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A couple of weeks. Why did it shock me? “And you came in planning to break the curse?”
His jaw worked and his shoulders stiffened. “Yes.”
He’d already told me that, of course, but I still didn’t get it. “Why? You were the one who took it seriously. You were so pissed that I didn’t remember anything. You said I didn’t deserve to be a Keeper. You were all about the commitment and responsibility…I mean, you have a goddamned mark tattooed on your chest. Why did you do it?”
His features hardened, but he still didn’t look at me. “The fucking curse destroyed my family. I just wanted it to end.”
“You really think it’s over? You’ve opened up one huge can of worms. And you destroyedmyfamily in the process. Was that what you wanted? To get even?”
“No.” He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll admit that I didn’t give a lot of thought to how it would affect you before we met.”
“That’s obvious.”
He turned to me. “But when I took you to Marino and you started crying in the truck, I realized I actually cared about what happened to you. And that night…when I put the henna tattoo on you, I realized I was in trouble.”
“Youwere in trouble? Are you fucking kidding me?”
He grabbed my left hand. I tried to pull back, but he held firm. “We may have bound our souls together outside of Morehead City, but I lost my heart to you that night.”
I jerked my hand out of his. “You fucking liar.”
Hurt flashed through his eyes. “I’ve never been this honest with anyone, Ellie. Ever.”
I shook my head in disgust. “You wouldn’t know honesty if it bit you in the ass. You used me, tricked me, screwed me, and then screwed me over. Tell me what I’m missing here.”
His eyes narrowed. “You know we can’t hide our feelings from each other when our marks touch.” His left hand grabbed my right wrist. “We can touch them together now, and you’ll know I’m not lying.”
I tried to jerk my hand from his grasp, but his fingers tightened around mine. “No! You know what happens when we touch.” Which was exactly why I was sure he was pushing the matter. Pressing our marks together is what got me here in the first place.
“Ellie,” he whispered, his right hand reaching for mine now. “We’re meant to be together.You know it. Let me show you how much you mean to me.”
“No!” I jerked my wrist hard, panicked. “If you do this, I will hate you forever.”
He glanced into my face and his mouth dropped open in shock. “You really are afraid of me.”
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” I finally pulled my hand from his grasp. “You killed my father! People I cared about died because of you. No, you didn’t personally do it, but you purposely freed the things that did. And now they’re afterme, Collin. They’re appearing in the flesh and coming to my door each night. The dead birds they left on my front porch before? That’snothingcompared to the mutilated animals they’re leaving for me now. They killed my neighbor’s dog.”
“Why would you think they killed your neighbor’s dog?”
“Because as Police Officer Tom Helmsworth pointed out, normal animals don’t rip open a dog’s guts and eat its heart.”
His confidence fell away. “If you just wait it out, the spiritual world will stabilize, and we’ll all be able to live together as one. This is the way it’s meant to be.”
“You truly believe that?” I asked, incredulous.
His face hardened. “I have to.”
“Well, bull fucking shit.Idon’t have to believe that. In fact, I don’t. Those motherfuckers won’t stop until they’ve tortured me for eons.”
He shook his head. “No.”
“They come to me in my dreams.”
That got his attention. “What are you talking about?”
“The animals come every night begging me to help them, and each night one of the escaped spirits visits me in my dreams and tells me that Okeus is waiting for me to be ready.”
“Be ready for what?”
