Page 61 of Marked

“The answer is both yes and no,” they finally say. “We cannot explain more, but you are welcome to ask more questions.”

They’re giving me a chance to get more information.

I rub at my bottom lip with my thumb, staring down at the silky sand as I think. I know better than to ask about Taylor. They can’t tell me about souls that have passed here, so instead I focus on my whiteboard. All the pictures of the headless, heartless women laid out based on a loose timeline.

“This creature has been killing for a while,” I surmise. When they just stare at me expectantly, I keep going. “The bodies that appeared were sporadic before they came to Las Vegas, but now that they’re here they’re escalating. Why?”

“Control is a fickle thing,” they muse. “It isn’t always so easily held.”

Their words have a double meaning, and it takes me a second to realize what it is. It’s something Jack and I commented on a few days ago. “There’s two of them?” When they stare at me, I rub my face in disbelief. “Fucking shit! This is insane. We’re not any closer to figuring out who it is!”

“You are closer than you think,” one of the triplets says, the other two giving him a sharp, reprimanding look.

I look at him in surprise then back down at my leg. “It did attack me, but why?” I press my palms to my eyes and groan in frustration as I play back my attack. A startled breath gets caught in my lungs when I remember Jack showing up and pulling it off me. I had been so fucking worried that he had gone missing, that something had happened to him, but he showed up at my apartment completely fine. And then the beast had cowered at Jack’s aura. Why? Not just that, but it had seemed like every part of Jack wanted to chase after the beast. Was it because he knew it was related to our case? Or because he lost control of it?

And was he cursing at it, or calling it—her by a name? And I now remember that he did in fact address it as a female.

“Ask,” Cerberus presses.

“Is this beast’s name Ammit?” I whisper. Every part of me is pleading for them to say no. Or say that they don’t know. Or that they can’t tell me. I need something besides a confirmation.

“Yes.”

Gods fucking damn it!

I feel my chest constrict, the air wheezing from my lungs. I pull my hands from my face and look down at them as if they hold all the answers. Jack knows about Ammit. Has he known this whole time that she was part of the murders? Is he the one controlling her?

“You warned me to stay away from Jack,” I murmur and slowly lift my head to look at the triplets. “He’s not from our underworld, is he?”

They seem almost disappointed by my question but shake their heads. “No.”

I swallow thickly as doubt skitters down my spine. What are the chances that a body would be discovered the same day Jack started his job at the LVPCU? That it would be his first case?

Cerberus gives a soft sigh and waves their hands at me. “Perhaps you need to ask him more questions. He’s angry we took you away from him. We just wanted to make sure she did not take your soul while you slept.”

I’m about to ask him what he means, but my soul slams back into my body. My back arches as I gasp in air, my eyes flying open.

“I’ve got you.” Warm hands cradle my face, thumbs brushing soothing circles along my cheekbones. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

I blink several times until I can focus on the handsome face staring down at me. As Jack’s hand moves to smooth my hair back from my face, I notice my head is in his lap. Gods, I hate how comforted I feel by him.

His eyes soften as his knuckles brush along my cheek. “I hate that he does that to you,” he comments, oblivious to my rising panic and fear.

My heart pounds against my ribs as I stare up at him, trying to harden my resolve against the man who wormed his way into my life and for maybe the worst reasons. I have to remember that he may very well be the killer of so many women. Not to mention a liar.

“How do you know the beast?” My voice is quiet as my amber eyes meet his.

His hand stills, eyes widening slightly. “What?”

I smack his hands off me, disgusted by the potential of his touch, and lurch into a sitting position. He leans back in time to avoid the collision of our foreheads. “You heard me,” I hiss, standing from the couch and trying to ignore the twinge in my calf and the way my vision swims.

Jack fluidly rises from the couch, but his shoulders are tense, jaw tight as he looks at me. “What did Cerberus tell you?”

Scoffing, I put distance between us and slowly limp back towards my bedroom. My service gun is still stupidly in my truck, but I have a Glock in my nightstand. I want to think that Jack won’t hurt me. But then again, I also never thought he could be a murderer either. “I didn’t need him to figure it out. I may have hit my head, but I remember you calling her name. At first, I thought you were cussing at her, but you weren’t, were you? Her name is Ammit, isn’t it?”

He quietly follows me with a pinched expression. “Yes.”

I quicken my pace at his admission and rush to my drawer. I push aside two mini bottles of vodka and wrap my fingers around the grip of my gun, flicking off the safety and loading the chamber. When I whirl back around, I level it at him. Jack’s hands shoot up in surrender, but I can see the surprise in his eyes.

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