Fate wasn't on my side today.
His fingers came down, pressing the plastic into the wet surface but not lifting it yet. I was trapped. I could not let him see my ID, and I couldn't run without it. “New job,” I said, catching his eye. “That's great, man. Good for you.”
“Right?” Snorting, his sharp shoulders went to his ears in a shrug. “Man, this is weird. Like, I met you, what, a week ago or something? Now you're here. It's crazy!”
Yes. It was crazy.
The tiny voice in my ear was a growl. “Jacob,” Kite whispered. “What's happening?”
“Still can't believe Hecko is dead,” Juice mumbled. “I hadn't really thought about him for awhile until you and I talked that night.” Squinting, Juice looked me over and considered his next words. “Life is so fucking funny. You ask about him, and then he's in the news. Just... dead.”
Hecko's pale face entered my mind. At this rate, Juice's memory of that fateful night was going to be my undoing. Could I get my ID before he lifted it and read my real name? Connected the dots that the man he'd met didn't exist?
I needed a miracle.
And then one toppled partially over the bar, spilling whatever was in her hand all over Juice.
“Oh my gosh!” Marina cried, hands over her mouth. “I'm so sorry! My foot caught on the chair and I just—I'm really sorry!”
Wide-eyed, I gawked at her. Juice was wiping himself down, groaning at the mess. I knew an opportunity when I saw it. In a blink, my fingers swiped my ID off the bar.
Had Marina just rescued me?
Between the time I'd watched her approach and now, she'd managed to take her jacket off and find a glass to spill on the kid. It would have been a split-second decision.
She saved me, I thought in amazement.
So many tiny threads, always ready to unravel and undo me. This was why Marina was such a risk to to us. Life was already a series of landmines.
Where was the sense in carrying one around when it could explode at any time?
Marina's laugh, high and sweet and so very fake, got my attention. I watched her as she bent close to Juice over the bar. I hadn't noticed till now, but her white shirt had gotten wet when she'd spilled the drink. Juice had certainly spotted the see-through material, his eyes bugging wide.
“Jacob, talk to me. Are you okay?” Kite growled.
I could tell his nerves were fraying, he didn't know what I was seeing.
In the middle of her giggle, hair thrown back and chest thrust out, Marina owned Juice's attention. This was my chance to make an escape. Juice didn't care who I was or who he thought I was, not with a woman like her all over him.
My heels clicked on the floor. The club noise drowned everything out but her sweet voice. That never left my head, trapped like a butterfly in a jar.
In my hands, this girl's life was as thin as those gossamer wings.
“I'm fine,” I said, tapping the button by my ear. “Go home. I'll meet you there.”
Kite's silence stretched out. “Marina.” Her name crackled through the static. “I saw her walk inside.”
“She broke her promise.” Stating it, I sounded cold and flat. The weight in my chest wanted to drag me to the floor. One test, a simple way to see if she would choose her word to us over her lust for revenge.
She saved me, I reminded myself. Slamming the door open, I shoved out into the parking lot. She didn't have to. If anything, standing by and listening to what Juice was saying would have been helpful to her. If it were me... and I needed information... I would have hovered and waited.
Marina hadn't done that.
But she had come to the club in the first place.
My desires were fighting in my heart and my head. They were going to tear me apart and leave me in pieces.
Marina is right not to trust me, I mused bitterly. I'm dangerous.
And I do tell lies to everyone.
Including myself.
Dammit. I didn't know who I was anymore. Jacob of the past, he'd do anything to keep the people he loved safe. I refused to lose Kite. I'd never lose anyone I cared about... never again.
Once had been enough.
Where did Marina fit into this pledge? She doesn't, I warned myself. Marina isn't part of the bond. She can't be.
Killing was easy.
Letting her live had become the struggle.
My divided wishes would break me. Who was I kidding? I was already broken, the edge of insanity was tickling my toes.
“Jacob,” Kite said softly. The strain in his tone shook me awake. “...I'm sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?” I asked, ducking my chin into my jacket's tall collar.
“I shouldn't have said we could trust her. I should have listened. You were right about her. I just wanted to think... fuck. Fuck everything. Dammit.” The bluetooth wavered. Kite's breathing was raspy.