Crow looked haggard—like he hadn’t slept in days. He definitely hadn’t shaved this week. And there was a new, red scrape on his jaw. “Privacy,” he said shortly.
She followed him warily into the alley, which was dim despite it being broad daylight. The ground was littered with cigarette butts, and a few upside-down milk crates were set up as makeshift seats. “Well? You gonna tell me what happened last night? What did you see?”
“It was the worst one yet—like it was really happening,” Crow said. He fumbled for a cigarette. Em had never even seen him smoke. “You were lost in a swirl of smoke. You couldn’t get out. You were burning to death.”
“So you saw the fire before it happened?” And did you get drunk before or after you had the vision? she silently added.
He slumped against the Dungeon’s brick wall and crossed his arms. “Not quite,” he said. “It wasn’t your house. You were outside. And it was . . . It was JD who put you there.”
“JD?” she repeated. Putting her in danger? He would never. She nudged a milk crate with the toe of her sneaker. “What are you talking about? He’s not involved in this.” But she felt a flicker of doubt. JD knew things—she didn’t know how, but he did.
She’d told him last night to stay out of it. She prayed he would listen.
Crow’s eyes narrowed. “That’s what you think,” he said. “He’s been going around behind your back trying to save the day. I tried to warn him off, but he practically punched me.”
“What?” Em looked up, her cheeks blazing. “When did you even see him?”
A muscle in his jaw flexed. “Look, Em, I’m just trying to warn you. He’s going to do something. . . . I wouldn’t make this up. He’s . . . It’s a trap. You have to be careful.”
Em’s chest constricted. She put her hand against her neck to stop herself from getting too warm. “He wouldn’t do that, Crow. Leave JD out of this,” she said.
When he turned to her, his eyes were cold. Dull. “I get it. You don’t want your boyfriend to get hurt.” He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “But not me, huh? You don’t care about what happens to me.”
There was a bad taste in her mouth. Was this a war of jealousy, or was there truth to what Crow was saying?
“First of all, he’s not my boyfriend,” Em said. “Second, I warned JD to leave it alone—I told him that they were dangerous. That I was taking care of it.” And I do care if you get hurt, she thought, but couldn’t say it.
Crow moved away from the wall and took several steps closer, backing her against the bricks on the opposite side of the alley. He reached down and grabbed both her wrists, pinning them up next to her shoulders. It was rough and urgent. It was scary. There was a look in his eyes that came from somewhere else, somewhere bad. She thought she’d be able to overpower him—she was stronger than she’d ever been, despite feeling so weak all the time. But she couldn’t. Where was he getting his strength from? The thought terrified her even more.
“But it’s not just you, is it Em? It’s us. I’m supposed to help you. We’re in this together, aren’t we?” He leaned into her. She felt the bricks grinding into her back.
“You didn’t confront JD to help me,” she said, ripping her arms from his grasp. “Not that it matters. Not that any of it matters. You can’t help me and neither can he. I can’t even help myself. It’s over—it’s too late.”
Crow looked at her with raised eyebrows. “You’re giving up? Are you kidding me?”
“I don’t have any other choice.” She took a deep breath. “Look. Just calm down. I don’t get it. JD would never hurt me. Ever. So your vision? Whatever it was, it was wrong.”
He stared at her for a long second, his eyes black and full of a need she couldn’t identify. Then he released her, and shoved a hand through his hair.