Page 108 of The Eleventh Hour

I pull away, turning to stare at him. “You can’t say that.”

His smile slips away, but he stares at me with an intent look that makes my stomach flip. “I love you, Jax. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Neither am I,” Dane says. “Now, let’s get a plan together. You said the police saw Titan at Sparrow’s. Is there any chance that he recognised you or Louis and is using information his gang has gathered?”

I swallow hard. “Really? You’re really going to stay?” My voice is tiny, scared, uncertain.

Gideon grips my chin, tilting my head back so I can look at him. “We’re staying.”

I exhale and nod, feeling a piece of me settle into place. “Thank you,” I whisper and throw myself into my ghost’s arms.

***

My mother leans over me from above. She smiles softly.

“You deserved better. I’m sorry for all that.”

“It’s okay, Mum, we had good times.”

“I should have shown you what to avoid in a man.”

I shake my head.

“Did you remember what I told you under the tree-filled sky?”

I pause and clear my throat. Such an odd saying but so familiar. “No, I forgot.”

She wipes her eyes, dropping crystal tears to the floor. Bruises rise under her skin to stain the area around her neck. Her mouth opens, revealing huge tombstone teeth, and dirt cascades to fall on my head.

“I told you to stay away from that boy!”

Her hand slams down on my face, pushing me backwards until I wake up. I sit up, panting, and struggle out of Rafe’s arms until I’m across the room at the window. I yank it open, sucking in cool air.

Dane opens the door and looks at me. “What’s wrong? You called out!”

He’s dressed and showered and looks far too good. Rafe hasn’t got a shirt on, but he slowly stretches and sits up, the quilt dropping to around his waist. I’m in undies and a t-shirt, how I fell asleep curled in their arms. This is a safe place, but my mother’s words have torn open an old scar.

“My mother told me to stay away from that boy.” I blink and blink again. “I remember the boy, the one who was chasing the kittens. We played together. I helped him gather them all up while my mother was in the house. We played with them until it got dark. He put them in a bag-”

I gag and rush past Dane to the bathroom. I want to vomit, but nothing wants to come up.

“My mother came and dragged me away. I cried because I wanted to stay with him. He knew me,” I say to Dane, turning to face him. “He knew me. I knew him. We were friends, we weren’t allowed to be friends, but we were, until my mum died. Lee and I were always friends, in secret.”

I search my memory, finding him over and over in my childhood. We lived close to each other. He had no friends, but neither did I. We were both so poor.

I close my eyes. Lee, I remember Lee, and I remember Louis. They’re the same in my memory now. Tiny fragments from my lives come together, forming something that couldn’t be seen without more context, and the answer is terrifying.

My eyes snap open, and I look up at Dane. “Louis was obsessed with reincarnation. He believed he could figure it out. How to do it. What if he did?”

Dane’s lips part. “Is that possible?”

I whimper. “I don’t know.”

“He could be anyone,” Rafe says in a sick voice.

“And we have no idea.”

“Or it could just be a copycat.” Dane ushers me out of the bathroom and pulls the door closed.

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