Page 85 of Of Blood and Smoke

He’d told me once he wanted to take over the world and I’d asked him why. He said because he could, that was the reason. I knew he’d felt like a slave when he’d worked for the people he’dcalled a “collective” and I figured this was just a way to exert his own authority.

I understood it, having felt out of control myself before and wanting to take the reins on everything around me. It was part of the reason I wouldn’t commit to Brett—I couldn’t give away even more control than I’d already had. I didn’t want to.

Maybe if Brett hadn’t held so much over me, things would’ve been different between us.

As I stared at my screen, a barrage of emails that normally would’ve gone to Christina came pouring in, so I refocused on my tasks, sipping on a water bottle.

Thing One and Thing Two accompanied me on my way home, sitting in the car Josiah designated for me. After I called one of them “Thing Two,” he irritably informed me his name was George and the other piped up saying his name was Kent.

“George?” I asked, disbelievingly. He looked nothing like his moniker. He looked like a young FBI agent, right down to his khakis and crew cut hair.George, my ass.

Kent looked a bit like Superman, with eyeglasses to match Clark Kent, so I believed that one. Except, anyone I’d met that wasn’t human had appeared to have exactly zero physical health issues, so the glasses were misleading.

“Those can’t be your real names,” I said eyeing the two of them. Kent leveled a gaze at me, and it was all I could do not to roll my eyes. In the end, I suppose it didn’t matter what their names were, as long as they did their job.

When I got home, one of them stationed themselves outside my door and the other, right inside. He planted himself, hands clasped, and legs spread like he was expecting a SWAT team to come bursting through.

Snickering, I walked away taking a photo of him and headed to my room to get changed. I sent the photo to Josiah asking him what was wrong with the guard and didn’t receive a response.

After I showered and ate, he texted me telling me to wait in bed for him. He didn’t spend every night here—I wouldn’t let him. Well, it was more like I threw a fit because I wanted my own space. It took forever but I got him to acquiesce by promising not to complain if he came over whenever he felt like it.

Obviously, “whenever he felt like it,” was every day so that took some working out, but I held my ground.

I’d also had to agree to meet his parents, despite their living in a different dimension. Josiah said it was just like dreaming to get there, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea. He said he wanted me to trust him on that whole subject and I knew I’d have to let him take me one day.

It was easy to forget that he and most of his direct peers wereother, that they came from somewhereelse. Unless Josiah had his fangs out and was drinking my blood, or if his eyes were doing that cool thing they do sometimes, he seemed ordinary.

That is, if exceptionally well-dressed, rich, and stunningly hot men were ordinary.

Despite my stubbornness, I missed him and wished he were beside me as I laid down to go to sleep.

When I woke up, I was frozen to the bed. Paralyzed. Just like before.

FORTY

Della

A shadow moved into my field of vision and as my eyes adjusted through the misty air, I saw a tall figure wearing a hooded cloak. “Josiah?” I tried to ask. My voice remained trapped in my head, not resonating in the room.

The figure moved closer and held out a gloved hand.Not Josiah. My heart slammed in my chest, and I began fighting the invisible hold over me. “Go away!” I yelled, but again, my voice echoed inside my mind, not breeching whatever barrier restrained my panicked shout.

“Take my hand,” the man directed me. “Josiah needs your assistance.”

His outstretched arm was suspended over me, and I didn’t know what to do. Where were Thing One and Thing Two? I could feel my abdomen contracting as I tried to sit up. I’d broken the hold once before when Josiah used to do this to me. Why wasn’t it working now?

I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep. This had to be a very vivid dream; this couldn’t be real. Josiah was the last person that would need any assistance. Just when sleep began to pull me under, a hand grabbed my arm. Yelping, I tried to tug it backbut stopped when the stranger lowered his hood. He’d released whatever esoteric hold he’d had on me, but not my arm.

“You will come with me,” he said, his voice as casual as if he were telling me to go and pick up milk at the store.

The more I tried to wrench my arm back, the tighter his grip grew. “Get out of my house. If Josiah finds you here, he’ll kill you.”

“I’m here on his behalf.”

Reaching for my cellphone with my free hand, I almost had it before I was dragged backward, landing on the edge of the bed. The man lifted his hand toward the door for a second, and I expected it to open automatically, but it didn’t.

My scream must’ve alerted my shadows because then the door did open, and faux-Superman walked in. “Who is this guy? What’s going on? He said Josiah needs me,” I threw the barrage of questions at the guard.

“Jude, you may take her,” Kent informed him, slightly dazed and completely ignoring me. “If he is requesting her presence of course.” His brows furrowed and he shook his head as if trying to clear it.

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