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“I want what I’ve always wanted. Everything—”
—as suddenly as it had begun, the vision ended.
Because the world was tilting. I was falling, hitting my knees.
“Ali!” Cole threw his legs over the side of the bed.
“Stay where you are or you’ll rip out your IV! I’m okay.” I stood, shaking off the momentary flash of dizziness that had taken me down. Lingering effects of the sedative, I was sure.
Cole didn’t listen. He made to rise. I rushed to his side, easing onto the mattress, pressing my hip against his and pushing him to his back. For now, I didn’t care about the vision. We’d seen it weeks before, and we would see it again. We’d figure it out then.
“You should be used to girls falling at your feet,” I said.
He cracked the barest hint of a smile. “I’d rather have one girl standing beside me.”
Sweet-talker. “How are you?”
He twined his fingers with mine, lifted our joined hands and kissed my knuckles. “I’m better now that you’re here.”
Six little words, and yet my heart swelled with love. Were all guys so open about their feelings? So willing to admit when they needed, when they wanted...when they had to have or else?
“How’s your recovery?” I asked.
“Better than it should be. Nearly burning me alive was a good call.”
I donned a haughty air. “Did you ever doubt it?”
“Only all night and a little this morning.”
“So hardly at all.”
He cracked another smile. “Last night I was getting weaker, so I performed the fire trick on myself. Charged me right up. But had it not been for you, I wouldn’t have known to do it.”
“So you owe me.”
“Exactly. I pay in kisses.”
“Good thing I accept that currency.” I adored this playful side of him—and hated knowing it wouldn’t last. “Have you been told about Trina, Lucas and Cruz?” I asked softly.
“Yeah.” He scoured his other hand over his face. “But that’s not all. The gym burned down.”
Horror sped through me at full throttle. “Bronx. Mackenzie. They were there.”
He gave a clipped nod. “The good news is, no bodies were found inside.”
Okay. Okay, then. They’d either gotten away or been captured. Just like all the others.
Stomach cramp.
“We haven’t heard from anyone. News stations have been blasting stories about the attacks, but besides Cruz, no other murders have been reported.” I paused, mentally preparing myself for a fight. “I’m taking Kat and Reeve, and we’re going on a hunt.”
He surprised me by giving another nod. “That’s great.” Of course, he just had to add, “I’m going with you,” which deflated me.
“You need to stay in your sickbed for at least a month, the way you made me stay in mine.” I’d been recovering from a stab wound—one he had given me.
Don’t worry. It wasn’t domestic abuse or anything. He hadn’t done it on purpose.
“Try to keep me here. I dare you,” he said, then winked. A challenge? “You’ll end up beside me.”
“Oh, no. Not that. Anything but that,” I responded with a mock shudder.
“Smarty.” He tweaked the end of my nose. “Even on my worst day, with both hands tied behind my back, and no gun, I can shoot better than you.”
“Maybe so,” I said, practically dripping sweetness. “But you have no control over your swords.”
His eyes narrowed. “Low blow, Miss Bell. Very low blow.”
“I thought so.” I fluffed my hair.
“Does Ankh know what you’re planning with his precious?”
“Not yet.”
“Are you actually going to ask him for permission?”
“Well, yeah.” The girls and I could leave without his knowledge, sure. I was good at sneaking. But he would panic and go looking for his daughter, maybe get himself killed. I didn’t need the added guilt.
“He won’t just say no,” Cole said. “He’ll try to sedate you and lock you up.”
Yeah. Probably. “I’ve seen his work firsthand. But I’m onto his tricks now.” He wouldn’t catch me off guard a second time. “He’s just going to have to trust me and stop trying to surround Reeve with bubble wrap.”
“I get where he’s coming from,” Cole said, everything about him softening. “To Ankh, she is a reason for getting up in the morning, and there’s nothing more important to him. Without her, he might as well just curl up and die. And that, Miss Bell, is exactly how I feel about you.”
Oh, glory. Nana had destroyed me with her declaration, but Cole...Cole was utterly slaying me....
“There’s a difference between you and Mr. Ankh,” I said with a soft smile. “You know I can defend myself, and you trust me to make smart decisions. Isn’t that right, Mr. Holland?” Eew. No way I’d use the name reserved for his father.
Backtrack. “Mr. Cole.”
He tugged on a lock of my hair. “That’s right. Therefore, I will girl up, as Kat likes to say, since that’s apparently better than manning up, and I will let you go—”
“Wait. You’ll let me?” I interjected with attitude.
“—without a fight,” he finished. “Besides, I wasn’t asking if I could come with you. I was telling you I’d be by your side.”
Le sigh. His determination was kicking up a fuss again. “What’s your blood pressure? Do you have a temperature? Are you even steady on your feet?”
He smiled and said, “Reason number thirteen. You always ask way too many questions.”
Of all the things I’d expected him to say, that didn’t even come close. He definitely had to be feverish. “That’s a reason you love me?”
“See? Another question. But yes, it is. It’s charming.”
Well, he was the only one who thought so. Other people found it off-putting. And that was being kind!
I leaned over and kissed his brow, careful not to brush against his injury, then pressed my brow into his. “Don’t think the fact that you avoided discussing your condition has escaped my notice. But I’ll let it slide...and I’ll let you come with me. As long as you stay in the car.”
“Let me?”
“Oh, good. Your ears are working.”
The softness faded from his expression, fierce protectiveness taking its place—as well as cold-blooded aggression.
The aggression wasn’t directed at me, I knew, but at Anima.
“Let’s play a little game I like to call Cole’s in Charge and Ali’s Not.”
“Pass! Played it before, hated every second.”
The flash of another grin. “You know I think you hung the moon, right?”
“Right. Just like I know you held the ladder and looked up my skirt.”
“But you’re not going to talk me out of this,” he continued. “So, go down, speak with Ankh. I’ll get dressed.”
Stubborn boy. “I’d offer to take out your IV, but that would make me an enabler.”
“Won’t be the first time I’ve removed one myself.”
The Care and Feeding of an Alpha Male 101. Sometimes, you just had to humor them. “Fine. Have fun with that.”
“Don’t leave without me,” he commanded as I stood. “I mean it.”
“Fine, fine.” I held up my hands, all innocence. “I’ll wait for you to come downstairs.”
Moving as fast as lightning, he leaned forward and hooked me by the nape, tugging my face to his. He kissed me hard and fast—no innocent forehead peck for this boy, not this time—and I moaned at his ferocity. “Also, don’t even think about sedating me.”
“Fine,” I snapped. He was severely limiting my options.
I left the room and stalked down the stairs, texting Nana along the way. I just couldn’t help myself.
I love U. So much. One day, I hope U’ll 4give me.
She’d wake up...wherever, and the note would be waiting for her.
I sent her a second message. 1st update. I’ve seen Cole & he’s back 2 his bossy self. I’ve set Kat & Reeve free, & now I’m going 2 chat w/Ankh then find rest of slayers. I’ll B careful, swear!
Mr. Ankh and the girls were in the kitchen, eating sandwiches.
Not one to waste time, I explained my search and rescue plan while slapping together a PB&J. The conversation went better—and worse—than I’d hoped. Before I’d even finished, Mr. Ankh was shaking his head. I didn’t let that stop me, however. The fact was, I didn’t just need Kat and Reeve. They needed me. They’d rather die than stay behind.
“No,” he said. “You’re too recognizable. Anima will see you, follow you and then kill you all.”
I could suggest we spend a few hours dyeing our hair, altering our appearance, but even that wasn’t a guarantee we’d escape notice. “With this supposed increase of gang violence, the police will be everywhere. Anima wouldn’t dare try anything in public.” I hoped.
“It’s too dangerous,” he insisted. “Kat is sick. She needs rest and relaxation, not—”
“Hey! Don’t make me pimp-slap you, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. A. Because I will.” Kat raised her hand to prove she meant business. “I’m ready to roll.”
He pursed his lips, as if he’d just sucked on a lemon. “I’m not an unreasonable man.”
Ha!
“And I know the others need to be found. So, I’ll go with Ali, and you girls will stay here.”
Uh, that would be a big fat no. He played by the rules. We made our own. “Don’t worry. We’ll have a bodyguard. Cole is coming with us.”
“Cole? Hardly.” Mr. Ankh rubbed his forehead. To ward off an ache? “That boy needs rest just as much as Miss Parker does.”
“So he doesn’t need any, and he’s good to go?” Kat quipped.
“Tell that to him,” I said to Mr. Ankh, then hiked my thumb at Kat. “And her.”
He threw his arms up, all I’m the last sane man in the universe. “Why do I even bother? No one ever does as I recommend anyway.”
All right. I’d try this from a different angle. Hopefully one that wouldn’t give him a coronary. “Had you told everyone about the church,” I said, “this could have been avoided. But you didn’t.” Throwing blame. Maybe not the best route. But the truth was the truth, and I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.
He glared at me. “After Justin betrayed us, I wasn’t sure who I could trust, and I wanted Reeve to have an escape that no one else knew about. You can’t fault me for that.”
I heard the guilt in his tone. The self-recrimination. “No. I can’t.”
I hadn’t been part of the group back when Justin started sharing slayer secrets with Anima. But I had been part of the group when his equally culpable twin sister was captured and tortured right alongside me, and he’d realized just how badly he’d screwed up. He’d helped us destroy an entire contingent of Anima soldiers.
“If you have a better idea for finding the others,” I said, after devouring the last of my sandwich, “I’ll do it.”
“Hey,” both girls bellowed in unison.
Mr. Ankh glared at me.
“Daddy,” Reeve said, “I’ve been training. I’m not helpless. And I want to help. I need to help. Don’t stand in my way. Let me act like the girl you raised me to be. Strong. Courageous. The girl you wished Momma had been.”
Her mother hadn’t been able to see the zombies, but still she’d feared them. That fear had grown...and grown...until she’d committed suicide.
My mind drifted to my own mother. Her family had come from a line of slayers, but she herself hadn’t been able to see the zombies, either. She’d been so beautiful. Short, with dark hair, eyes and skin. Just like my sweet Emma. When people had seen the three of us together, they’d assumed tall, fair me was adopted.
“Very well,” Mr. Ankh finally croaked. “Do what you think is best. But I want you back within these walls by ten. No later.”
I nodded, flabbergasted by his acceptance. I hadn’t even had to beg.
