She dropped her gaze to the table, a world away. “It doesn’t seem real. I don’t know how they could hate me enough to want to kill me.”
Jax was still worried about his inability to clear her memory, mystified that it had worked before but not today. “You say you passed out and when you woke up, it was early morning and they were gone. If they meant to kill you, why didn’t they?”
“I think they must have thought I was dead.” “And no one checked to make sure?” “It seems stupid, now I think ab out it. If you’re going to kill somebody, then leave her alive, she’s an eyewitness, right? Why weren’t they worried about me going to the cops?”
“Maybe because it would be your word against theirs. You said you had no wounds, no bruises.”
Her expression became more confused. “I don’t get that, Jax. I didn’t dream it, wasn’t hallucinating or anything, because when I woke up, there was blood all over the floor, and those rocks . . .” Her eyes widened. “I did dream about it last night, but it was weird, like dreams usually are. All the Ravens froze in place, and
this guy showed up, out of nowhere. He stabbed Alex, then he heal—” She stopped and stared at him, seconds ticking by before she finished. “He healed me.”
Jax took another bite of cheesecake, pretending not to notice her pause, or the way she was looking at him. “What did the guy in the dream look like?”
“I don’t know. His face was blurry, and his voice was muffled. He was dressed all in black.”
It was there, the memory of him that night, waiting to surge to the forefront of her mind. For whatever reason, maybe because she was Anabo, her memory couldn’t be erased like other humans’.
He had no way of knowing when she’d remember, but until then, he’d stick to the plan of telling her everything in a week. He didn’t know if he could make her fall in love with him if he had a year, but all he had was one week. Unless she remembered sooner. Then all bets were off. Courting Sasha would be difficult, the hardest thing he’d ever done, but it’d be a million times harder if she knew what he wanted from her. “What else did Brett tell you about Eryx?”
“He wants people to pledge their souls to him, because when he has the majority of humans following him, he can take over Hell. Ordinarily, I’d think Brett’s a lunatic, but after what happened in San Francisco, and now, meeting you . . . with your eyes . . .” She tilted her head and studied him, the wheels in her mind turning so fast he could almost see sparks.
Before she could ask if he had been in that old warehouse, if he had saved her and healed her, he set down his fork and said, “Just for the sake of argument, suppose Eryx isn’t a nut job. The girl who took you to the meeting said people who join the Ravens give up God and pledge to follow Eryx. If he’s not about God, he’d see anything that is about God as a threat, and Anabo is as close to God as a human can be.”
She looked across the table at him, curiosity all over her beautiful face. “You know the truth, don’t you, Jax?”
He kicked himself again for taking off his shades before he kissed her. “I don’t know the truth about your cousin, if that’s what you mean.”
“You know that’s not what I meant. Just tell me, is Eryx who Brett thinks he is? Is any of this real?”
“What if it is? What would it change? If you find out Eryx really is an immortal who collects souls, if he already has your cousin’s and your aunt’s, what can you do to change it?”
Her expression was stunned. “Oh, my God,” she whispered, “it is true.”
“I didn’t say that. I said if it were true, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“I could keep other people from pledging. Mr. Bruno was nagging my other cousin, Chris, to go to the meeting last night.” “If you knew for sure, and told people, hoping to keep them from going through with taking the oath, they wouldn’t
Jax was still worried about his inability to clear her memory, mystified that it had worked before but not today. “You say you passed out and when you woke up, it was early morning and they were gone. If they meant to kill you, why didn’t they?”
“I think they must have thought I was dead.” “And no one checked to make sure?” “It seems stupid, now I think ab out it. If you’re going to kill somebody, then leave her alive, she’s an eyewitness, right? Why weren’t they worried about me going to the cops?”
“Maybe because it would be your word against theirs. You said you had no wounds, no bruises.”
Her expression became more confused. “I don’t get that, Jax. I didn’t dream it, wasn’t hallucinating or anything, because when I woke up, there was blood all over the floor, and those rocks . . .” Her eyes widened. “I did dream about it last night, but it was weird, like dreams usually are. All the Ravens froze in place, and
this guy showed up, out of nowhere. He stabbed Alex, then he heal—” She stopped and stared at him, seconds ticking by before she finished. “He healed me.”
Jax took another bite of cheesecake, pretending not to notice her pause, or the way she was looking at him. “What did the guy in the dream look like?”
“I don’t know. His face was blurry, and his voice was muffled. He was dressed all in black.”
It was there, the memory of him that night, waiting to surge to the forefront of her mind. For whatever reason, maybe because she was Anabo, her memory couldn’t be erased like other humans’.
He had no way of knowing when she’d remember, but until then, he’d stick to the plan of telling her everything in a week. He didn’t know if he could make her fall in love with him if he had a year, but all he had was one week. Unless she remembered sooner. Then all bets were off. Courting Sasha would be difficult, the hardest thing he’d ever done, but it’d be a million times harder if she knew what he wanted from her. “What else did Brett tell you about Eryx?”
“He wants people to pledge their souls to him, because when he has the majority of humans following him, he can take over Hell. Ordinarily, I’d think Brett’s a lunatic, but after what happened in San Francisco, and now, meeting you . . . with your eyes . . .” She tilted her head and studied him, the wheels in her mind turning so fast he could almost see sparks.
Before she could ask if he had been in that old warehouse, if he had saved her and healed her, he set down his fork and said, “Just for the sake of argument, suppose Eryx isn’t a nut job. The girl who took you to the meeting said people who join the Ravens give up God and pledge to follow Eryx. If he’s not about God, he’d see anything that is about God as a threat, and Anabo is as close to God as a human can be.”
She looked across the table at him, curiosity all over her beautiful face. “You know the truth, don’t you, Jax?”
He kicked himself again for taking off his shades before he kissed her. “I don’t know the truth about your cousin, if that’s what you mean.”
“You know that’s not what I meant. Just tell me, is Eryx who Brett thinks he is? Is any of this real?”
“What if it is? What would it change? If you find out Eryx really is an immortal who collects souls, if he already has your cousin’s and your aunt’s, what can you do to change it?”
Her expression was stunned. “Oh, my God,” she whispered, “it is true.”
“I didn’t say that. I said if it were true, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“I could keep other people from pledging. Mr. Bruno was nagging my other cousin, Chris, to go to the meeting last night.” “If you knew for sure, and told people, hoping to keep them from going through with taking the oath, they wouldn’t
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