Page 32 of Deep Within Me

It took Zeke a minute to catch up. When he did, he frowned. “You’ve slept with Kele for years and you don’t know if she ever paints her nails?”

“No, I don’t,” he shot back, a bit of his usual defiance returning. “What’s it matter anyway?”

Zeke didn’t want to get into it. “Where’s she now?”

Jacob lifted his fork, pointing it toward the business end of the kitchen.

Craning his neck, Zeke saw Kele helping the other ladies with the food preparation, Isabel included. None of them was speaking or looked particularly happy. He leaned forward a bit farther to see if he could make out Kele’s nails. Unfortunately, he couldn’t.

“What are you doing?” Jacob asked.

“Nothing.” Zeke leaned back in his seat. As long as Kele was scrambling eggs, she couldn’t do any harm. There were knives in the kitchen, sure. However, none of them was the switchblade he’d seen in his vision. Recalling it allowed him to relax, crazy as that seemed. “Keep an eye on Liz. I don’t want her healing anyone. Those times when I’m not around, make certain she doesn’t.”

“Why?” He screwed up his face. “She’s a healer.”

“Something’s wrong. I don’t know what it is. I need to speak to her father about it.”

“Why?” Jacob’s expression changed, mirroring Zeke’s concern. He leaned closer and whispered, “What the hell happened while you two were gone?”

Zeke’s belly cramped. “Carreon murdered Liz.”

Jacob’s mouth fell open.

“Try not to look so shocked,” Zeke muttered. “The others may notice.”

His brother regarded the room. The majority of those in here had their backs to him and Zeke. Those that didn’t were doing their best to ignore both of them.

“Are you serious?” Jacob whispered. “You can’t be. How could he have murdered her if she’s here?”

“He strangled her, just as I’d seen in my visions before I’d even met her. I found Liz in his stronghold’s safe room. Her face was this horrible purple shade. There was no pulse.”

“There had to be. Maybe you just didn’t feel—”

“There was no heartbeat, Jacob.None.Don’t you think I’d know if there was? Don’t you think I would have tried to resuscitate her, give her CPR or something if there was the slightest chance? It was too fucking late. She was gone.”

Jacob’s rich complexion went gray. “Then how in the hell did—”

“She and her father aren’t only able to heal, they can reanimate the dead. I saw her father do it with her.”

Jacob whistled through his teeth. “Shit.”

“Something’s not right.”

“With what?”

Liz. What happened to her in the Jeep continued to haunt Zeke. “That’s what I need to find out from her father. Until I return, do not allow her to heal, no matter how small the injury might be. And no way should she try to reanimate anyone.”

Jacob shook his head as though he was having trouble comprehending this. “The only ones she could bring back fromthe dead or heal are Carreon’s men. The two we took prisoner weren’t injured, and the others…” He paused then continued, “We’ve already taken care of the bodies. What?” he asked suddenly. “You look weird. Why?”

Zeke recalled part of his vision, again of the young man with the dark hair. Was he one of the men they’d captured? How could that be? The vision showed him outside. Had he escaped? “Is anyone guarding the prisoners?”

“Are you serious? They won’t get out unless we let them. Our guys know what they’re doing.” Jacob spoke even faster, “They hacked into the bastards’ smart phones and the system they had on their vehicles. Anything hooked up to a server or satellite. Took all that shit down so the others still out there can’t use the data to find this place.”

Zeke wished he had known that before going back to Carreon’s stronghold to wipe the Jeep’s GPS clean. He knew he should have felt bad about ambushing those three men. However, if he hadn’t, they would have come back here, wouldn’t they? They would have done to Liz, her father, and Zeke’s clan what they’d done to Gabrielle. “Good.”

Jacob spoke at an even lower pitch than he had before. “Did Liz’s reanimation cause the healing to somehow reverse? Shit, does her touch kill now rather than heal?”

“No.” Zeke stood. “Just do as I say, right now. For Liz, all right?”