William’s blood trickled across the hardwood floor, seeping into the cracks as Kate watched the life drain from his eyes. When the bell went off, she instinctively screamed for Thomas. He was chopping firewood near the back porch when he heard her screams and dropped the axe, running inside. As Sheen strangled Kate, he didn’t hear the boots striking across the wood planks until it was too late. Thomas grabbed his jacket and lifted him off of Kate, who was frantically scratching at his face and hands, struggling to breathe. When he hit the floor and saw the towering figure coming at him, he quickly reached for his pistol, but Thomas, throwing his entire body weight behind his fist, punched his face with such force, he felt a blunt crack. With blood pooling into his mouth and dripping from his nose, Sheen coughed, choking on his own blood, but Thomas landed another blow into his face that left him unconscious. Kate, coughing and crying, called for her brother, who quickly came to her side and checked her neck, looking at William’s body lying next to her with the paring knife still in his throat. She clung to him, sobbing. The memories of Billings’ assault resurfaced.

“What happened?”

“He knew what happened in Benton. He said you’re wanted and was going to turn you in unless I married him.” She looked up at him with tear-filled, swollen eyes. “He wanted to separate us. He wanted to take you away from me. I had no other choice, right?”

Thomas wiped away a tear and pressed his lips together.

“No.”

He helped Kate onto her feet and as he led her to sit on a chair, they both heard footsteps running out the back door.

The frantic screams and cries for help were of no use to Sheen. He ran for his life toward the orchard, but the ground was so soggy with rotted apples and muddy leaves. He slipped and fell. Unable to find his footing, he used a tree trunk to help him stand. His sight was made worse by the blood gushing out his nose mixed with mud.

At the cabin, Thomas calmly grabbed the axe he left by the porch and walked toward Sheen. He watched the petrified man struggling to stand, using the tree trunk to balance himself and turning to look back. When he saw Thomas approaching, panic set in and he finally got his footing, taking off.

Thomas stopped in his tracks and brought the axe over his head, quickly swinging it forward and releasing it when his arm was parallel to the ground.

Sheen fell forward into the mud, momentarily stunned. When the realization of what had happened hit, it was as if time had stopped. The scream building deep within him tried to force its way out of his mouth, but he couldn’t make a sound. He attempted to crawl away, simpering and crying as Thomas walked right up to him and stepped on the axe, further impaling it into his back. Everything went quiet for a moment until some poor creature in the distance suffered its own end at the hands of a predator. He rushed back to the cabin, leaving Sheen’s body in the orchard to be buried later. Kate was sitting, quietly staring at the fireplace with tears still rolling down her face.

“Let’s g—”

Thomas’ words were cut off when a carriage pulled up to the haberdashery. Kate’s mouth dropped open and she looked up at Thomas, whose eyes went round. They scrambled to hide the mess as two men helped their wives and children off the wagon they rode in, their muffled voices getting closer and sending a wave of adrenaline into both siblings. Kate took a tapestry rug draping one of the chairs and laid it over the blood on the floor before rushing to the center of the cabin, opening a floor hatch leading to a crawl space underneath while Thomas dragged William’s body to it. He dropped him into the hole and slammed the hatch door shut as the bell on the front door went off. Kate smiled and the normally standoffish Thomas plastered on a smile too as they greeted their guests.

While Kate minded the store and tended to the travelers, hoping they were not spending the evening, he headed to the orchard with a shovel. The group paid for the tobacco, jerky, and pickled apples, commenting on their long journey ahead as Kate happily guided them out the door. Her heart suddenly dropped when one of the women advised her husband they should stay the night due to the deteriorating weather.

“Hmm, you’re probably right,” he replied, holding out his hand when the first snowflakes hit.

Hours later, Thomas walked in through the back of the haberdashery, covered in mud, dirt, snow, and sweat before halting when he heard voices.

“Fuck.” He turned around and pulled off his suspenders and unbuttoned his shirt as he headed back outside to the well. The snowfall was quickly picking up and the water was freezing cold, causing him to let out a string of profanity-laced tirades that would put a sailor to shame as he washed off the blood and mud.

An already perturbed Kate nearly lost it when she saw her brother walk in, soaked and shaking. She covered her mouth to muffle her reaction and motioned for him to go into their parents’ room while she heated some water to make tea and grabbed an extra blanket and a change of clothes for him. Thomas was passed out when she walked in a few minutes later. She knelt by the bed and watched as he slept peacefully, putting the blanket over him and brushing away the hair from his face. The little guilt she felt for killing William completely dissipated when it dawned on her how close she came to losing Thomas. She swore she’d protect him at any cost just as he always did with her.

Ma breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the light coming from the cabin windows, eager to get inside as the snow storm was rapidly picking up. The ground was covered in a sheet of snow by that time and visibility was becoming limited. Pa came to a halt next to a carriage out front, cursing. He always hated when people spent the night especially during storms where travelers couldn’t leave due to poor trail conditions. He grunted when he climbed out of the buggy, the cold weather exasperating his knee. He barked at Ma to get inside and call Thomas out to help with the horses. She rushed in, the cow bell going off while the group of travelers was by the fireplace playing a game of gin rummy. Kate was stirring the potato soup she was making and gave her mother a short nod. Ma could see she was stressed over something.

“Where’s Thomas?”

Kate looked at the group before her eyes darted to the floor hatch and pointed to Ma’s room.

“He’s sleeping,” replied Kate, who continued to glance at the door on the floor.

She frowned as she set down her satchel and removed her coat, hanging it on the coat rack near the door.

“In my room? And so early? Your father needs help with the horses.”

Kate put down the ladle and walked over to the coat rack.

“I’ll help him. Watch the soup.”

The wind was howling when Thomas finally woke up in complete darkness, exhausted and starving. He reached for the kerosene lamp next to the bed and lit it, running his fingers through his hair and groaning from the aches on his body after digging a grave for Sheen. There was still the matter of the other body currently sitting under the cabin full of guests. Just listening to the snowstorm outside, he knew digging was not going to be an option as the ground would be frozen by morning. He cursed, grabbing the clean shirt Kate had laid out for him, and stood up, throwing it on as he walked out of the room. Kate made eye contact with him as soon as he walked toward the kitchen. She had wrapped a scarf around her neck, so he knew she was probably bruised. They didn’t need to say anything. Their eyes told a story words never could. Thomas came up next to her and put his arm around her waist while she stirred the soup, holding back her tears. Dinner was an uncomfortable and mostly silent affair, with the men attempting to make small talk with Pa and Thomas while the women minded their children’s manners and questioned Kate’s marital status. She tried to be as pleasant as possible, but that was difficult to do with a dead body sitting just a few inches beneath her. The senior Streichers took notice of her odd behavior.

“What’s wrong with her?” asked Pa in German, not caring about etiquette in front of their guests.

“There’s a dead body in the crawl space,” answered Thomas nonchalantly, taking a sip of soup. “And another one buried in the orchard out back.”

Pa and Ma stopped eating and looked at each other and then at Kate, whose eyes nearly fell out of her sockets, but kept her gaze focused on the bread at the center of the table.

“What an interesting language,” commented one of the women. “What is that?”

“German,” replied Kate, shoving a piece of bread in her mouth.

After dinner, the travelers’ kids were looking out the window, watching the snow falling while their parents continued their card game. Kate and Ma cleared the table as Ma openly discussed what to do with William’s body in German.

“Stop. Just stop,” said Kate after the idea of chopping him up and feeding his remains to the pigs came up.

Ma was stacking the empty wooden soup bowls and shrugged her shoulders.

“Best way to get rid of everything,” she mumbled. “They chew through bones.”

Kate shot her a warning glare.

When the last flame on the kerosene lamp lighting the cabin was extinguished, Thomas lay on his mattress near the staircase with eyes wide-open. It was going to be a long night. He heard the usual creak on the wood and light tapping of feet stepping down the stairs. Kate quietly crept over to his makeshift bed on the floor and lay down next to him, watching the hatch on the floor most of the night.

The travelers were back on the snow-covered trail before sunrise the following day. Having held it together for almost a day, Kate fell to her knees, pulled off the scarf, and sobbed, releasing the pent-up emotion of what had happened. Thomas knelt by her and examined the bruises on her neck as he explained what had happened to their parents, taking the blame for both killings. When Kate tried to intervene, he interrupted her and told Ma to fix her a cup of lavender tea and help her upstairs. Pa opened the door on the floor and looked inside.

“Isn’t that the Bartlett boy?”

“Mmhmm,” replied the already exhausted Thomas, jumping in the hole. “Start gathering wood from the barn and load it on the wagon. We have a pyre to build.”

Kate had no idea what time it was when her eyes fluttered open. The previous day was all a hazy, blurry mess to her. She got up from her bed and looked out the window, counting all four bubbles. Still there. In the distance, she noticed a thick black smoke rising from the other side of their garden, but the view was distorted due to the ripples on the glass. She didn’t need to see to know what it was. Doubts over what she had done began to plague her mind. Someone would eventually come looking for William.

When she descended the stairs, Ma was in the kitchen cooking. She informed Kate what Pa and Thomas were up to, pointing to the floor hatch and complaining about cleaning up the blood.

“How did he find out about Benton?” she asked while she chopped a carrot.

The sound of heavy footsteps coming in the back door interrupted them, the tapping of Pa’s cane on the wood floor trailing behind.

“I let an old man live,” replied Thomas, having heard the question as he removed his jacket.

“Should’ve killed him too.”

They never told their parents what really happened that night. The truth was that Thomas couldn’t trust either of them to keep such a secret. He much rather they believe he did all of the killings in the event they were forced to reveal any information that could compromise his sister. Smelling of smoke, with hands covered in blood and dirt, Kate took a pitcher of water to clean it off. She told him to sit down while she heated it. When she brought it over, he drew out a long breath as he submerged his hands in the porcelain basin full of warm water. Kate washed his hands and forearms with soap, using a cloth to wipe away the remnants of the past twenty-four hours. When she was done, she held up a little glass bottle full of rosemary oil and winked at him. Thomas chuckled as she squeezed a couple of drops into his palm and massaged his hand, kissing it before moving on to the other one. Not expecting any travelers that evening due to another heavy snowfall, the Streicher siblings popped open one of Pa’s bourbon bottles he kept stashed behind the pantry. He cursed when he saw how quickly they found it, but Kate served him a glass and he nodded approvingly. She served Thomas and Ma one too before walking over to the piano and sitting down on the bench.

“None for you?” asked Ma to which Kate just shook her head without looking back.

The winds outside were battering the Streicher cabin, but inside, the mood was almost festive as Kate, in her nightgown, played the piano next to the fireplace, cursing whenever she missed a note. Thomas sat back in his chair, watching her with a smile on his face, the outline of her body perfectly illuminated by the flickering light coming from the fireplace.

Ma continued to down shot after shot of bourbon as she observed her son shamelessly taking in the sight, the lust in his eyes blazing. Angry, drunk, and repulsed, she cleared her throat loudly. Thomas shifted his eyes to hers and took a sip of his bourbon without breaking eye contact.

“Disgusting,” she muttered under her breath. Pa’s eyes darted in her direction mid-gulp and slowly lowered the glass to the table.

Having heard her mother, Kate stopped playing the piano and looked down at the keys. Thoughts of the baby growing inside of her only added to the myriad of problems they faced.

“Meine Liebling?” said Thomas, still eyeing Ma, whose face twitched at hearing him call her that.

Shocked and almost scared to answer in front of their parents, Kate replied in barely a whisper, “Ja?”

“Keep playing.”

The music once again filled the cabin and Thomas resumed watching his sister play, ignoring Ma. Taking the cue, Pa got up and told his wife it was bedtime.

When they retired to their room, Thomas stood up and walked over to the piano, sitting down on the bench right next to Kate in the dimly lit room. He put his hand over her stomach and kissed the side of her head before he playfully tapped on a couple of keys, commenting on the little black eggs on the sheet music. She chuckled at his description of notes and showed him the scales, resting her head on his shoulder as he played them poorly.

“Thomas?”

“Mmhmm?” he said, continuing to play the keys.

“What’s going to happen when she finds out about the baby?”

Thomas played a key and kept his finger pressing down on it, the note echoing through the room. He sighed, recalling the events that led to her last miscarriage.

“Nothing is going to happen. And you let me handle Maddalen,” he replied, thinking he would very well kill her if she tried to poison Kate and his child.

“And what happens if someone shows up asking about William?”

“We’ll kill them too,” he answered coolly.

A corner of Kate’s mouth ticked up at hearing his confidence and reassurance. She had no idea how many men he had killed that night over nearly two years ago, but having heard it from William, she was now convinced more than ever that Thomas was a force to be reckoned with. And the fact that he cherished her above all things, including his own life, gave her a sense of security that one hundred men couldn’t provide.

When she lightly traced the top of his knuckles, he stopped playing and their fingers interlocked. He turned his head slightly and kissed the top of her head, the scent of rosemary permeating through his nostrils. Kate raised her head off his shoulder to look at him. She pulled her hand away from his and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear, smiling when he cupped her cheek and ran his thumb over her lips. Kate leaned in and kissed him slowly and softly, the sweet and smoky taste of bourbon mingling between them. As their gentle kiss grew more demanding, she stood up and Thomas wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in between his legs.

She tried to pull away, but he just tightened his hold and Kate broke their kiss to look toward the hallway leading to their parents’ room.

“Shouldn’t we go upstairs?”

“No,” replied Thomas without hesitation.

Kate decided to quell her fears and ran her hands down his back and up, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it aside. Her fingers encircled his neck as she leaned over and continued to kiss him, threading them through his hair. When his hands found their way under her nightgown, she let out a soft moan and pulled her lips away from his while he lifted the delicate material away from her naked body and let it fall to the floor. He looked her up and down for a moment, taking in every soft curve before running his hands up her thighs and pressing her body against his, smiling when her nipples hardened with the exposure. Her breath caught the moment his warm mouth touched her breasts, cupping each one and gently circling her nipple with his tongue, tugging and sucking on it before popping off of it and doing the same to the other. He did this a couple of times until Kate could no longer take it. She wanted him inside of her, forever. Thomas kissed his way up her chest and neck, slowly standing up and causing Kate’s buttocks to tap the keys on the piano. They quietly chuckled and he closed the key lid behind her while she undid his zipper, biting softly on his bottom lip when she found him as ready for her as she was for him. With every inch of him craving her, he lifted her and sat her on the piano, pinning her against it. She wrapped her legs around his waist and rested her arms over his shoulders, running her hands through his hair and grabbing handfuls of it as their kids turned frantic. Finally feeling him, Kate made a small sound when he slowly pushed into her, the warmth hugging him tightly until she felt complete fullness. Their heavy breathing and moans were drowned out by the howling winds outside as he continued to move in and out of her, each thrust unhurried and deliberate while he held her firmly in place. At his mercy, Kate relished in the sensation and tightened her legs around his waist, pulling him in as deep as she could. Unable to contain himself, he quickened his pace, eager to feel her orgasm around him. When she felt her butt cheeks raised off the piano she gasped and held on to him, burying her face in his shoulder to muffle the cries as his hips clapped against her. A deep groan escaped Thomas as he felt her nails digging into his back the moment she found her release with his own almost in unison. They held each other for a moment in the aftermath, feeling their hearts beating rapidly against the other’s chest. Fulfilled and out of breath, they smiled.

“You beast!” she whispered loudly, cupping his face and planting a kiss on his forehead before he set her down. Kate’s legs felt like noodles as she leaned against the piano, still quivering.

With a proud smirk on his face, Thomas zipped up his pants before bending over to pick up her nightgown and his shirt.

“You loved it,” he said, helping her put it on backward.

Too exhausted to care, she was more concerned about getting upstairs with both legs still attached. She sat on the piano bench and looked up at him, recalling his obscene letter found by a certain Sunday schoolteacher.

“As much as you love my warm cunt,” she said, flashing him an equally proud smirk.

Thomas’ eyes narrowed, observing her with curiosity.

“Where did you learn that word?” he asked cautiously.

“From you. You wrote it. In your letter. To me.” She suddenly had butterflies in her stomach. They knew everything there was to know about each other except for this.

Thomas ran his hand through his hair, massaging the back of his neck as Kate told him the story of how she came into possession of it. He never knew what had become of it until now.

Thomas knelt by her with the familiar puppy dog look in his eyes, unsure how to respond.

“You read it?”

She framed his face with both hands and leaned in, quoting his words.

“If hell is real, I would gladly spend eternity burning in it as long as I could taste your lips just once.” Kate paused and planted a kiss on his lips. “I too am on the road to perdition, brother, and would gladly burn in hell with you for all eternity,” she whispered.

A sad smile came over Thomas as he looked at her. She could sometimes look so innocent and that only added to his guilt. He took her hand and kissed it, wishing he could pay for her sins so she wouldn’t have to.

“I love you, Katarina. And our boy too,” he said, lowering his head to kiss her belly before looking at her.

She could see his affection for her glow in his eyes.

”I love you too,” she replied, leaning in to whisper in his ear, “Girl.”

Thomas chuckled and shook his head.

“Nein. Boy.”