I threw my arms around Jared and squeezed, shutting my eyes tight. “Don’t stay away long.”
“In and out, Baby. In and out,” he smiled.
“And don’t come back full of bullet holes this time!” I called after him.
The door shut, and the sound of the Escalade’s engine faded as everyone I loved most in the world traveled farther and farther away.
“Bullet holes?” Ryan asked.
“Come on,” I said, pulling him into down the hall. “Let’s find more comfortable chairs. This is going to take a while.”
Chapter Sixteen
If I Told You Everything
The rain beat against the window of the classroom, prompting Professor Sawyer to speak louder than her small voice could accommodate. Words squeaked from her throat as she struggled to lecture through the snickers and murmuring of the students.
Her words blurred together as I stared at the blank page of my laptop monitor. The nightmares were absent the night before, but only because sleep never came. The Ryels didn’t return home until just before the sun rose, and even if I could have ignored the worry long enough for my eyes to close for a moment, Ryan’s incessant questions kept me awake.
So...what if she gets shot in the head?
If I die and then Claire dies does she go to Heaven?
What if I don't die but I'm a vegetable?
Can she get knocked out?
So her dad was an angel? Can he see me right now.
His curiosity was insatiable. I finally lost my temper and yelled at him to shut up, but he only smiled and sat quietly long enough to think of more questions. For the first time, I was glad that Ryan was no longer enrolled at Brown.
I twirled the diamond ring around my finger, trying to block out images of what Bex and Claire had described earlier that morning. Their clash with Isaac and Donovan was short-lived, but had the Ryel's been human, it would have been lethal. The vision of Isaac was so vivid and frightening in my mind, the thought of coming face to face with him terrified me. He and Donovan had been commissioned to protect the Naissance de Demoniac, and because they were faced with all three of Gabe Ryel’s children, they decided retreat was the prudent option—but not before sinking four bullets into Bex’s chest.
The kitchen was a bloody mess by sunrise, and although Bex’s eyes were wide with excitement, seeing Claire pluck the remnants of bullets from his flesh left me…well…unsettled.
“Oh, to hell with this, class dismissed,” the professor said in defeat.
I blinked, seeing the other students pack up without pause and leave the classroom. Once the doorway cleared, Kim stood with a smirk on her face.
“Why didn’t you come back to the house with the others?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Two papers due today. I still go to class, you know.”
“So how did it go?” I asked, following her down the hall. My feet scampered along her wide strides.
She shook her head, clearly troubled.
“Don’t do that, Kim. You’re the impervious one.”
“Taking Shax, or Donovan and Isaac head on isn't working. We need to think of another way to get the Demoniac. They know when we’re coming. We can’t distract them because they want nothing else more than that book.”
I frowned, wary of Kim’s uncharacteristic concern. “I still say we don't need it. Your family had the book all this time. You have to know what it said. Didn’t you open it?”
“No,” she said firmly. “I was never allowed to open it.”
“What about your uncle? Your father? Between them and Father Francis, can’t we just get enough information for Jared to work with?”
Kim lowered her chin. “I guess you didn’t catch the part about how we weren’t allowed to open the book.”
“You said it yourself!” The words were louder than I’d meant for them to be. I looked around, and then lowered my voice. “We can’t take it when they know we’re coming.”
Kim nodded, but her somber expression melted away as an idea lit her eyes. “There is one thing they would want more than the book.”
I shook my head. “No. No way, Jared would never go for it.”
“We need them to come to us. We need bait.”
“Think about it. He’s not going to risk my life to save me, Kim. And I kind of hate you for even mentioning it.”
“Hey guys!” Beth yelped in her southern drawl. “Ew. That’s a horrible face,” she said, mirroring my expression.
Kim pulled a cigarette seemingly from nowhere, and popped it between her lips. “We were just discussing how we would use Nina as bait to lure demons,” she said flatly.
Beth’s face morphed into revulsion. “What class are you guys taking?”
The corners of my mouth turned up, and I wrapped one arm around Beth’s tiny waist. “Come on. I don’t want to lose our table at the Ratty.”