49. Chapter Forty-Nine Whispers in the Dark
Chapter Forty-Nine: Whispers in the Dark
Maverick
I pulled my jacket on and gave it a little tug before taking the elevator down to my car in its parking space. I’d decided to drive to pick her up this time because I could tell she didn’t like phasing, and I didn’t blame her. Human bodies weren’t made for it at all.
Stopping at a little coffee shop on the way, I met Cross, hoping he was someone I could trust with this problem. We both got small drinks in to-go cups and walked down the path by the lake nearby.
“So what’s up?” he pressed.
I watched my feet as we walked over rocky terrain littered with sticks and gravel. “I just need a sounding board. Stone and Lux would bust my balls.”
He laughed. “What have you got yourself into, Maverick? ”
I sucked in some air through my teeth, not knowing how I could even start. “I have a problem. And for the first time, I don’t know what to do.”
“Alright. About what?”
“I met a girl.”
He tilted his head back in silent laughter, but his voice filled with mirth. “Ahhhh, love…”
“No, it’s not like that.”
Turning to me with a Cheshire cat smirk, he tried to tease it out of me. “Okay, tell me what it is then.”
I told him all the details he didn’t know about how Tess and I met and what had happened between us so far. “She’s different. She glows, man, but only to me. What the fuck does that mean?” He grimaced at me, and I went on. “I don’t know. Is she fated to me? Or is she just hunting me?”
“I thought you said—”
“It’s not about love. It’s bigger than that.”
He raised his eyebrows with his trademark, ‘ Okay, if you say so ’ look. “What do the guys say?”
I shook my head. “I can’t tell them shit. They’d tell me to ghost her just to be safe. Especially Stone.” He nodded, probably agreeing. “I can’t just walk away, man. I can’t.” She was too damn tempting, and I knew how fucked up that was, but I was in too deep to fight it.
We walked for a little while in silence. I figured he was processing the whole sordid thing, and I was stuck again in my cycle of kill her or fuck her.
“Sounds hexilicious to me,” he finally declared.
“Feels like it too. I’m drawn to her like an incubus to L.A.”
“Yikes, Mav. You know what I’m going to say. ”
“Don’t. I know! I know how suspicious that sounds, but I told you I can’t walk away.”
“Maybe we should do a spell to break whatever hex she’s put on you.”
“I don’t really believe she’s put a hex on me.”
“What else is it, man?”
“I don’t know, but it’s time to figure out what to do about it. I’ve got to make a plan. I can’t just show up and look in her eyes again without knowing what I’m going to do. Because, like last time, I’ll just take her home and—”
He raised his hand, interrupting me. “Uh, yeah, I get it.”
I shook my head. “But it can’t involve leaving her. I cannot bear the thought of never seeing her again.”
“Yep. You said that. Gotcha.” He blew air out of his puffed-out cheeks. “You got any ideas?”
“It’s risky, but if I claim her and she’s a hunter, then she’d have to stay with me. She’d be bound by her duty to escort me back to Hell, but then she’d be bound by the laws and traditions of the seraphim to stay locked up with me while I’m punished for my ‘betrayal’ of living somewhere else.”
“Risky? Mav, that’s risky, like summoning the Archangel Gabriel into your living room is risky.”
I waved a hand. “Don’t be dramatic. Now, if she’s not a seraphim hunter—”
“Then she’ll die, man.”
“I wouldn’t let that happen. I’ll know what to do then. We’ll be okay. And then we could be together. That’s my best-case scenario.”
“Mmmmm. So you’ve got either get dragged back down to Hell or risk killing this enigmatic woman you can’t lose. ”
“Don’t be so negative, dude. Listen, I refused to commit to the last love of my life. I know it sounds soppy, but I’ve regretted it for five hundred years. I will not make that mistake again.”
“Is it the same deal, though?”
We arrived back at the shop, and I finished up the last dregs of my coffee. “Not exactly, but almost. Thanks, man, I feel much better.”
“Not sure I did anything, but you’re welcome. I guess.” He tossed his empty cup in the outside trash can after mine.
I held out my hand for him. “Don’t tell the guys, okay? They wouldn’t get it.”
“No, I agree, they wouldn’t get it at all.” We shook, both slapping each other’s shoulders as hard as we could and said goodbye.
I got in my car, drove to an alley a block away from Empire Decay Ink, and parked. I blew out a long breath, hoping I could cope with whatever the outcome would be.
It was time to finally fix this problem because if she wasn’t a hunter, they were still out there on our tail, and being all caught up in this nightmare with Tess was keeping me off my game. It seemed to me most paths led me straight back to Hell. It was only a matter of time. The only way I’d win this was if Tess really was who she said she was. An innocent witch I’d randomly fallen head over heels for. As unlikely as it seemed, I had to risk it.