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It felt like forever before she responded. “Was any of it true.”
Not a question, more a rhetorical that was spinning around in her head. Still, he felt compelled to answer. “I do have a boss who is impossible. That wasn’t a lie.”
“Well, aren’t you a hero.”
And of course, the biggest truth was that he loved her. But he knew that was the last thing she wanted to hear. “I’m so sorry I lied to you.”
“I am, too. I really am.”
The words slipped out before he could stop them: “I love you—”
“Don’t say that, ever,” she snapped. “Not around me, at any rate.”
Fuck. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She pushed her tangle of dark hair back and drew the lapels of the pink robe tightly to the base of her neck. “You know what the crazy thing is? Not that this all isn’t insane… but the most crazy thing is that I literally cannot believe I am here again, the truth exposed and biting me in the ass. The only thing I can say to your benefit is that at least your hands are not around my throat. But I still feel like I can’t breathe—”
“I’m sorry—”
“Stop with that. And I need you to leave. Right now. I don’t want to ever see you again.” She gestured to her head with a limp hand. “My mind can’t handle any of this, and I just need tonight… all of this… you… to be over. I need you to have never existed.”
Darius closed his eyes. Reopened them. “I can make that happen… I can take your memories.”
When her brows flared, he touched the side of his own temple. “I can make this all disappear. You won’t think of me ever again, it will be as if I never, ever… existed.”
Anne opened her mouth. Closed it. Then the silence stretched out into infinity.
With an abrupt jerk, she shook her head. “No, I don’t want to forget you. I didn’t learn my lesson with Bruce, so God sent me you, just to make sure I finally get it. And I have. No more letting people in. I’m done with that.”
Darius scrubbed his face again. Wow. Who knew the only thing worse than her eager to wipe her memories of him… was her wanting to enshrine him for the rest of her life as a curse. And God, he wanted to say something, anything, that would help her.
So he spoke words that got him right in the heart: “I’ll go now.”
As he went to try to push himself up off her floor, Vishous picked that moment to materialize back into the kitchen. And when Anne jumped in her chair, Darius cursed.
“He’s leaving,” she said thinly. “Help him with that, will you.”
She got up and turned away. “Do me a favor and lock the front door behind you. Even if it’s just the knob, at least it’ll keep some things out. Hopefully.”
Patricia Anne Wurster did not look back as she shuffled off for her stairs.
And as Darius listened to her go up to the second floor slowly, he felt like he was bleeding out with each of her footfalls.
“Are you okay?” Vishous asked softly.
Darius put his palm up in the air. “No, I’m not. Give me a hand, will you?”
“Can you dematerialize?” his brother asked.
“It doesn’t matter, just get me out of this poor woman’s house.”
Vishous dragged him off the floor, and then Darius limped to the front door. The fact that it was slightly open suggested that Bruce had, in fact, come in that way. But who knew. Who cared.
About anything.
Pausing at the base of the stairs, he looked up at the closed door that was at the top on the left. He pictured her in her bed, curled on her side, holding herself.
Or maybe she was stripping the sheets.
Burning them?
“Did you take her memories?” V demanded. “Just now?”
“No.” He looked at his brother. “And you’re not going to, either. Are we clear.”
“That’s not the way it works—”
Darius fisted up the front of V’s jacket. “Well, it’s how it fucking works this time. You leave her alone. We’ve done enough damage.”
There was a split second as he waited for V to correct him with a “You’ve done enough damage.” Or maybe point out that if she couldn’t remember, how’d she know anything had been taken from her? But the brother just shrugged and stepped out over the threshold.
After a moment, Darius followed, and he closed things up behind them. His fingers lingered on the knob—and then he willed the dead bolt into place.
Limping down onto the walkway, he stopped and turned back. Shrouded in darkness, he stared up at the bedroom’s windows. The venetian blinds were lowered, but the lights were on. He had no idea what she was doing up there. Well, he could guess the generalities…
