Page 48 of The Eleventh Hour
“Your boy didn’t have a bad life. He had a terrible one. Home wasn’t safe.”
I swallow hard. “Not necessarily.”
Dane reaches out, pulls out a book, and turns it over. He flips it open and shows me. The entire back page is demonic drawings. I stare at it. He pulls out another book. Dragons. Another, Grim Reaper.
Only on the fifth book did it change. An image of me. Sketch after sketch, over and over, images of me.
Dane whistles and edges closer so our arms brush. I’m hyper aware of him standing there, how tall he is, the cedar scent that surrounds him.
“Looks like someone caught feelings.”
I snarl at him and push him away from me. He’s trivializing my life and what happened, mocking it. He’s got no idea. Because deep inside, a part of me is completely dismayed at what I’m seeing. It’s not flattering, it’s scary. Obsessive.
“What’s wrong? I thought girls liked stuff like this.”
I turn away from him, facing the shelves. There’s an urge to open all the books and see how many there are, but I can’t. I feel dirty.
“Girls don’t like stuff like this. Not all of us. I don’t like this,” I say tightly.
Dane studies me and moves closer. “Hey, I was joking.”
“No, you weren’t,” I snap back. “I just…I need a minute.”
Dane shrugs. “Sure.”
I turn and rush back the way I came and collide with a hard body. I try to slide past, but hands grip my upper arms.
“Jax?”
“Rafael?” I blink up at him, and he frowns, looking behind me at Dane.
“I just needed a moment,” I mutter.
“Sure, I’ll walk with you.”
Rafael turns and, without missing a beat, he lets go of my arm with one huge hand while the other slides down to capture my hand so he can lead me away.
I flex my fingers and look anywhere but at him.
“What did he say?” Rafael sounds resigned.
I blow out a breath and keep pace with Rafael. “It’s not him, it’s what we found.” I briefly explain it.
Rafael pulls me to a stop. I turn to face him.
“It scared you.”
I nod slowly. “Yes.”
He lifts his hand and cradles my cheek. “It would scare anyone. I would be a complete gibbering mess.”
I raise my brows and snort a laugh.
“I would. I freaked out when Terrance kept appearing wherever I was. And he just wanted to be my friend, but I tried everything to get rid of him. I even hit him in the face with a fly swat. There may have been some high-pitched shrieking, but I’ll never confirm or deny. It was creepy as fuck, and I told him so. Teaching him and Dane how to people turned me prematurely grey. See this,” he points to his hair, “dye job.”
I laugh and step back. “You’re exaggerating.”
“I am not. I promise. I took them out to eat once, and do you know what Dane said to the girl who served us?”