Edge of Sanity: An Edge Novel by Shannon K. Butcher

think I won’t be more careful in the future. I’m not an idiot. But I also know I’m the best chance you’ve got at figuring out how to fix what’s wrong with you.”
    “What makes you think that?”
    “Because before he died, that man answered my questions. Well, he evaded them at first, but once he thought I had sodium thiopental in that syringe, he gave me information.”
    “Sodium what?”
    “Sodium pentothal. Truth serum. I think the idea of me drugging him shook him up enough to slip and say something he wasn’t planning to.”
    “What did he say?”
    “If I tell you, then you won’t have any reason to let me come along.”
    His mouth tightened and the muscles along his jaw bulged in frustration. “Why the hell would you want to put your life at risk again?”
    “Because Garrett is worth the risk. If we can undo whatever was done to you and him, I can give him back his life. Don’t underestimate the lengths to which I’ll go to make that happen.”
    “Tell me what he said, Leigh.” There was a warning in his tone—one she staunchly ignored.
    She really needed to do a better job of patching him up. With all the blood smeared over his wrists, it was hard to tell exactly how much damage had been done. And the wounds needed to be cleaned, too. If he ditched her, he’d be out there on his own, most likely with some kind of infection to fight off. She would not let that happen, even if her brother’s future wasn’t at stake.
    “No,” she said. “Not until we’re away from here, headed to wherever it is we’re going.”
    He shook his head, and she heard a low growl emanating from his chest. “This is stupid. You’re going to get hurt.”
    “What’s stupid is leaving you alone with no one to stop you if you things go badly.”
    “Go badly? Is that what you call me killing two men and putting my hands on you? I don’t even remember doing it.”
    “I know. This isn’t your fault any more than it would be your fault if you got sick or someone ran you over while you were walking on the sidewalk. This is somet cThir faulthing that was done to you, and like it or not, I’m the only person who knows the score.”
    Hollis’s face popped into her thoughts. He’d always been so funny and easygoing. So laid back. When he’d snapped—when he’d hurt her—he had been someone else, someone dark and . . . empty. And when he was once again himself and realized what he’d done, the guilt had destroyed him.
    Leigh tied the strips of towel and laid her hand on Clay’s arm, trying to make some connection to him so he would lean on her, just a little. Instead, he removed her hand and took a step back. His expression closed up tight, leaving her guessing where she stood.
    “I don’t know how to stop it,” he said. “I don’t know what I’ll do to you if you stick around.”
    “I’m willing to take that risk.” Because while she’d never say the words and put the idea in his head, she knew what could happen if Clay was left alone. He could do what Hollis had done. He could end his own life.
    Leigh was not going to let that happen.
    “You and I are going to leave now. Together,” she told him. “And once we’re safely away, I’ll tell you everything that man told me.”
    “I should just leave on my own. Fuck what he said.”
    “You do that, and there will be no one to stop you from hurting someone else. If you can’t control yourself, then you can’t guarantee you won’t do something bad.”
    “And you can?”
    “No, but I can knock your ass out if I see any signs that you’ve gone postal again.”
    “At serious risk to yourself.”
    “A risk I’m willing to take for Garrett.”
    Clay’s mouth flattened, and a cold light filled his eyes. “So this is all about him. You’re using me to help your brother.”
    She hesitated, wondering which answer would get him to cooperate. At first it had been all about Garrett, but she sympathized enough with Clay’s situation that even if