Page 81 of Hopelessly Teavoted
Vickie turned to Azrael and sighed.
“More gravedirt.”
“Vickie,” he began, the bags under his pleading eyes heavier than before.
“We’re in a fucking mausoleum,” she said. “With the corpseof a soulless killer. Let’s clean up and get out of here. Help me with the coffin.”
Az swallowed, eyebrows furrowing, but he complied, snapping to lighten the weight. A few sweaty moments of lifting later, the last remains of Tina Rosehill on this earthly plane rested back in her crypt.
Azrael raised his hands—those big, strong hands that she had loved the feel of so much on her body and her face and wound between her own fingers—and snapped. The plate sealed back on, and another snap replaced the bolts holding it in.
“Come on,” he said. “We need to go.”
“Do you want to talk about it now, or wait until you have the option to dissemble?” It didn’t fit the perfect story they had wanted to pretend. But there was no such thing as perfect, only real. And her reality was that she wanted to talk about it.
“I do want to talk about it.” He looked at her, expression weary. Ash and dirt lingered in his hair and streaked down his left cheek, and yet, he was still impossibly good-looking.
“About the soul seal.” He hesitated. “I know it’s soon. But I want to do it. And I’m done pretending.”
“I’d still like to be able to call a pretend, in the meantime,” she whispered. “But it’s not off the table. Forever, I mean. Forever is not off the table.”
“It’s just a lot,” he offered. “I know.”
“A thing I’d want to do, but maybe later, unforced.” She paused, shutting her eyes. She did want to be honest, though. “If it were later. If we had more time.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I get that.”
She held her arms together, hugging herself. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I love you more than I ever have. Like my heart is shattering into a million glass fragments that can’t ever be put back together.” Az frowned. “Devil dammit. I don’t want to pretend, Vickie, gravedirt or not.”
He threw his head in his hands. He loved her. Still.
“I feel everything, Azrael. But I’m not ready to give uppretending. Things are complicated, right? I want more, but I’m afraid. That’s my truth. I’m afraid of getting hurt again. Do you understand? You haven’t even been back more than a few months.”
“I’m trying to,” Az said slowly. “I’d wait forever if that was an option, but if we let Halloween pass, well, there’s no sealing a dead man. But I think we can figure it out. Maybe we should go home.”
“Oh, shit,” she said.
“What?”
“You work at a high school, Az.”
“Yeah.” He did not sound thrilled. “Yeah. I am really not looking forward to another uber-honest week with teenagers. It will wear off a little bit by tomorrow, but I’m absolutely going to be planning a film study for tomorrow and Friday now. As little talking as possible. Fucking devils, always meddling.”
“Az,” said Vickie, her voice small. “This could get worse before it gets better. We still have no idea who we are even looking for. And if you have to talk to Chet, if he turns out to just be an asshole, unconnected, but you’re stuck being honest…”
“Right. Avoid my boss when I get back. Noted.”
Vickie hoped she was wrong, but the fiery doubt swirled, along with the betrayal. The pieces weren’t fitting, and now that they had destroyed the last relic she was willing to use to talk to the Harts, she had no one to advise her. Lex had toyed with them both. But Azrael had broken her heart back in college, using that same gravedirt trick. She was pretty sure, as terrifying as it was, that she would be interested in binding their fates together for good. She just wished she had more time to think about it.
And most of all, she wished she could do what she wanted without it killing him.
CHAPTER 25Azrael
The macabre staccato of the doorbell cut through his reverie in front of the mirror.
As though staring at his reflection could change the reality that he could not touch the woman he loved.
