Page 60 of A Breath of Life
“The…” His gaze shifted away and back. “The guy from the alley.”
“You know his first name?”
Diem pulled from my arms and whistled for Echo as he headed for the door. “I remembered one of the ambulance guys saying it.”
Bullshit.No one knew who the guy was at that point, and I certainly didn’t recall anyone fishing a wallet from his pocket and announcing his name.
Diem lied—again—but I couldn’t figure out why.
The pouch. The paranoia. The confessions.The fear.
And a growing mountain of lies.
Diem had trained me as an investigator, and it was about time I did my own investigating. If he didn’t want to tell me the truth, I would figure it out on my own.
16
Diem
Buren was late. If that fucker didn’t show up in the next ten minutes, I would hunt his ass down, and a drug addiction would be the least of his problems. I didn’t like being out in the open, where Ace and his psychotic cronies could have eyes on me.
On Tallus.
Slipping on Clarence’s name had been a huge mistake, and of course Tallus had noticed. Now I was a fucking liar too. Great. He hadn’t spoken a word on the drive to the meeting spot, staring out the window, silent and contemplative. Tallus read me like a book, but I wasn’t as skilled at reading him, so I had no clue what he was thinking. I suspected I was back up shit creek without a paddle.
The bus rendezvous point was crowded, and too many inches separated us. I had to suppress the urge to grab Tallus’s hand, yank him against my body, and growl in his ear, demanding he stay close. How was I supposed to keep him safe if he insisted on wandering out of arm’s reach?
Tallus paced along the curb, nonchalantly texting on his phone. Memphis, no doubt. They were like teenage girls with their secrets and gossip. Attached at the hip. He was probably telling Memphis I was a big asshole.
I didn’t want to be moody and overbearing, but Christ. I couldn’t pretend everything was peachy when it wasn’t.
I scanned the street again before glancing back at my too-hot-for-his-own-good boyfriend, who stood out in a crowd, drawing attention from men and women alike. Eight feet separated us. Eight feet too many.
I squinted through the windshields of parked cars, scoured nooks and corners, and studied the windows above the shops across the street. The hairs on the back of my neck sang a warning, but I couldn’t find the culprit.
I needed Tallus closer. Within reach. Against my body, so I could wrap him protectively in my arms.
Oh, how the tides had changed. At one time, being too close to him had caused my lungs to constrict. Now, I was going out of my mind with him mere feet away. Every muscle in my body was coiled and ready to pounce at the first sign of danger. I would tear the throat out of anyone who dared lay a finger on him.
Echo nudged my leg, and I realized my heart was racing. I took a few steadying breaths but couldn’t calm down. Absently scratching her ear, I zeroed in on Tallus.
He must have felt the burn of my attention on the side of his face. He glanced up, studied me with narrowed eyes for a long moment, then smiled. It wasn’t his real smile. Before returning his focus to his phone, he flicked his gaze to the pouch around my wrist.
The goddamn thing was a lead weight, dragging me under. Its presence was a constant reminder of my predicament—of the impendingthreat. I flashed back to the pictures scattered on the floor, each of them taken without Tallus’s knowledge. The thought of someone being that close to him turned my blood to lava. My atoms vibrated, threatening to split in half and nuke the city.
And Nana. Oh god, Nana. Staying away from the home was akin to torture.
Unable to take the distance anymore, I stormed toward Tallus, stopping close enough that my shadow engulfed him.
The moment I blocked his sun, he lifted his head and arched a brow as though waiting for me to say something.
I silently glared, jaw ticking, muscles twitching.
“What’s up?” he asked, cool and relaxed.
“Nothing.”
No smile. No comment. No flirty joke. The sass I adored was gone, replaced by quiet introspection. It wasn’t like him. Tallus was verbose. Argumentative. He spoke his mind regardless of the consequences. I never had to guess what was going on in his head because he usually told me.
