a rogue ambush and it was my fault. I wasn’t there and she was attacked because of me...” His glassy stare was fixed at a point over my shoulder, lost in a distant memory. A memory that obviously still haunted him.

“Because of you?” I drew out the question.

My palms felt clammy where they gripped the counter top. All he was giving me were vague statements and my mind worked overtime trying to fill in the blanks.

A bit louder, I asked again, “What do you mean it was because of you?”

Chase broke out of his trance and reared away from me. Hurt began to bloom but I squashed it out quickly, my feelings were inconsequential at the moment.

“How else?” He asked with a dry chuckle that was completely de