Page 119 of Stone Cold Touch

“Yeah,” he said, nodding his agreement. “Maybe even cities. Possibly countries.”

It was late by the time we finished talking and her parents were due back any moment. Neither Stacey nor Sam were staring at me as if I was a dangerous freak, but I suspected that it hadn’t really settled in yet. I kept expecting Sam to make some kind of random statement about demons, but he didn’t and that alone told me he was knocked off his game.

“We probably should be leaving,” Zayne said, standing slowly. “But you guys—”

“We’re not going to breathe a word of this. Besides, no one would believe us.” She glanced at me, and I knew the friendship between us had changed. Maybe it wasn’t as big a change as I’d feared, but there was a shift. “How can we help?”

Zayne stared at her.

A wide smile broke out across my face. “You’re crazy.” She frowned at me, and I immediately apologized. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. Just that I’ve been petrified that you guys would hate me once you knew the truth and instead you’re asking to help.” Tears burned the back of my throat. “I really don’t know what to say.”

“Well, if I followed this crazy-pants conversation correctly, if the Lilin continues to um...take souls, the Alphas will get involved and that’s bad news bears for all of you, right? So, why wouldn’t we want to help?”

“We appreciate the offer, but it’s too dangerous for us to take you up on it.” Zayne held up his hand as she started to protest. “If you really want to help, then be extra vigilant. Be aware of your surroundings, watch for anyone acting strangely. Stay away from them and let us know.”

“He’s right,” I said. “I couldn’t deal with it if something happened to either of you two.”

“Nothing will.” Sam shot Stacey a look. “We’ll stay out of it, but if you need our help, we’ll be there for you.”

“Like the Scooby-Doo gang,” Stacey said with a smile. “But cooler and without the dog.” She paused, wrinkling her nose. “We have a giant demon snake instead.”

I coughed out a laugh, totally shell-shocked by how well both of them were dealing with this. I just hoped it didn’t change once they had time to really think about everything. When I finally rose to leave, I was exhausted from the drama of today.

Stacey stopped me at the door and I held my breath as Zayne paused on the stoop, watching us warily. “I wish you would’ve been honest with me a long time ago, but I get why you weren’t. It’s not something you can easily tell someone and not expect them to flip out.”

“It’s not,” I whispered.

She took a deep breath, glanced over her shoulder at the dark hallway behind her to where Sam waited for her inside the house. “You’re still my best friend. You’re just not human. And, well, I feel kind of cool that my best friend is part Warden, part demon in denial.”

I stared at her a moment and felt a laugh burst free. The ropes around my chest snapped and the pressure eased up.

“Just don’t keep me in the dark again, okay? Promise me.”

I met her eyes. “I promise.”

Then she hugged me, and in that moment I knew that the whole world could be on a verge of catastrophe, but Stacey and I would be okay.

We would be fine.

Abbot was waiting for us as soon as we returned to the compound.

The moment our feet hit the floor inside the foyer, he appeared before us, as tall and formidable as a great lion about to whip up on a gazelle. He took one look at me, didn’t bother to ask if I’d been sunbathing recently or if I was okay, and then turned to his son.

“We need to talk,” he said, jaw locked. “In private.”

Zayne glanced at me and I shrugged, figuring he wanted to talk about the mess at the theater. Giving him a little wave, I darted around Abbot and headed up the stairs. Only a tiny part of me was disappointed that Abbot hadn’t asked about me. I guessed I was getting used to the way he acted now.

Once inside my bedroom, I quickly changed out of the borrowed clothes and into my own pajamas. It was early in the evening, but I was whipped. After pulling my still-damp hair back in a bun, I crawled under the covers and stared at my cell phone, wondering if I should alert Roth to the fact that Stacey and Sam now knew his true identity.

My fingers hovered over the screen. I needed to tell him. It was only fair and it was also the only reason I was going to contact him. My message was short and to the point.

Stacey and Sam know what we are.

Maybe a minute passed and then his message popped up.Do tell.

Church of God’s Children. Holy Water. Me. Not a good combination. All is cool, tho.

This time his response was immediate.R u ok?

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