Page 40 of Untraced Magic
I didn’t feel my legs move, but the back entrance to Jinxed came closer with each second that passed, the bar becoming a blur before Reid appeared at my side, hoisting me into a van.
I glanced at my hands, finding them shaking.
Reid leaned over, buckling my seatbelt for me. “You’re okay. Everything’s okay,” he assured me, his hands landing on my shoulders.
I nodded, unable to speak, my words paralyzed by both shock and fear.
Tyler jumped into the driver’s side, and the two of them exchanged a look I couldn’t decipher. Nothing made sense anymore.
Reid nodded. “Get her out of here.”
I barely recognized his voice, his usual carefree demeaner now a deeper tone. Controlled and laced with urgency.
Tyler hurriedly turned the key to the ignition, and the engine came to life. He floored it out of the parking lot and down the road.
“What’s going on? I… I don’t understand?” I stammered, my teeth chattering as sodden clothes hung from my limbs.
Tyler’s attention focused on the road ahead. “Let’s just get you home.” Reaching behind him, he passed me a jacket. “Here, put this on. You’re cold.”
I accepted it, slipping it on and tucking my knees to my chest.
A silence hung between us as we made the quick trip home through the downpour, coming to a stop in Tyler’s driveway. He cut the motor, gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned white.
I didn’t have words, didn’t know where to start. If someone had told me how tonight would play out, I would never in a million years have believed them.
Cutting the silence, he finally spoke, his hands pushing into his thighs. “I don’t think you should be on your own tonight. You can stay at our place and have my bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Our eyes collided, unspoken words pressing his lips tight.
I nodded, unsure of what to say.
“Let’s get you inside. You need to warm up.”
He appeared at my passenger door moments later, opening it for me with an outstretched hand. Jumping down, gravel crunched under our shoes, and I felt pressure at the small of my back, guiding us to his front door.
My mind spun as it replayed the evening’s events.
IthinkI’d just witnessed Tyler turn into a total pyro to save my life. But worse… now he knew about my freakshow of a secret.
I sure as hell couldn’t handle any more surprises tonight.
Tyler
Walkingthroughthefrontdoor with Morgan in tow wasnothow I imagined tonight would go down. Far from it, in fact.
The night had quickly become a shitstorm on steroids, and I had no idea where Morgan’s head was at. A thick silence gripped gnarly fingers around us, its hold choking the usual banter that seemed to come naturally between us.
Tonight had revealed a lot. Secrets. Desires. Enemies, even.
Morgan had witnessed the dark side of Cutters Cove. The bloodthirsty vampires who roamed this town, treating it like their own personal playpen. But I couldn’t be sure which part of tonight had her most on edge.
I’d witnessed her gift. But in protecting her, I’d needed to expose my own, and to say I wasn’t worried about her knowing my truth would be a lie. Shemustbe a supernatural. She had to be, insomeway.
I opened the front door, my hand guiding her inside before me.
Wes had somehow made it home first and sat upright from the couch. “Morgan…?”
I sent him a dark look, enough to shut his mouth.
