Page 56 of Tin God

She had turned off most of the lights in the room save for the one illuminating her face. There was a darkness in his eyes, and she longed to be with him. She would roll around in that darkness and wrap it around herself, holding his light safe in her hands.

“I miss you.”

He laughed a little, but it wasn’t from happiness. “You left me.”

“You’re already in Alaska or near it,” she said. “I can feel you.”

“You’re full of shit. You cannot.”

“Did you feel when they shot my leg?”

His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed. “Who did it?”

That was a yes.

“It was a misunderstanding, and you know I’m already healed.” She leaned closer to the electronic tablet, and it flickered. She forced herself to lean back. “I miss you.”

“You said that already,” Ben said. “You knew that was going to happen when you left.”

“Yes.”

“So why did you do it?”

Tenzin pursed her lips. “I thought I was doing the right thing, but I was…” She trailed off when she realized what she’d been about to say.

“What’s that?” Light finally came to Ben’s eyes. “Finish the sentence, Tiny.”

“No.”

“Because you were about to say that you were wrong?”

How could she love him and also want to hurt him at the same time? Emotions were far too complicated.

Something about seeing her stymied must have brightened his mood. “I’m getting closer.”

Tenzin sneered. “If you weren’t with that large earth vampire, you’d already be here.”

“How do you know I’m with?—?”

“Because men are predictable.” Tenzin plucked at a string on her tunic. “You knew I was going to Brigid. You knew Brigid had left Carwyn. So you went to Carwyn. Did you fight him?” She smiled a little. “I wish I could have seen that. What did you do to him?”

“Not much. It was muddy, and he’s a lot stronger than I thought.”

“Yes, he does like being underestimated, but he has very ancient blood. If he fed from humans, he’d be a terror.” Tenzin cocked her head. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Stop.” He angled the tablet so she couldn’t see his face.

“Benjamin!” She sat up straight. “Turn it back.”

“No, I’m not going to let you look at me until you tell me what you’ve found out so far.”

He fought dirty. “Why? You’re going to be here in a couple of nights at most. I know you’re traveling north.”

“And the air tells me you were moving around a lot tonight, so tell me why.”

She was mentally plotting how she was going to get her revenge for Benjamin hiding his face when he reached over and snapped his fingers in front of the camera.

“Focus,” he said. “What were you doing?”