Fragile Sanctuary (Sparrow Falls #1)

by Catherine Cowles

My gaze caught on a massive flower bed. It was once a riot of color, full of penstemons, iris, and yarrow. Now, it was all just…dead. Like my mom. My dad. Emilia. And me, in a way. The me I’d been then had died right along with them, thanks to old wiring in an even older house. A home that had been so full of life and love once but had been left half-burned for the past fourteen years.

Shitttt they all died?!

Normally, I didn’t venture outside without a weapon. It was stupider than shit when there was a serial killer out there who thought messing with my life was fun and games. Someone who’d never been caught.

NEVER BEEN CAUGHT?

I stared at him as if he were an entirely different human than anyone I’d met before. “What was that?” Anson just stared at me, not answering. “You’ve been nothing but a grumpy asshole since I met you. But with him…” “Don’t do people. Love dogs.” And with that, he stalked back to the main site and his crew.

Real

Who was I kidding? Everything about her twisted my insides. Too beautiful. Too bright. Too kind. She even took in damn dogs.

W. H. I. P. P. E. D.

The urge to scoff was so strong. Friends wasn’t something I could be with Rhodes. For many reasons. A friend didn’t think about shoving the other against a wall and driving into them so hard they couldn’t breathe. A friend didn’t imagine wrapping the other’s hair around his fist as he fucked her mouth. A friend didn’t picture what the other would look like sprawled across his sheets while he ate her until she screamed.

DAMN ANSON

Followed by my friend, Lawson, who had refused to let me disappear from his life.

LOVE LAWSONNNNN MY BABEEEE

Shep’s gaze moved from me to Thea, who had taken a few steps back. His eyes roamed over her face, stilling on her mouth for a beat longer than necessary. “Hi. I’m Shep.”

Ok so Thea and Shep will be a thing

I peeked around Trace to find a deer-in-the-headlights Anson being dragged behind my eighty-three-year-old second grandma. His eyes were comically wide as he took in all the people. Keely climbed up onto a stool at the counter to get a better look. “Are you my supergran’s new boyfriend?”

LMAO

My back teeth ground together so hard I’d probably need a root canal. “Go back to your room,” I gritted out. A little furrow appeared on her brow. “Why⁠—?” “Because I’m holding on to my last shred of humanity, and if you stand here in those goddamn shorts for another ten seconds, it’s going to snap.”

ANSONNNNN

“What happens if you snap?” she whispered. “I fuck you so hard you’ll feel me for weeks. I’ll ruin you, Reckless. You think I can’t taint you with my pain and the darkness that lives inside me, but you’re wrong.” Defiance swept into those witch eyes. “One.” She licked her lips. “Two.” “What the hell are you doing?” I snarled. “Counting down to the snap,” Rho challenged. “Three.”

HELL YEAH

“Anson,” she gritted out. I couldn’t help it, I smiled. The feeling was so foreign my muscles barely recognized it.

AHHH HE SMILEDDD

As she moved in to grab the scruff of Biscuit’s neck, her eyes widened. “Oh, no. He’s pooping.” And then, I felt it.

ON HIM LMAO

“Can’t handle being away from you,” he croaked. “Especially not when you’re hurting.” He swallowed hard. “I didn’t want to care about anyone. But you shot that all to hell.” My heart hammered against my ribs, butterfly wings dying to break free. A muscle fluttered in Anson’s cheek. “You didn’t sneak past my defenses, you bulldozed them. Reckless to the bone. And maybe you made me brave enough to be reckless, too.” I threw off the blanket, moving before I even realized I’d commanded my legs to do so. I ran across the deck, jumping the two feet down, and hit him full force. He hauled me into his arms. I didn’t care that my muscles ached or that my head thrummed. Because Anson had me in his arms. And he was letting me in.

I love them actually

The crew was milling around the Victorian, ready to get started on the day. “They’re all seeing you come out of my house,” Rho whispered. They already knew I’d spent the night before, so it wasn’t exactly new information. I could pass it off as me looking after a friend when they’d been through something horrible, but I didn’t want to lie. Didn’t want to deny what Rho was to me. I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into me, my lips close to hers as I stared into those green and gold eyes. “No more hiding.” Those eyes flared. “No more hiding,” she whispered. I dipped my head, my mouth taking hers. My tongue stroked in, her taste exploding in my mouth. God, I could drink her in for an eternity.

IN FRONT OF THEM ALL

Rho’s focus was a little hazy as I did, making me grin. But when I stole a look at the crew, they were all frozen, staring. A few had slack jaws. Then one of them whistled. A few others hooted or shouted something I didn’t want to hear. Shep just stared hard at me. Shit. I owed him a conversation.

UH YEAH

“That was the station. We got a call about a dead body.” Rho sucked in a sharp breath. “Who?” “I’m sorry, Rho. It was Davis.”

Damn, he was an ass but he didn't deserve to die

A crack pierced the air. Like a clap of thunder but fainter. A gun. A bullet. I was already running, promises be damned.

KEEP YOUR ASS INSIDEEE

Stepping outside, I locked the door and headed toward the squad car standing sentry. As I got closer, light and shadow played over the open window. My steps faltered as my brain tried to compute the sight in front of me. A body was slumped against the wheel. And there was blood. So much blood. I turned to run, but it was too late.

OH SHITTTTT

“Hello, Rho.” The voice was familiar but deeper somehow, darker. I turned to find the source of the tenor, to fight, but I didn’t get a glimpse of more than a corner of a T-shirt before pain bloomed in my temple, bright and sharp.

IS IT DUNCANNNN

I turned so slowly, like I was moving through quicksand. Because it couldn’t be. His dark, shaggy hair was swept across his eyes as he looked at me with what could only be called reverence. “Silas?” I croaked.

WHATTT

“How?” I croaked. When we’d tried to find it, the manufacturer had told us it was out of stock. Anson’s deep voice cut through the quiet space. “I got a list of stores that carried the brand from the manufacturer and started calling. A place in Ohio had it. Ordered everything they had left.” My gaze moved to him. He wasn’t in dirty work clothes. He’d showered and wore a flannel shirt with…strands of pink in the patchwork of threads. “How many stores did you call?” I whispered. “Three hundred and thirteen.”

OH MY GODDDDDDD