“Jaclyn,” I said, nearly buckling with relief. Another slayer had been found.
Even in her sleep, she recognized me, turning her head toward the sound of my voice. Tangled hair surrounded a beat-up face. One of her eyes was black-and-blue, swollen, and her lip was split in the center. Skin usually a healthy olive was now pallid. She looked terrible, but she was alive. Alive meant she’d heal.
“Where’s Justin?” I asked. Her twin brother was never far behind.
“Still missing.”
From the highest high to the lowest low.
“Coley-poley!” a girl called.
I pivoted as Juliana threw herself into Cole’s open arms. His expression softened, becoming almost...tender.
I still wasn’t jealous. Maybe. He had girl friends, and I had boy friends, and there was nothing romantic about it. Nothing wrong with it. But there was something between these two. A definite bond.
A definite bond he’d kept secret from me. Why?
Once, Veronica had bragged about an “ace in the hole,” something guaranteed to break up my relationship with Cole. At the time, I hadn’t given it much thought. Ace? Please. Now I didn’t think I’d be pondering much else.
At least Juliana was too old to be Cole’s kid. (Yeah, I admit it. A secret baby had been my first guess.)
A whispered conversation ensued between the pair, and I hesitated to join. I didn’t want to interrupt, but I didn’t like standing on the outside, either.
Cole brushed his knuckles over Juliana’s scars. She grinned, not the least bit self-conscious with him. She knew she was loved and accepted, just the way she was.
I headed toward the bed, intending to sit beside Jaclyn. But Cole had been aware of me, even though he’d seemed utterly absorbed by Juliana, because he returned me to his side with a gentle tug. His arm wrapped around my waist, and I found myself tucked firmly against him. He gave off more heat than usual and it cast a net around me, ensnaring me. But then, I was a willing captive. I gladly breathed in the sweet scent of him—the fruit candies he ate when no one was looking—and cuddled against him, this boy who’d become my shield against the rest of the world, my shelter in any storm, but also my anchor. He kept me grounded.
“Have you met my girlfriend, Ali?” he asked Juliana.
She transformed from sweet to sour in a snap. “Yeah, I’ve had the displeasure. And I shouldn’t have to remind you that you’re not usually into blondes. I mean, weren’t you and Gavin boinking your way through the brunette population? What happened with that? Everyone needs a goal.”
O-kay. Wow.
“Mouth,” Cole said on a sigh.
“Yes,” Juliana said, nodding. “I have one.”
He wagged a finger in front of her face. “You shouldn’t talk about boinking. You don’t even need to think about it.”
“I’m fourteen, not a damn baby.” She planted her hands on her hips. “Would you rather I used the word fu—”
“No!” Cole released me to slap a hand over her mouth. “Never.”
She blinked up at him innocently.
“Just so you know, I’m all about the blondes now.” He tweaked her nose and dropped his arm. “This blonde in particular.”
Juliana made a face, said, “Whatever. You guys are gross” and flitted away, but not before looking back at me and sticking out her tongue.
“Real mature.” Clearly the girl had a crush on Cole. Just as clearly, he had no idea her feelings veered in a romantic direction. “She makes me feel like I’ve showered with sunlight and rainbows.”
“Don’t worry. She’ll grow on you.”
“Like fungus?”
Grinning, he grabbed me in a headlock with one hand and rubbed his knuckles into the crown of my head with the other. “No. Not like fungus.”
“Like mold?” I managed to say through my giggles.
He released me and as I straightened, framed my face, peering into my eyes, the intensity of his expression draining my mirth, making my insides tingle all over again. I’d missed him. Missed this. Us.
“Thank you, Ali.”
I blinked, the new direction of the conversation lost. “For what?”
“For finding my friends. For bringing them here.”
“They’re my friends, too.”
“I know, but you could have returned here and stayed safe, like part of me really wanted you to do. But you didn’t. You put my needs before my wants, your needs before your wants, and even above your own life, and I will be forever grateful.”
I rested my palms on the girth of his shoulders. Oh, the burdens these babies had always had to carry. But he wasn’t alone, not any longer. “That’s what love does. It gives.”
His gaze dipped to my lips. “Well, I want to give you something.” His voice was low, husky. “Reason fourteen. You are one smoking blonde. All this hair... I like it wrapped around my fists.”
“Yeah?” I asked, breathless.
“Oh, yeah. I like to have you under my control.” He fisted the strands, as he’d described, and angled my head the way he wanted it. “It’s the only time you do what I tell you.”