Page 102 of Infernal

He blinked, struggling to wrap his mind around what I’d just said. And then, “What makes you so sure he’d take you in exchange for them?” he asked, a hint of curiosity stirring his voice.

“I’mnotsure,” I answered truthfully, because I wasn’t sure. “But I have to at least try.”

“This is crazy,” said Caleb, pushing his hands through his hair. “I didn’t sign up forthis.”

“Dude, calm down,” said Ben, though Caleb didn’t seem to get the message.

He was pacing back and forth like a caged animal. “Do you even realize what you’re saying, Blackburn? This isn’t just crazy. It’s suicide. No—it’s worse than suicide.”

“And what’s the alternative, Cale? Do you actually think there’s any part of me that can go there tonight and ram a sword into Trace’s heart?! Do you? Because, spoiler alert: I can’t do it.”

His judge-y eyes flicked down to Dominic, and I understood the look perfectly.

“This is different. I didn’t kill him! He’s incapacitated, not dead,” I quickly defended.

“Yeah, that’s debatable,” answered Ben, though he appeared to be lost in his own world as he stared down at Dominic.

“You know what I mean.” I shook my head as more tears slipped from my eyes. “I can’t kill Trace. I just can’t. Not when there’s a chance that I can save them both.”

Ben appeared to be mulling it over, and I knew I was slowly inching him over to my side.

“If his works, if he accepts my offer, you can have both of them back tonight, and everything around here will go back to normal. Don’t you want that, Ben? Don’t you want them both home again?”

He nodded, though it was so faint and barely-there that I wasn’t sure he realized he’d done it.

“And what about you, Blackburn? What happens to you?”

“It doesn’t matter what happens to me,” I said, suppressing a wave of nausea that slashed through the pit of my stomach. “The only thing that matters is that everyone will be safe and that no one will ever be able to use me to do something like this ever again.”

Caleb frowned, but I could see that I was getting through to him too. Without the distorting veil of loving somebody, it was easy to see what needed to be done. Dominic couldn’t see it because he loved me, but Ben and Caleb could.

“Now, will you please help me get him back in the car so we can end this thing once and for all?”

And with that, the two of them finally scrambled forward and helped me carry Dominic’s body back to the car.

37. A DATE WITH THE DEVIL

Fissures of lightning spiderwebbed across the sky as I slowly made my way to the front entrance of All Saints. The air seemed inexplicably thinner here, less abundant, and strangely…impure. I couldn’t tell if it was my mind playing tricks on me, or if it was Lucifer’s mere presence contaminating the air around us.

All Saints was always dark and eerie during closed hours, but somehow the shadows felt thicker tonight, almost as though they were alive and working with Lucifer to conspire against the light. I wondered if the boys were getting the same vibe at the back of the building, or if it was just me being uber-paranoid because I was going at this alone.

Even though they’d agreed let me do this my way—to offer myself up in exchange for Trace and Taylor—we decided it was still a good idea for them to keep watch in case something went wrong. And if it didn’t, and everything went according to plan, they would be here to clean up the mess after I was gone.

I rubbed my sweaty palms against the back of my jeans, sucked in an unfulfilling breath of air, and then pulled open the door. My skin immediately prickled with unease as I stepped inside the building that was once my place of refuge. The main hall, usually swarming with people and loud music, was empty and as quiet as a grave.

The tremble in my hand was back, and it was snaking its way down to my legs now.

Ignoring the mounting alarm, I drew in another breath and scanned the room, searching for any signs of life. I noticed the air was just as sparse and fruitless inside the building as it was on the outside. Or maybe I was just hyperventilating to death.

It was definitely a possibility.

Something moved in my peripheral, and my gaze snapped to the bar. I narrowed my eyes as I took in the tanned man standing behind the wooden counter, wiping down shot glasses with a bar towel in his hand.

Zane… All Saints’ number one bartender.

In that brief instant, it didn’t occur to me to wonder what the heck he was doing here. Instead, I ran straight for him, half-petrified and half-relieved to finally findsomebodyinside the otherwise lifeless building.

“Zane! What the hell are you doing here?” I whisper-yelled from across the countertop. I quickly threw a glance over my shoulder to make sure we were still alone. “You have to leave! You can’t be here!”

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