Wicked Kiss
Page 71
Something about what she said felt important. Really important. “Since when?”
“The last few weeks.”
I pressed up against the wall. If Jordan really had psychic abilities, they’d been triggered back into action at about the same time Bishop and the rest of the team had come here and the barrier was put in place to keep all supernaturals contained in this city-size zoo. “Jordan Fitzpatrick, psychic medium to the stars.”
She laughed drily under her breath. “You would not believe how much some of them can make. And I’m sure most of them are total frauds.”
“I’m sure.”
She blinked and her smile faded quickly. “I loved him.”
I didn’t need a map to keep up with her sudden change in direction. “I know you did.”
Her eyes grew glossy. “When he dumped me, I didn’t understand. I thought it was because he was in university and I was still in high school. But I thought what we had...even though we hadn’t dated for very long—I thought it was real. I fell for him so fast. He was so wonderful, but then I knew he had secrets he didn’t want to share with me. I tried to learn the truth, but all he did was push me away.”
I went totally silent. It was like she was talking about me and Bishop. “Some secrets can be scary.”
“Stephen didn’t scare me. Not then. He does now. He never did anything to hurt me before. Even when...I guess he was changed. I thought he was cheating on me. And the stupidest thing was I would have forgiven him. I would have taken him back, even after I heard he was seen making out with...” She looked at me, and clarity shone in her green eyes. “That was the time. When he kissed you. That’s when it happened.”
I nodded, the lump in my throat too thick to swallow past.
“That jerk,” she snarled. “He should have told me! I could have helped him before it got this bad. And now he’s out there killing people? He’s a killer, Samantha. The boy I love is a killer.” She looked at me strangely. “Why are you crying?”
“Damn it.” I pushed away the tears streaking down my cheeks with my good hand. I hadn’t meant to let myself weaken like this, but it happened. The more she talked about Stephen, the more I thought about Bishop and how much I cared about him even after witnessing some of the horrible moments in his past.
She looked at me with an incredulous expression. “I seriously need you not to flake out on me right now.”
I shook my head, which had begun to cloud up again. I couldn’t pull myself out of this hole I’d found myself in. It was only getting deeper. “I can’t concentrate.”
Her expression only grew more fierce. “You can. Now, just figure it out. From the sound of it, you’re oozing supernatural energy from your pores. You’re half demon and half angel, which is completely ridiculous, but I’m going with it, anyway. So figure out a way to get us the hell out of here so I don’t have to bash your brains in.”
My thoughts raced, and again I kept coming back to Bishop and that connection we had—how he was able to find me, even if it was unreliable lately. But I still had mind melds with him, as strong as ever. “There’s only one way I can think of. I need to contact somebody.”
“No cell phone, remember?”
“No, not by phone.” I closed my eyes. “I—I think there could be another way. But it might not work. In fact, I’m pretty sure it won’t.”
She let out a frustrated snarl. “Stop being such a damn pessimist and start trying.”
Words to live by, courtesy of Jordan Fitzpatrick, my high school nemesis.
In my dream about Bishop, the one where we were playing chess before things got disturbingly homicidal, he’d said something to me—that I could control our mind melds. I hadn’t believed it at the time since they were so random, so unpredictable. They came out of nowhere like being flattened by a truck.
Then something Jordan said tweaked something in me. She’d said I was half demon and half angel. But this wasn’t totally accurate. I was the daughter of an angel and a demon. I was a nexus. I was the connection, the center point, the combination of the energies of Heaven and Hell.
If you asked me, that sounded way more powerful.
I’d always doubted this power, taken what came to me when it came. Seeing the searchlights was something I didn’t control. It just happened. Zapping the demons and reading their minds took effort. Other times it was effortless. If they didn’t fight me...it was effortless.
But maybe I was the one making things difficult.
I was certain my mind melds with Bishop were because I’d taken part of his soul—and it was still inside of me. That’s why I could see his memories if I looked in his eyes. Bishop’s soul was a bridge between us and had been ever since the kiss we shared. I needed to find that bridge and walk across it.
And I needed to do it right now.
Chapter 21
I focused on that piece of Bishop that was always with me. The memory of our kiss. The warmth of his touch. The deep and endless way he looked at me, even when I was frustrating him and vice versa.
His soul, the thing that had caused him so many problems, was beautiful—a ribbon of silver that stretched outward from me to a point in the distance I couldn’t see.
And this I saw with my eyes closed. I’ll admit it was bizarre, but I wasn’t going to second-guess myself. It was real. It was him. I knew it.
I held on to that ribbon of silver like a rope and let it guide me to him. I didn’t fight it, I didn’t force it. I just let it happen.
“The last few weeks.”
I pressed up against the wall. If Jordan really had psychic abilities, they’d been triggered back into action at about the same time Bishop and the rest of the team had come here and the barrier was put in place to keep all supernaturals contained in this city-size zoo. “Jordan Fitzpatrick, psychic medium to the stars.”
She laughed drily under her breath. “You would not believe how much some of them can make. And I’m sure most of them are total frauds.”
“I’m sure.”
She blinked and her smile faded quickly. “I loved him.”
I didn’t need a map to keep up with her sudden change in direction. “I know you did.”
Her eyes grew glossy. “When he dumped me, I didn’t understand. I thought it was because he was in university and I was still in high school. But I thought what we had...even though we hadn’t dated for very long—I thought it was real. I fell for him so fast. He was so wonderful, but then I knew he had secrets he didn’t want to share with me. I tried to learn the truth, but all he did was push me away.”
I went totally silent. It was like she was talking about me and Bishop. “Some secrets can be scary.”
“Stephen didn’t scare me. Not then. He does now. He never did anything to hurt me before. Even when...I guess he was changed. I thought he was cheating on me. And the stupidest thing was I would have forgiven him. I would have taken him back, even after I heard he was seen making out with...” She looked at me, and clarity shone in her green eyes. “That was the time. When he kissed you. That’s when it happened.”
I nodded, the lump in my throat too thick to swallow past.
“That jerk,” she snarled. “He should have told me! I could have helped him before it got this bad. And now he’s out there killing people? He’s a killer, Samantha. The boy I love is a killer.” She looked at me strangely. “Why are you crying?”
“Damn it.” I pushed away the tears streaking down my cheeks with my good hand. I hadn’t meant to let myself weaken like this, but it happened. The more she talked about Stephen, the more I thought about Bishop and how much I cared about him even after witnessing some of the horrible moments in his past.
She looked at me with an incredulous expression. “I seriously need you not to flake out on me right now.”
I shook my head, which had begun to cloud up again. I couldn’t pull myself out of this hole I’d found myself in. It was only getting deeper. “I can’t concentrate.”
Her expression only grew more fierce. “You can. Now, just figure it out. From the sound of it, you’re oozing supernatural energy from your pores. You’re half demon and half angel, which is completely ridiculous, but I’m going with it, anyway. So figure out a way to get us the hell out of here so I don’t have to bash your brains in.”
My thoughts raced, and again I kept coming back to Bishop and that connection we had—how he was able to find me, even if it was unreliable lately. But I still had mind melds with him, as strong as ever. “There’s only one way I can think of. I need to contact somebody.”
“No cell phone, remember?”
“No, not by phone.” I closed my eyes. “I—I think there could be another way. But it might not work. In fact, I’m pretty sure it won’t.”
She let out a frustrated snarl. “Stop being such a damn pessimist and start trying.”
Words to live by, courtesy of Jordan Fitzpatrick, my high school nemesis.
In my dream about Bishop, the one where we were playing chess before things got disturbingly homicidal, he’d said something to me—that I could control our mind melds. I hadn’t believed it at the time since they were so random, so unpredictable. They came out of nowhere like being flattened by a truck.
Then something Jordan said tweaked something in me. She’d said I was half demon and half angel. But this wasn’t totally accurate. I was the daughter of an angel and a demon. I was a nexus. I was the connection, the center point, the combination of the energies of Heaven and Hell.
If you asked me, that sounded way more powerful.
I’d always doubted this power, taken what came to me when it came. Seeing the searchlights was something I didn’t control. It just happened. Zapping the demons and reading their minds took effort. Other times it was effortless. If they didn’t fight me...it was effortless.
But maybe I was the one making things difficult.
I was certain my mind melds with Bishop were because I’d taken part of his soul—and it was still inside of me. That’s why I could see his memories if I looked in his eyes. Bishop’s soul was a bridge between us and had been ever since the kiss we shared. I needed to find that bridge and walk across it.
And I needed to do it right now.
Chapter 21
I focused on that piece of Bishop that was always with me. The memory of our kiss. The warmth of his touch. The deep and endless way he looked at me, even when I was frustrating him and vice versa.
His soul, the thing that had caused him so many problems, was beautiful—a ribbon of silver that stretched outward from me to a point in the distance I couldn’t see.
And this I saw with my eyes closed. I’ll admit it was bizarre, but I wasn’t going to second-guess myself. It was real. It was him. I knew it.
I held on to that ribbon of silver like a rope and let it guide me to him. I didn’t fight it, I didn’t force it. I just let it happen.
