Page 47 of The Second Deal

Hebreathes in deeply before his arms envelop me.Hemumbles into my hair, “I’mfine, babe.Ipromise.”

Ilift my head to search his face, to make sure he’s not lying through his teeth to me.Notabout this.

“WhatifIlost you for good, and—andIcouldn’t ever hear your voice again, or—”Igrip him more tightly, my own voice rising higher asIblink rapidly, “—or see you play guitar again, or... or…”

Isob into his chest, gasping deeply.

Idon’t thinkIcan say the rest of it.

Afterall this time, after reliving the same nightmare over and over every single night and coming home for this very reason,Idon’t know ifIcan say those words toZak.

Idon’t deserve…

Hetakes my face between his hands and gently kisses my forehead.Hislips linger, and my face crumples.

“Steph,I’mright here.I’mokay.I’mjust drunk with a tiny flesh wound.”Hepulls away far enough to get a good look at me.Thecorners of his lips turn slightly upward.

Eventhe smallest smile of his has always taken my breath away.

“I’mmore worried about you, mamas,”Zakmurmurs. “Solet me do the limpia.”

Myeyes roll. “ScaredI’llcarry some bad juju from la lechuza?”

Hisexpression falls somber. “Steph,Ihave to do it, or you might die.”

Iscoff incredulously and step back, making our arms drop from around one another. “Yeahright—”

“I’mnot gonna let you fuck around and find out with this,” he mutters, spinning around.

“Okay, riddle me this,Einstein,”Istart and follow him.Iswipe away lingering trails of tears from my cheeks. “Whyaren’tyoudying from blood loss and those puncture wounds, but ifIdon’t do a limpia,I’lldie?Howthe fuck does that make sense?”

“That’sthe legend,Steph,” he says simply, opening a cabinet and reaching for an egg carton. “Peoplewho’ve been attacked by la lechuza die within a few days.”Hetakes a single white egg out and sets the carton on the counter. “It’sgotta be more than just a wound getting infected.”

Zakfrantically looks around, searching through cabinets.

“Ugh, fine.I’lldo it if it’ll make you feel better.ButIwant you to tell me the truth.”

Lookslike he might’ve found what he was looking for in another cabinet: a bottle of holy water. “‘Boutwhat?”

“Aboutwhat attacked you.”Iswallow the rock forming in my throat. “Whyyou missed the show tonight.”

Hegulps more amaretto. “I’vebeen at the bar all afternoon.Idrank enough thatIdidn’t realize what time it was, and, by then, it was too late.

“SoIwas headin’ home from the bar, andIsaw a toddler playing on the bridge.Ikinda freaked out and scooped it up before it fell into the river, and…”Heblinks, staring off into space. “Fuckerbit me.”

Iknow he feels my eyes on him, but he avoids my gaze by reaching for a bottle from the cabinet.

It’sbad enough for him to finally pull out hisCrownRoyal.

“Youdidn’t make a deal with the devil to turn into a vampire, did you?”Ijoke, trying to lighten the mood.

Hegroans and rolls his eyes.Hedoesn’t even bother with a glass, unscrewing theCrownand taking a swig straight from the bottle.

Mystomach stinks so low thatIthinkI’mgoing to puke. “Z, what did you do?”

Hefinally snaps, “Imade a deal with the devil for my fucking life, okay?”

Chapter18

---