Into the Light (University of Isles #2)

Prologue

PROLOGUE

The Next Day

“I’m going to fucking murder her.” The words played on a loop in my head as I forced my eyes open. The dim room was illuminated by the soft daylight, signaling a new day. A sudden movement in front of me caught my attention as I sat up on the couch.

“Step back, now.” The voice was urgent and commanding, prompting me to snap, fully awake. Throwing off the blanket, I took in the scene before me. The memories of last night rushed back, flooding my mind with a mix of emotions.

My chest wanted to fold in on itself at the memory of getting that call, then Maddy’s cold words hit me along with Rain telling me what had happened. I felt as though I was suffocating, trying to get air, but nothing was there to fill my lungs.

“What’s going on?” I asked, piecing together the situation and the ache in my heart. It was as if reality was a cruel dream that wouldn’t let me escape. Rain had positioned himself in front of me as a barrier from four angry men shouting at me. His black hair was tousled, his bright-blue eyes filled with worry and anticipation. His hand lifted, almost like he wanted to touch me but pulled away quickly when he realized what he was doing.

“Ember, please, just quiet down.” Rain’s words cut through the chaos, his tone a mixture of concern and frustration.

“It’s her fucking fault,” one guy screamed in my direction as another one reached for my arm. I’d seen him around before, but this time he had a gun tucked into his waistband, so as his towering body came closer, I moved away to keep him from grabbing me.

I moved as far back onto the couch as I could, then realized there was an angry mob coming for. . . me? They piled in from the back door.

What. The. Fuck?

“What is happening?” I bellowed a little louder while dodging someone’s hand. I leaned to the side, so the hand grazed over my forehead, then I blinked a few more times, willing myself to get my bearings straight. Someone pushed Rain away from me, but he rushed over to my side of the couch, and most of the mob were waving around weapons.

“Your fucking brother killed him.” M-my brother? There was no way Walsh was involved. He promised.

As I let my guard down, a hand grabbed my arm. Their expressions were full of anger, most of them with Glocks in my face.

Bile rose in my throat as someone dragged me off the couch. I yelled bloody murder for someone to save me, for Rain to save me, but he never came.

“He didn’t. I swear,” I cried out. “Please. Stop.”

Walsh promised me, and my brother was anything but a liar. He was a cold and calculating asshole, but never a liar. This was not what I expected to happen the day after my boyfriend . . . I couldn’t finish that sentence. This was not what I wanted to deal with, as every bone in my body felt brittle, my heart felt tattered, and my brain was complete mush.

This was not happening. Why couldn’t life be gentle? Why couldn’t things go to plan like I had expected them to? Fuck. Why was there so much fucking death in a life that I, too, didn’t want to live anymore.

“Stop. Immediately.” I glanced back at Rain, and the hand released me as I shuffled away on the floor.

Rain’s eyes, red-rimmed and swollen, told me he hadn’t slept last night. He looked as broken as I felt. The cracks inside his heart were as earth-shattering as the ones scarring mine.

“Rain . . .” I looked at him with pleading eyes.

“Get up, Ember,” he demanded while looking around the room.

“They’re coming back from the rock.” Quite a few more people trickled in from the back door, all angry based on their tones, and whispered conversations about Ash’s scene.

I shook my head and unsteadily got to my feet, rushing to hide behind Rain, but he moved to the side, so I was exposed to everyone in the room. I was still in my clothes from yesterday, my hair wavy from the rain.

“My brother promised—”

“Not now, Ember,” Rain said, and I crossed my arms over my chest. It was a demand to shut up, either for my protection because we were still around everyone, or because he didn’t want to hear it. He looked at everyone and told them to fucking leave.

“If we fucking kill her now, they will never know. We can say it happened with Ash,” one guy said, and my heart dropped.

Killing me? The thought never crossed my mind.

“We need her to leverage the answer to what happened to Ash. She stays alive!” Rain boomed, quieting the hushed voices.

“Ash would want her here,” he whispered, turning toward me. That sentence was meant for me, yet my stomach kept churning, the contents threatening to spill over.

I turned toward him, reaching out to see if he’d take my hand. My need for comfort was so intense and he was the only person around, but a shift happened between us. I could feel him retreating. Everyone in the room left, leaving us alone.

“Leave,” he demanded, and as the events over the last few hours came rushing back, tears welled in the rims of my eyes. The comfort Rain had shown me last night gave me the impression we could get through this together, but the person in front of me was different.

“But . . . Rain . . .” I couldn’t find the words I needed to string a sentence together.

“There is no ‘but Rain,’ Ember. I need to figure out what happened with Ash.” No longer was he the guy who held me last night while I cried in his arms. He’d somehow been replaced by the bitter anger I’d been well-acquainted with since knowing him.

There were two sides to Rain. The person who brought me a phone when Ale took mine, then the Rain who ignored me as if I was repulsive. Right now, he was the latter.

“You told me what happened . . . I thought h-he—”

“I have to figure it all fucking out, Ember. Leave this fucking house now.” His tone was frigid. I’d always known Rain to be cold and impenetrable, but this was different.

I turned toward the door to walk out, and the hole in my heart grew and the thoughts in my head swirled around. What if Walsh didn’t keep his promise or my dad double-crossed me? What if I was always supposed to be a pawn, like my mother had been?

As the thoughts spiraled out of control and I moved toward the front door, my knees buckled, and I fell to the floor.

Ash was happy, aside from our having broken up . . . er, at least that was what I thought. I never once thought he battled with any inner demons. He never mentioned feeling sad or depressed, aside from growing up without his mom. This had to be more than Ash jumping off a cliff. There had to be more to the story, and I needed to figure it out.

“I’ll come with you,” I cried up at him.

“You can’t.” He reached down, and I stared at his empty hand as if he was holding the world full of lost promises between the spaces of his fingers. I shook my head before pushing myself up, refusing to let him help me.

“Please.” Rain’s face fell even further, and he ran his hands through his dark hair.

“Ember”—he closed the distance between us, his voice low—“you need to leave right fucking now because when Ash’s dad gets here, you don’t want to be here.” I understood why he was pushing me out.

I feared Ash’s dad. He wanted revenge, and this would fuel his anger even more. The air was suffocating. I needed to call Walsh or go home.

But fuck. Where was home? Without Ash, I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to feel at home again.

“Will you call me with updates?” Rain looked up at the sky as rain fell on the otherwise sleepy town.

“Go back to the city, Ember. Go to Dansport. Take Walsh.”

That wasn’t what I asked.

“Please, Rain.” I needed to know what the plan was and needed to figure out what happened to Ash.

“Go.” Rain’s hand landed on my lower back, and there was something warm, comforting about the gesture.

“I don’t want to go with my brother. If he had anything to do with this . . .” I looked around to make sure no one could hear us.

“Shit,” Rain muttered, his frustration palpable. Taking my hand in his, he led me out of the house, skillfully maneuvering us to the back. He handed me the keys to a Jeep that bore a striking resemblance to Ash’s, with subtle differences: distinctive chrome hubcaps, a unique license plate, and an almost pristine condition that stood out among the other cars in the driveway.

“Take my car. Do not go to your apartment. Go straight to Dansport, and don’t stop until you get to this address.” Rain handed me a small folded-up paper. I opened it to an address, with a scribbled door code underneath.

“What is this?” Rain gripped the back of his neck and looked around.

“An apartment Ash got for y’all. It’s all secured and in your name, so untraceable to us otherwise.” An apartment? But if he was planning on . . . I couldn’t say it. Why would he get a place for us to live?

While Rain explained, the salty tears rolled down my cheeks, over my lips, and seeped into my mouth. I swallowed . . . hard. “Ember, fucking listen to me. Do not stop for anyone.”

I nodded.

“My stuff . . . Ash’s . . .” The words weren’t coming out in any sensible way. My entire life was being left behind. My entire potential, my future, my past. It was all just . . . gone.

“I will get it delivered.” I heard an engine approaching. “Please, Ember.”

I wasn’t sure he realized he was crying, at least not until I lifted my fingers and wiped away the lone tear falling down his cheek. We were both so fucking broken by losing someone we loved so deeply.

“Okay,” I whispered, sliding into the driver’s seat of the Jeep, and left Isles behind. The road ahead seemed endless, winding past the town’s stone archway. As I drove, the shock that had shielded me receded, leaving behind a torrent of emotions. The pain hit me with a force I couldn’t evade, overwhelming me.

The weight of Rain’s plea echoed in my ears. I wiped away tears and focused on steering as I navigated the descent down the mountain toward the city and the apartment.

“In and out,” I muttered to myself, my mind haunted by Ash’s final moments. Questions crowded my thoughts, each more painful than the last. As I drove, the city lights twinkled in the distance, so I knew I was close to Dansport.

I followed the road indicated by my GPS, leading me to a street that seemed like the outskirts of Isles even though we were in the city. It appeared isolated, with only imposing black gates signaling the presence of residences. However, these were not ordinary apartments; instead, they were expansive properties with grand houses adorning them.

“It must be at the edge of this area,” I said aloud to the darkness.

The GPS turned off, telling me I’d arrived at my destination.

Welcome home, I guess?

How had I arrived so quickly? I typed in the gate code, driving toward the building at the end of the driveway. It was tucked close toward the edge of the mountain. I drove past the gate toward . . . a giant ass house.

If you could even call this a house. It was a giant cabin, with wooden beams on the outside like the real life-version of Lincoln logs. I stopped at the end of the driveway and got out as the oxygen left my lungs. In a city full of high-rises and mega mansions, of course Ash would find the one house that reminded us of Isles.

I looked up at the sky and imagined Ash was here with me. The way he would say, “ Mi sol, this is for you .”

I’d look back at him and be entranced by the way the corners of his lips would twist into a smile. He would wrap me in his arms, and we would sit here staring at the oasis he’d built for us in the city.

“Why?” I cried, dropping to my knees to the earth beneath me. This pain was nothing I’d ever wish upon my greatest enemy. My phone rang incessantly in the car, but nothing in that moment mattered.

Because all I needed was Ash, and he wasn’t coming back.