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His eyebrows lifted. “So, you went without knowing what you were facing?”
“You’d have done the same thing.”
“Yeah,” he scoffed. “But I would have at least brought a gun.”
“I had my baton, and I’m a literal witch with magic powers. I was fine.”
“Telekinesis and a stick won’t do much when you’re up against something bigger than you, Rebekah. Why didn’t you call someone for back up?”
“It wouldn’t have mattered either way. She was dead when I got there. I was too late,” I said, dropping my gaze to the grain of the table. Its yellow paint was chipped beyond repair, and the swirls set deep into the wood were starting to poke through underneath.
He slid his hand over the spot I was staring at. “Hey, don’t do that. You can’t blame yourself for what happened. You didn’t kill her. It wasn’t your fault.”
I shook my head. “But it is. I got into this job to help people. I wanted to help make New Orleans safe. But when Nadia asked, I said no and now she’s dead. Her blood is on my hands.”
He inhaled deeply and froze. “You’re bleeding.”
“What?” I frowned.
“I didn’t smell it because of the decay in the cemetery, but I can smell it now. Your hand." His eyes dropped zeroing in on my wounded palm. “Let me see your hand.”
“It’s fine. Just a scrape,” I said, sliding them both under the table.
He rolled his eyes and stood up. “I’ll get the first aid kit.”
I leaned on the table and dropped my head into my hands with a groan. “Why are you even here? I told you we’d talk once Shado finished her autopsy.”
“Apparently, I’m here to bandage your hand. Take off your gloves,” he said, opening the box in front of him.
I knew it was a bad idea to let him take care of me, but I couldn’t help but watch in awe as he donned a pair of latex gloves and started pulling out the antiseptic cream and gauze. Shrugging off my jacket, I removed my gloves and extended my palm in his direction. The latex barrier would keep his skin from triggering a vision. The magic in my blood had already started to heal the nasty V-shaped cut in the center of my palm, but it would still be another day or so before the wound disappeared.
Jackson shook his head at the sight of the blood. “You may heal faster than the average human, but you can still get infections. How long ago did this happen?”
“I tripped when I went to get air in the cemetery,” I said, watching him pour some alcohol onto a patch of gauze. “I caught myself on a fence post. Guess it broke the skin.”
“Give me your hand and brace yourself. This will burn,” he said.
I nodded and he dabbed the gauze into the center of my palm. I couldn’t be sure if the flinch that followed was from the alcohol or the fact that he was touching me, but I didn’t pull away. I just watched as he cleaned and wrapped the wound. When he was done, he put a piece of medical tape on the end of the gauze to secure it, and his thumb brushed over my knuckles. His gaze lifted to my lips, and then met mine. It felt like fire against my skin. I couldn’t breathe.
Jackson blinked, letting go of my hand.He carried the bloody gauze he’d used to wipe the wound to the sink and grabbed a match from the stack on the windowsill. I’d taught him long ago that if another witch got a hold of my blood, they could do almost anything to me from anywhere in the world. Fire was the only thing that would render it useless. He set the gauze aflame in the bottom of the sink, and then doused it with water from the faucet. I’d clean my gloves later.
“So, how much do you know about—what was it she wanted to learn?”
I arched an eyebrow at his back. “Blood magic? Do you really want to know?”
He turned to face me, wiping his hands on a dishtowel. “If it’s pertinent to our case, Ineedto know.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. The weeks that my uncle Viktor spent teaching me blood magic were some of the hardest of my life. He’d always been a big believer in the “spare the rod, spoil the child” philosophy. But I didn’t want to taint Jackson with my crazy childhood. Some memories were better left buried.
I chose my words carefully. “Viktor taught me. He said it was for when I got stuck between a rock and hard place, but I’ve never used it. Blood magic is illegal for a reason. It’s vicious. With a few drops, I could burn a hole through a titanium door, manipulate someone’s thoughts, or even kill them from halfway across the globe.”
Jackson shuddered. “Your uncle was one twisted son of a bitch.”
“You have no idea.”
“Okay. You said the marks on Nadia’s skin weren’t there two days ago, right?” I could see the gears were turning in his head. He was going full cop mode. Thinking through the case step by step.
“She walked into my office without a mark or pimple in sight.” I said. “But she definitely wasn’t the one who carved up her skin. It takes real skill to mess with someone’s body that deeply. Her magic wouldn’t have been strong enough for them to be self-inflicted.”
