Page 294 of Caelum

“Do you hate me?” My voice was small now because I wanted the truth, and I still wasn’t sure if I had the answer.

“No. I don’t think I ever truly did,” he disclosed, and when I snorted, the left side of his upper lip quirked up. “No. I mean it. I didn’t like you, and I still think you’re trouble, but you’re… Eve, I don’t think I could hate you.”

My throat felt thick, and I nodded then curled my hand through his and cuddled into him as we stared into the mayhem we’d helped create.

“Any news from Bartlett?” I asked, the emotion in my voice coming from his answer, but I knew him enough to know that this was a good time to change the subject.

“Yes.”

I tensed. “Good or bad?”

“Turkey.”

“Turkey?” I scowled at him. “What is this? Let’s visit everyone’s home country?”

He snorted. “Seems like it.”

“What’s there?”

“Samuel is looking into the clue. It’s more unusual than the others.”

“Why?

“Three wishes this time.”

That made me shiver. “So, this one is more powerful?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” He tilted his head to the side, gently knocking it against mine. “Ever just want to go to sleep and wake up when everything’s over?”

Because he seemed like the kind of guy who never backed down in a fight, his statement had my lips curving. “Sometimes, yeah,” I admitted. “The clue’s that bad, huh?”

“Not really. I don’t understand half of it.” He closed his eyes. “I had a migraine, so I stopped focusing when Bartlett was halfway through his monologue on what the markings mean.”

I’d have been blind not to spot them on my body when I’d showered. “One for each of my mates and then the tree’s back in business,” I stated softly, closing my own eyes. “They’re what woke me up.”

“Huh?”

“When I was in the SUV, and you guys were… Well, the marks were tingling almost.” I shuddered. “It was like pins and needles there. I didn’t realize until I showered though.”

“Built-in alarm system,” he mused. “Could come in handy.”

A huff escaped me. “It could if you guys intend on getting into some more danger?”

“Danger’s coming for us,cariño, not the other way around.”

I hated that he was right but couldn’t argue.

The thought of whatever it was we were heading into, Turkey our ultimate destination, made me curl up into a ball deep inside.

I wanted to hide from the future and all it represented but couldn’t.

This was my destiny, after all.

But before I faced that, Dre and I had unfinished business.

“Want the truth?”

He tensed. “Of course.”

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