Page 70 of Death Match

The same strange feeling that I experienced before, in the diner, in bed, and in the driveway, came over me. Like there was something I should know and be doing but couldn’t figure out what.

I shook my head. Why couldn’t I remember? Why did the feeling of not remembering also feel familiar to me? Why could I sense things but not figure them out. It was all giving me a headache.

Anxiety suddenly gripping me, I glanced around the foyer. Why did all this feel wrong?

So, so wrong.

As if I shouldn’t be here. As if this—all this—wasn’t real.

Cole stepped toward me, hand out. “Jade—”

“Don’t touch me,” I snapped, and he recoiled. Hurt flashed in his eyes and my stomach twisted with guilt. Instead of giving into it, instead of apologizing like I wanted to, I focused on my need for the truth. “This isn’t right. Where am I?”

His gaze hardened as his irritation grew. “What are you talking about? This is our home.”

“No, it’s not.” My jaw clenched with anger. I’d been tricked. “What is this place?”

The more I thought about it, the more pieces were able to slip through the barricade in my mind. Words flowed past my lips as I remembered. “The Cole I knew was a mercenary. Not a real estate agent.”

Yes, that felt right. There was the word I couldn’t seem to remember from before. Mercenary.

My breaths came out in short gasps as I continued to work through my thoughts, shifting through the haze to get to something solid. I had been sent here for some reason. And there was something I had to do.

Because I…

I was…

“I’m an Archangel.”

Oh shit. That’s what the cherub in the diner was trying to tell me. The apocalypse. The maze.

I was in a Trial.

Everything here…it was part of my Trial.

I spun around and rushed to the front door.

“If you take another step, you’ll be leaving all this behind,” Cole called to me, his tone suddenly very serious.

I paused, hand on the front door’s handle. I let out a breath. I hated that I was tempted to stay, especially knowing that I was an Archangel, that I was in a Trial, and that I had so much to do still.

“This life—our life—the house, me. It’ll be gone. Forever,” he said and stepped toward me. I stepped back reflectively. He frowned. “You have a choice, Jade. You can stay here with me.”

The fog began to creep back into my head. Wanting me to forget the truth and stay blissfully ignorant in this daydream with him.

It was as if the longer I stayed here, the harder it was to hold on to the truth. If I hesitated, I could be whisked away into this alternative reality again. That scared me.

“You have a chance to have everything you’ve ever wanted, Jade. We can be happy.Youcan be happy. After everything you’ve been through, you deserve to be.” Another step toward me, and every muscle in my body tensed. If he touched me, I didn’t think I would be able to hold it together. I’d lose my nerve.

I needed to get out while I still could.

My temples pounded at the tug-o-war going on inside me. It seemed like the longer I stayed here, the more lost I became. I had almost forgotten who I was completely, just over a couple of hours.

And would that really be so bad, Jade? You could have all this… You could havehim.

My fingers clenched around the handle and turned away from him, reminding myself that I couldn’t have this. At least, not right now. Not until I finished everything I had to accomplish.

I pulled open the door a crack, hesitating again.

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