Chapter 260 Chapter 260

Chapter 260 Chapter 260
Emma woke to voices arguing.
Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, her body heavy and disconnected. She was lying on something soft, a couch maybe, no it was a bed, and there were people nearby. Too many people. Their voices overlapped, some angry, some confused, all of them too loud.
"—need to give her space—"
"—supposed to be dead, you were declared KIA—"
"—calm down, let him explain—"
"—three months, you bastard, three fucking months—"
That last voice was Grayson's. Emma forced her eyes open, blinking against the light. She was in a bedroom, Honey and Grayson's guest room, she realized. She had spent more than one night here after… after…
The voices were coming from the doorway. Grayson stood there, his body blocking someone from entering. Beyond him, she could see faces, Wyatt, Nate, all of them crowded in the hallway.
And Daniel.
Daniel was there, trying to push past Grayson, his face desperate.
This wasn't a dream.
Emma sat up too fast, the room tilting sideways. Hands immediately steadied her, Maggie on one side, Honey on the other. Lauren and Prue stood nearby.
"Easy," Maggie said quietly. "You fainted. Just breathe."
"He's—" Emma couldn't finish. Couldn't make the words come out. It couldn't be real. It just couldn't. This was her wishful thinking.
"We know, Emma." Prue's voice was gentle.
"He's dead." Emma heard herself say it. Heard how flat her voice sounded. "He's been dead for three months. The Marines came. They told me, remember. There was a memorial. I was there. I—I said goodbye. He's dead."
"Emma—" Daniel's voice cut through everything else.
She looked at him. Really looked at him. Standing in the hallway, Grayson's hand planted firmly on his chest, keeping him back, wearing a suit. His hair was longer than she remembered. There was a scar on his jaw that hadn't been there before. They didn't make mistakes anymore, did they? This couldn't be Daniel… Her Daniel.
He looked older and harder, as if the three months had aged him years. No, it wasn't him, right?
But there stood a man who could be his twin brother. She knew Daniel was an only child.
"No." Emma shook her head. "No, this isn't—you're not—"
"I'm here." Daniel's voice cracked. "I'm real, Emma. I can explain everything, but I need you to—"
"You're dead!" The words exploded out of her. "You died! They told me you died! I arranged your memorial! I stood in front of your empty casket and I—" Her voice broke. Because they had told her there wasn't enough left to bury. A sob broke from her… it didn't even sound human. "You're not real. This is a breakdown. I'm having a breakdown. None of this is real."
"You're not having a breakdown." Maggie's hand was on her shoulder, steady and warm. "He's really here."
"That's not possible." Emma was shaking now, her entire body trembling. "Dead people don't come back. They don't just—you can't just—"
"Let me in." Daniel was practically begging now, trying to get past Grayson. "Please, let me talk to her. Let me explain—"
"You stay the hell away from her." Grayson's voice was cold. So angry, Emma had never heard him sound like that before. "You were dead. We went to your memorial. If you didn't lose your memory, then there is no explaining you gutted her. You put my sister through hell. There is nothing to explain. I could kill you, then at least we'll have a body this time."
That made Emma flinch. She couldn't help it. Not having Daniel's body the first time had made it harder for her to accept that he was totally gone.
Daniel's hands were clenched at his sides. "I can't—I need to—"
"You need to back the fuck up and start talking." Grayson's voice didn't rise but somehow got more dangerous. "Because right now, the only thing stopping me from putting you through that wall is the fact that my sister is in shock."
Nate moved then, positioning himself beside Daniel. "Everyone needs to calm the fuck down."
"Don't tell me to calm down." Grayson turned his glare on Nate. "You're military. You know what a KIA notification means. You know what that does to families. So, either you explain how the hell this happened, or I'm calling the police because this—" He gestured at Daniel. "To have this fucking asshole removed."
"It was a cover." Daniel's voice was rough, desperate. "They faked my death. It was the only way to—"
"Faked." Emma heard herself say the word. Felt it sit on her tongue like poison. "You faked your death." It hurt that he had allowed her to go through that. Knowing what it would do to her. So it hadn't been amnesia keeping him away. He would have known what she was going through and let her suffer.
"I had to." Daniel's eyes found hers across the room. "Emma, I had to. If I hadn't—"
"You let me think you were dead." Her voice was still flat. Emotionless. Like she was watching this happen to someone else. "For three months. You let me grieve you. You let me—"
"I know." Daniel's face was wrecked. "God, I know. But I had to keep you safe. I had to—"
"Safe from what?" Grayson demanded. "You put my sister through hell, you fucking bastard."
Daniel's jaw tightened. "From my commanding officer. Colonel Vance. He was running a theft ring out of our unit. Stealing military equipment, selling it on the black market. I found out. Confronted him. And he threatened Emma's life."
The room went silent.
Emma stared at him. "What?"
"He had someone following you." Daniel's voice was shaking now. "Taking pictures. He showed them to me. Said accidents happen to pretty girls in New York. A mugging or a carjacking. Said if I didn't keep my mouth shut, you'd become a statistic." His hands clenched tighter. "He meant it, Emma. He had the connections, the resources. He would have killed you."
"So you faked your death." Nate's voice was carefully neutral. "To protect her and take him down."
"It was the only option." Daniel looked at Nate, seemed to find an ally there. "If he thought I was dead, he'd think the threat was gone. Emma would be safe. And I could work with CID to gather evidence without him watching my every move."
"Who else knew?" Wyatt had moved into the doorway now, his hand on Grayson's shoulder. Probably to keep him from actually attacking Daniel. Wyatt was ex-military as well.
"Just my buddy Kyle. Staff Sergeant Reid. He helped stage it. Made it look real." Daniel's eyes went back to Emma. "Everyone else believed it. The unit, the command, the… the notification team they sent to Emma. They all thought I was dead. It had to be convincing or Vance would have known."
"Convincing." Emma repeated the word. Felt something crack open in her chest. "You made it convincing."
"Emma—"
"I think I hate you." Her voice was still flat, but something was building underneath it now. Something hot and sharp. "I stood in front of a casket at your memorial. I put my hand on it. I said goodbye to you. I—" Her breath hitched. "I wanted to die that day. Did you know that? I wanted to be buried with you."