Page 44 of Death Match

“You seem surprised, Jade,” Eli stated. “Is something wrong? I would imagine that you would be happy accomplishing another Trial.”

“It’s just…” I shifted my weight on my feet and shoved my hands into my pockets. “That wasn’t real, right? That didn’tactuallyhappen? I wasn’t in Fairport?” That lady didn’tactuallydie was what I really wanted to know.

There was a hanging silence.

“Please tell me it had been part of the Trial,” I continued, pushing for an answer.

Neither of the angels responded.

“Hello?”

“I can’t say for sure,” Michael said finally, “but I can find out for you if it’s that important to you.”

Did I really want to know?

I paused, unsure. Maybe it was best if I didn’t know the answer to that question. Blissfully ignorant and all that.

Just then, the strange icy sensation began to spread throughout my body, like before. It crawled from the tips of my limbs up my spine, making my teeth chatter from the cold.

“It’s happening again,” Eli said, more to Michael than to me. “She’s going to see another part of her memory.”

Excitement replaced all my apprehension at the thought of going back into the dark gaps in my mind and finding out what lay there. Ricky, Mr. Ricardo, and Tina… I was about to see them again.

Deciding that finding out about the church scenario could wait, I threw a thumbs up in the air to let Eli and Michael know I was good to go. The coldness traveled up my neck, across my face, and past my ears. The moment it reached my temples, pain spiked and my sight whited out.

When everything settled again, darkness and the stench of cigarette smoke and sweat greeted me. Not the bodega’s cellar. No, this place was new.

Cautiously, I took in my new surroundings. Everything was cloaked in shadows from the low lighting, but there were a few tables and chairs, even couches, all full of men either chatting or gawking at the evening’s entertainment. Which appeared to be a sparsely dressed brunette who was dancing in the center of a stage.

Instantly, I was reminded of Red, the vampire club run by one of the DeMonte vamps named Andre.

Was I…in a strip club?

When the woman on stage flipped her hair and turned to face me as she slid her back against the pole, nausea churned in my stomach.

That wasn’t just any stranger showing off her goodies in a skimpy black bra and matching thong.

It was me.

I was a dancer? And not the competitive salsa or ballroom waltzing kind either. An exotic dancer.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. But there it was, right smack in front of me. Living-Jade was turning and grinding with the thumping bass of the music for the onlookers, who were all men besides some of the topless women servers.

What is it when your embarrassed for someone else? Second-hand embarrassment? Was that a thing? It definitely felt like a thing. Only this time, I was feeling that uneasiness for myself, while watchingmyselfduring my lifetime.

Now what wasthatcalled? Second-hand embarrassment squared? Twice removed?

Ugh. Whatever it was, heat scorched my face. Thank God Eli and Michael couldn’t see my memories like this—although Eli did say it was his job to observe me during my time on earth, so that would mean he’d known about stripper-Jade all along.

Well, crap.

I had imagined possible lifetimes for me many, many times, but I’d never pictured myself working in a gentlemen’s club. Or being introduced to gang life. Or beaten black and blue. This definitely wasn’t what I had expected for my life. And I wasn’t sure how I felt about all I was finding out.

Disappointed? Maybe? If that even made sense.

This could be why I had such a strong reaction to the girls who’d been dancing in the cages in Andre’s club. Probably because it triggered some deep seeded memory for me.

Trying not to focus too much on my living-self doing her thing on stage—although I will admit, I had some moves I didn’t know I had—I scanned the room again. Across the way, a man with a pretty swanky white suit and layers of gold chains had his eyes trained on living-Jade, too, even though he sat in one of the booths with his own personal half-naked dancer putting on a show for him on the table in front of him. The swing of her hips and neon pink bikini had no effect on him. He continued to draw on his cigarette and stare past her to living-Jade’s performance.

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