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I killed the light and crossed the room when something flickered in the darkness, catching on a rogue strand of moonlight. I pushed to my feet and lifted the single, glittering shoe.
“Ella Embers,” I said, running a finger along the thin heel.
Thoughts of her made me more malleable than a marshmallow. She’d claimed she was no thief, but after an entire evening spent in her company, I wondered if she might be in line to take more than kisses from me.
I thought of The Pact again. I’d never wanted to break it for anyone else before, but Ella?
If I wasn’t careful, that girl was going to steal my heart.
TWENTY-SIX
ella
My brief midnightnap was haunted with warning. Omens appeared, distressing visions of armed assailants barging in and attacking Hawk and I while we danced, of Pris spewing threats and splashing poison in my face that melted my skin.
The instant my alarm sounded, my blood chugged with panic. It took too long to shake away the lingering fears the dreams had imprinted on me.
Nothing was wrong. Everything was fine. Not only had I stood up to Stina, but I was meeting Hawk in less than an hour.
Maybe now, Pris would get off my case about Derek. She’d see I’d moved on and could get a life and do the same.
Moving sluggishly, I zipped calf-high boots over my leggings and checked my appearance in the mirror. My hair was still semi-decent, so I folded Hawk’s clothes, grabbed a muffin, and headed out intothe cold Christmas morning.
As far as hospitals went, Harmony Children’s was imaginative and welcoming. It catered to children, with colorful montages on the walls depicting superheroes and popular figurines in full size for kids to stop beside and snap a picture with.
The facility was specialized, a place where children with severe or life-threatening conditions could stay to get the long-term care they needed.
I pressed the call button and waited in the chilled winter air for the back door to be opened. To my surprise, it wasn’t a nurse who appeared, but Hawk.
“Morning,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.
A black sweater hugged his torso and sculpted arms, blending in with his dark pants and shoes. He scoped out my equally black garb as I removed my coat and hung it on a hanger in the room just off from the door.
“Looking good,” he said.
“I know. We could be ninjas.”
Hawk laughed and answered me with a kiss that steamed to my toes. “Even in all black, you look bright and chipper.”
“I feel bright and chipper.”
He had no idea. It was so freeing to be up this early becauseIwanted to be. Because I didn’t have to do anything for Stina Malus, but for Hawk.
“Speaking of clothes, I brought yours. They’re in my car.”
I indicated the parking lot behind me. I wasn’t sure whether or not to bring them in.
“Hold onto them,” he said, tilting in for another kiss.
His mouth was consuming. He guided me deeper into the coat closet, his hands at my ribs, my spine, keeping me close.
Mm. I could do just this and be perfectly content for the next several hours.
“I’ll get them from you the next time we go out,” he said.
“Will there be a next time?”
He rested his forehead against mine. “I don’t want things to end here, do you?”
