The Mercenary and the Mortician (The Silent Hollow, #1)

by Alexandra St. Pierre

“Ryan, there are a lot of things I regret doing in my life… Before I met you, I was lost.” His chocolate eyes were swimming with tears as he looked up at me. His pained expression cut me to my core, and it took everything in me not to launch myself into his arms so I could try to kiss his pain away. “There’s one thing I’ll never regret, though, and that’s forcing my way into your life. Ryan, you make me a better man. You’ve shown me that there’s good in this world and that I have a place here that doesn’t revolve around violence. “I spent most of my life believing that I was a devil. Some sort of evil demon cursed to bring nothing but pain to this world… And maybe I am, in some ways.” He chuckled at the frantic way I began shaking my head at his words. Making a gentle ‘shhh’ sound, he stopped me from interrupting him. “But you taught me that even the devil is just an angel that fell to the ground.” Tears were streaming down both his cheeks as he fought to get his words out. “You picked me back up and reminded me how to fly, baby.” He was staring up at me with his heart on his sleeve and stars in his eyes, and I could barely see him through all the tears in mine. “I escaped that basement when I was ten years old, but I never knew the sun could shine so bright until I met you,” he whispered.