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I wiped the tears from my cheeks then looked over my shoulder at him. “Try me.”
He sighed, heavy and almost broken. He was holding back still, and it was clear that he wasn’t going to trust me. The illusion that we could become something more, that he had seen me as more than just a good lay, was shattered. The humiliation hit me, and the tears gathering on my lashes were full of real pain.
I’d been nothing and would only ever be nothing to Ezra St. Croix.
Rock star. Playboy. Heartbreaker.
The inner scolding pounded against my eardrums as I gathered my few items and slammed the door behind me. I took off down the hall to the elevator and stood inside it before the last thread of hope snapped.
I held the doors open.
One.
Two.
Breathe, Pru. He’ll follow. He has to follow you.
Four.
Five.
He can’t be this cruel.
Seven.
Eight.
Just one more second. He’ll come running.
Ten.
I let go of the button.
The doors closed, and my heart broke.
10
Gaap
Ipaced the floor of our room for hours, waiting for her to come back. It became clear that I was going to have to find her and drag her back myself. When I reached out with the delicate connection I had to her soul, I came back empty-handed. I couldn’t get a clear read on which direction she’d gone.
When I got down to my bike, I could only feel her breathing. She was asleep somewhere, probably in another hotel or close by. I rode up and down several blocks but again, there wasn’t a clear indication of her whereabouts. Until she woke up, I would have to wait and stew in the fury building inside of me. For the remainder of the night, I tossed and turned until I reluctantly slept.
When the early morning came, and I couldn’t take being in the hotel any longer, I headed to the church to meet with the Leviathan. My only company on the ride was the nervous energy mixed with the sick feeling in my stomach that something wasn’t right. Her soul was still within the city limits, and she was somewhere dark and still not fully awake. If I couldn’t pinpoint a location, I couldn’t step through the void to her side. I would have to call in reinforcements if she didn't turn up after I met with the Leviathan. If Eli was still hanging around The Deacon, he could assist me.
The small semblance of a plan didn’t rid my gut of the knots that had been coiled there since she’d walked out of the hotel room. I had let my anger get the better of me. The secret of who I really was and trying to shield her from a world she would never be able to unsee had thickened my head and caused me to push her away.
If something had happened to her, it was my fault. If she found her way back home and rejected me when I finally did find her, she would be entitled. Both scenarios were punishments I deserved. I hadn’t taken a human companion in ages. I’d gotten too attached to the last one, and he’d ended up dying from the party lifestyle I had introduced him to. His loss had been devastating and was partly why I had given up my crown and responsibilities.
I had long since healed, but allowing myself to become infatuated with any being since then had been too painful. Humans, especially, were fragile and easily lost. Enduring a prince of Hell was brutal on their bodies and minds, but Pru was different. Our first night together had woken a hunger in me that only she could tame. She’d lasted longer in my bed than most and still wanted more. I’d picked her out of convenience, but I was questioning what my brothers had seen so blatantly. Would I really have been able to use Pru as a barrier from Alessio?
I had to find her. Find a way to keep her. I needed her.
The church parking lot was empty when I pulled up on my bike. It was still early, and the smoggy air that hung over the mountainous horizon burned with the cresting sun.
I didn’t know if The Leviathan would be in the sanctuary yet—he likely lived in a dwelling nearby—but I would wait at the steps if I had to. When I approached the angular archway, one of the doors was slightly ajar, and a dim light flickered inside. It set my nerves on edge, and my spine straightened as I reached out a hand to push it open.
11
