Page 67 of Demons and Darlings


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“There are many worse things than death. And you might be a monster to them,”—I signaled to the bodies at the cabin—“but not to me you’re not.”

We stayed that way for a while, breathing the same oxygen in the chill of the forest night. I wasn’t sure how my hand got to his chest, but I could feel his rapid heart dancing beneath my touch.

“Getting close to me is a bad idea,” he breathed.

“What are you going to do about it?” I pushed. “Run away? Ignore me for weeks again? I’m in this, Alek. You can’t force me out of your life now because you’re afraid. You made this deal with me, and I accepted. Don’t back away now because you can’t handle it.”

He leaned down, his lips coming mere inches from my own. “Afraid?” he questioned.

I tiled my head up to him. I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted him to show me just how much he wanted to be with me. Why was it so hard for him to stay away? Why was it so hard for him to keep me out of trouble?

“You’re the one who should be afraid,” he whispered. Before I could protest, he stepped away, putting a world of distance between us.

He left me standing there, heart racing and emotions wild, while he led the way back to his car.

He didn’t look at me as he drove me back to my apartment. He didn’t look at me as I opened the car door.

He didn’t even wait for me to get into my apartment before driving away, screeching the rubber tires as if he couldn’t get away fast enough.

ChapterTwenty-Three

Two days later, Zac knocked on my apartment window.

“I need to talk to you,” Zac whispered from outside my window. After nearly giving me a heart attack, I had finally subdued my fight or flight response to the random visit from the Night Raven.

“Fine,” I said, stepping aside from the window. “Come on in.”

He pulled himself up and inside my apartment, just as graceful as Alek.

“Wow,” he said as he surveyed the area. “When Alek told me you were on lockdown in here, I didn’t think he really meant it.”

I returned to my position on the couch, trying to act as casual as possible. “I might as well turn that window into my front door,” I joked.

Zac’s face didn’t budge. He was typically the light-hearted one compared to the other Night Ravens I had been around. Seeing him so serious was rare.

And it put me on edge.

“What’s up?” I asked.

Zac sat on the other side of the couch, as far away from me as possible. I looked at him then, really looked at him, for what seemed like the first time. He rubbed his palms on his black jeans.

It was odd seeing such a large man so nervous. Even compared to Alek, Zac was an absolute monster of a man. An uneasy feeling crept into my stomach. “We need to talk about Alek,” he said.

“Okay, what about him?”

“He’s trying, Lyra. He’s… he’s been put in a bad position with his father.”

I straightened on the couch and glanced to where Alek’s blood had left a small stain on the floor. I made a mental note to finish cleaning it. “Are you talking about him getting stabbed?”

Zac ran his palms down the front of his thighs once more and swore under his breath. “That’s part of it, yes.”

“You mean there’s more?” It was my turn to curse under my breath. “Great.”

“Look,” he said, finally looking me in the eye, “I heard about last night. That was out of character, even for him.”

I shifted in my seat. “I’m not so sure it was.”

“Alek is dangerous, but he’s not… he’s not a bad guy, Lyra. His father controls him like a damn puppet.” His voice shifted to a whisper as he finished his sentence.

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