Page 68 of Marked

Twenty-two

The drive to Seth’s is tense.

Jack’s sitting in the passenger seat next to me, not making a single sound or movement. It’s making me more aware of my anxious breathing, makes the drumming of my fingertips seem almost deafening. But I can’t stop it. I’m nervous to confront another god, especially an unknown one to Jack, but I’m mostly terrified for Taylor.

How much has Seth hurt her because of me?

My fingers stop tapping against the leather and wrap tightly around it instead. When did Seth become so obsessed with me? How did I fail to see it? I really thought that when I broke things off between us it would be amiable. I should have known better after he ruined my date with Jack.

Jack.

Anubis.

I glance at him from the corner of my eye. I still don’t know how to wrap my mind around everything I’ve learned in the past hour. I wasn’t lying when I told him it was too much, but it’s not just for the reasons I told him. Those very much come into play, yes, but I’m also trying to work out the knots in my stomach and chest about us.

This stupid god means something to me.

Whether it’s because I completely opened up to him or because of this connection we have, he’s become important to me. But is the connection real? Does it only exist because of what he is? Did he use any of his prowess to lure me to him? Or is it because we’re both hounds of the underworld?

“Is everything between us fake?” I whisper.

Jack doesn’t hesitate to answer, and it makes it that much harder to decide if it’s a lie or not. “No.”

“How do I believe you?” Easing the truck to a stop at a red light, I wring my hands around the steering wheel. “How do I know that this isn’t part of your power? Your plan?”

“You keep insisting you were part of my plan when I’ve told you that you weren’t.” He turns his head to look at me, but I don’t have the balls to meet his gaze. “You were a surprise. I’ll admit that you were also a distraction, but one I can’t seem to fault or regret. I thoroughly enjoyed our time together, Valkyrie.” When my brows furrow, he quickly adds, “and I don’t just mean in the bedroom.”

I don’t answer Jack but take his answers and add them to the pile of ‘what the fuck’ topics in my mind. The light turns green, and I press down on the accelerator a little harder than necessary, the engine growling its excitement in response as it lurches through the intersection. When we finally pull into the parking lot of Seth’s apartments, my pulse is pounding against the side of my neck.

Jack turns his body towards mine. “Remember that most gods are egotistical,” he begins. “From the phone call, I can tell Seth is no exception.”

“Why tell me this?” I ask, still not looking at him.

“Get him talking,” he clarifies. “I’ll have my phone recording it so you can take it to Scott.”

I don’t like the finality in which he said that. “What do you mean?”

He runs a hand through his silky black hair and sighs. “When I get closer to him, I should be able to tell who he is and from there I can assess how dangerous he is. Either way, our powers are stunted in this realm. I won’t have all my strength to take him down, but neither will he.”

Once again, my brows knit. “What the fuck are you saying, Jack?”

Our eyes meet. “That I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m going to have to take him to the underworld as soon as I can. So, get him talking before I take him away. A recorded confession to help your case.”

“Our case,” I correct. “It’s still both of ours.”

He gives me a faint smile. “Just get him talking.”

I reach out and grab his forearm, his muscles instantly bunching and tensing under my touch. “What exactly am I supposed to tell Scott if you vanish?”

He looks down at the fingers wrapped around his arm. “Hopefully the recording will be enough.” He gently removes my hand and gives it a soft squeeze. “But you can tell him the truth if you need to.”

I watch him slink out of the truck before grabbing my service Glock from the center console and follow suit. Locking my truck, I tuck my keys and phone into the front pocket of my hoodie. I shove the Glock into the back of my Yoga pants and cover it with the hoodie before leading Jack to Seth’s apartment door. It’s physically a short journey from the parking lot to the unit, but it feels like it takes hours to get there.

When I’m finally standing in front of the door, I hesitate for a second. I’m about to face off against a god who has my best friend captive because I broke up with him.

What in the actual hell? How did it come to this?

“I’m here, Valkyrie. You’re not alone in this.” Jack’s soothing rumble comes from beside me.

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