Page 104 of Death Wish

“I-I don’t know,” Kay whispered.

The memory of the night with Xaver and all his Halflings crashed into me like a semitruck, bringing back all the aches and pains to my limbs and head. Nausea rolled through my stomach, and every inch of me was weak with exhaustion. Something as simple as opening my eyes was a struggle.

“Jade, wake up. This isn’t funny.” This voice brought with it a wave of emotions. Conflicting ones. Desire was one that surprised me. There was also relief. Hurt. But anger, mostly.

Suddenly, a hard pressure seized both my upper arms. The feeling of fingers digging into my flesh grew clearer, more painful, as the man shook me hard.

“Get up, Jade. Dammit. Get up!”

Masters. Cole Masters.

As his name shot across my mind, my eyelids snapped open.

Blue eyes rimmed in red stared back at me, and instantly every worry line around his lips and brow softened. The one side of his luscious mouth curled up for a model-worthy smile that could have made any normal woman swoon on the spot.

Lucky for me, I wasn’t a normal woman by any means. And I definitely wasn’t a fool. Cole had betrayed me. I remembered that part, too.

I sat up, perhaps a little too quickly because my head spun. Holding my forehead, I waited until the earth stopped swaying.

“Whoa there. Give it some time,” Cole said, as if nothing had happened between us—as if he hadn’t been using me for a paycheck all this time. But I guess he didn’t know I had discovered his little plan, did he? To him, I was still blissfully ignorant. Trusting.

Boy, was he going to be sorry.

“You just blasted a full-blooded demon to bits and sent his Halflings back to Hell. It’s expected for you to be a little lightheaded.”

Damn, he was good at this faking-concern thing. Move over, Tom Cruise. Cole was gunning for an Oscar.

I shook off the grips he still had on my arms. He moved back to give me space, but suddenly, Kay was there, touching my face all over.

“Good, you’re still h-here with us. Not a spirit.” She pulled me into a fierce hug. “I’m still iffy on all the rules when it comes to this reaper business, but I felt like I lost you. Really lost you. I couldn’t sense your soul while you were out of it and…”

For a minute, it felt like I had lost myself, too.

When Kay pulled back, she sniffed, her eyes misting over.

“Hey, I’m okay,” I told her. “I’m here.”

She smiled. “Hormones, I guess.”

I took my time to stand, ignoring the pain clinging to my body. Cole and Kay stood, too.

“So,” I began, rubbing the side of my face, “what did I miss? Where’s Sean and Wyatt?”

“Good question,” Laurence said. “We just got out of the trailer after we heard the explosion and saw the coast was clear. We haven’t seen them.”

I glanced at Cole, who shook his head.

Angel’s loud barking shook the silence of the night.

Laurence sighed heavily. “Dang dog. We tried keeping her inside when we left, but she snuck out.”

More barking in the distance, closer to the woods where the light of the trailer didn’t quite reach.

I headed that way.

“Where are you going?” Laurence called out behind me.

“I bet you wherever she’s barking is where Sean and Wyatt are, too.”

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