Kyle glanced at Cassidy before replying. “No,I won’t take that chance.”
“It’s now or never,” Aida said as her brainlurched sickeningly again.
She bit her lip as her mind shifted, and sheexperienced the overwhelming urge to kill him again. Fisting herhands on her thighs, she beat her hands against her legs as shesuppressed a whimper.
“Julian,” she breathed. “I don’t want to feellike this anymore. Please, just do it.”
Her misery was like a hammer batteringagainst him, and with every blow, it broke down his walls whilealso driving nails of rage into his bones. As her hands beatremorselessly against her thighs, he realized he either had to puta new memory into her mind or put her to sleep again.
“It will be okay, Julian. We’re all here tohelp hunt this monster,” Cassidy said and tentatively rested herhand on his shoulder.
Aida rocked forward as blood from herbrutalized lip trickled down her chin. It may be their only option,but he couldn’t discuss doing a mind-meld on her right now.Brushing back a strand of her hair, he peered into her batteredface.
“I have to give you some of my blood so youcan heal by tomorrow,” he said. “You can’t see him again with thesemarks all over you; he’ll know something happened if you do. Areyou okay with me giving you some of my blood?”
Wasn’tshesupposed to be the onedrawing blood? Aida wondered as she tried to claw her way up themountain of sand her mind was turning into again. Yes, she wassupposed to draw blood when she killed Julian! That was it!
But that couldn’t be right. She couldn’t killhim; she loved him. She was supposed to return to the gallery. Shewould see Gerald again and kill him. Or was she supposed to killJulian?
She wasn’t aware she was speaking herdisordered thoughts out loud, but he listened to her confusedramblings with growing unease.
“Aida, can I give you some of my blood?” heasked.
Her eyes shot to him, and she chewed on hertorn bottom lip before speaking. “Yes, do it.”
This was not how he expected to share hisblood with her for the first time, but it was necessary. “And can Itake control of your mind?”
Her eyes were wild as they darted around theroom before settling on him again. “Yes,” she whispered.
His shoulders slumped forward, and he restedhis forehead against hers before biting into his wrist and offeringit to her. She stared at the blood before looking at him again. “Itwill heal you,” he assured her.
Her hands trembled as she took his wrist andbrought it to her mouth. He closed his eyes and ran his hand downher hair as she drank from him. When the bites healed, he drew moreblood for her. Her wounds were already healing by the time shefinished drinking from him.
“It’s going to be okay,” he assured her asshe started her strange mutterings again.
“She gave you permission; you have to takecontrol of her mind if only to get her to calm down again,” Kylesaid.
He was right, but self-loathing and ahorrible sense of dread made Julian’s skin clammy as he clasped herhands and pinned them against her legs. “Aida, listen to me,” hesaid in his most soothing tone. “Everything is fine, and you don’thave to hurt anyone ever again.”
Fresh tears raced down her cheeks. “I don’twant to hurt anyone, especially you.”
“I know,” he assured her. “You’re going toget up and go to work tomorrow, and you won’t remember anythingabout this night other than you slept great.”
He couldn’t put it into her mind that shekilled him; she was this unstable because Gerald commanded her tokill him. Her brain was programmed to obey the command, but herheart and soul rebelled against it. The result was destroyingher.
Instead, he had to do something to make herforget her torment even if it tore his heart to shreds. Red andblack color swirled through his hands and arms as the demon part ofhim rebelled against what he was doing.
He welcomed the power the flood of colorbrought as it took a lot for him to rewrite her memories to thisextent. If he didn’t get the extra boost of power, he might notaccomplish changing two weeks of memories.
Her tears dried while he spoke, and sherelaxed as he removed himself from her recent memories. When hefinished mind-melding her, Julian wrapped his arms around her anddrew her against his chest. His tears fell to land on her bent headwhile she slept.
CHAPTER 42
Aida toured the gallery with a middle-aged couplelooking for a wedding present for their son. She smiled at thecouple and answered their questions, but exhaustion adhered to herlike a second skin, and she couldn’t figure out why.
She’d slept well last night. Still, shestifled a yawn as the man and woman turned their heads from side toside while inspecting a sculpture. The art piece was supposed to bean abstract, but it looked a lot like a human heart to her.
When the couple gave up on trying to figureout the sculpture, they continued around the gallery until arrivingin the main room again. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit ofAida’s stomach when she discovered the night pressing against theplate glass windows.
