“Should have grabbed the damn keys too,” she mumbled under her breath as she passed by the car. She was too pissed off to go back in to demand them. She’d rather walk back than deal with any more of their bullshit. Between her half-broken heart and being set up, she was furious. Her life had been turned upside down. She’d fallen in love. All of it was planned. Well, maybe not the falling in love part, but at this point, Garrin and Lance could take the blame for that too.
Lance burst out the door of the mansion, and she picked up her pace. It was no use. He caught up with her in seconds.
“Can we please talk about this?” he asked, raking his fingers through his hair.
“Which part? The part where I was set up? Or maybe the part where the love of your life is hanging around?”
“Both.” He grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her to a stop. “I’m sorry you were set up. I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through. And I’m—I’m sorry about Sarah, too. More than anything, I don’t want to hurt you. I’ve hurt enough people in my past. Please just talk to me.”
Azrael sighed. What choice did she have? She already loved him. Nothing could change that. “The way you love her, it’s just not fair. When you found out she was in the room, it’s like I didn’t even exist. I was nothing to you.”
“That’s not true. I care about you very much.”
Care, not love. She didn’t have to say it out loud. Couldn’t say it out loud. The crushing effect of his words must have shown because he started back peddling.
“Look, I didn’t say there wasn’t more there. I just….” He shook his head. “Look, right now is not a good time for me to sort out my feelings. I wasn’t expecting her to be around, even spiritually.” Sliding his hand under her chin, he lifted her face until their eyes met. In them, she saw a man exposed, a man torn apart. But in them, she also saw fear. “I know I don’t deserve it, don’t deserve you. I should push you away, tell you I don’t care, but I can’t. Garrin is right. I’m a monster. A selfish monster. I wouldn’t blame you for leaving right now. You could stay with Garrin. I may hate him, but he can probably keep you safe.”
“I want to stay with you,” she whispered. He let out a deep breath and laid his forehead against hers. “So, what do we do now?”
“As much as I hate to admit it, we’re going to need Garrin’s help.”
She pulled back. “What? Why? You don’t think he’ll let us use the clarity stone without him?”
With a shake of his head, Lance said, “That’s not it. He caught me on the way out. That’s why I took so long to catch up. He says that even with the clarity stone, going back into the veil might kill you. Those things you saw, apparently, they don’t expect you to come back. You need someone to protect you while in there, and only the dead can walk freely in the veil.”
“The dead? Who’s going to—?” She shut her eyes. “You mean Sarah.”
~*~
Azrael stepped out of the car and turned to Garrin. “You better let me walk in first, so I can explain it to Caleb. He’s still pissed at you.”
Garrin shrugged his shoulders, but she noticed he stayed several feet behind. Glancing up, she saw some curtains upstairs move. She hoped it was Smellicious or Bumpkins who’d caused the curtains to sway. It would be hard enough to explain what was going on without Caleb knowing Garrin was there. She might have to barricade the door.
They stepped inside the foyer, and Azrael kicked off her shoes. Before she could take a step, Caleb came pummeling down the steps, baseball bat propped up on his shoulder, screaming like a banshee. “I’ve got you now, you SON OF A BITCH!”
Shit.
Sprinting, she ran between Garrin and Caleb, looking to Lance for help. There would be no help there, though. If anything, Lance looked quite amused by the situation. She flung her hands out. “No, Caleb. Stop!”
He came to a halt in front of her, eyes gleaming with hatred. “Not a chance, baby girl. I’ve been waiting for this moment forever. Move out of the way, Az.”
“Listen to me. Garrin isn’t who you think—”
“I don’t want to hear it.” He slipped the bat off his shoulder and held it out. “This bastard published a naked picture of you. He broke your heart. Don’t you dare take this away from me.”
“He’s not who you think he is. Please put the bat down, and I can explain.”
Caleb cut his eyes at her. “What do you mean? Like a shapeshifter?”
“Umm…yeah, something like that. And he’s here to help. Come upstairs with me, and I’ll tell you everything.”
His eyes darted between her and Garrin. She couldn’t tell if his resolve was wavering or not. If she didn’t do something soon, there was a good chance he might use that bat regardless. “If he doesn’t help us, I might die summoning Blais.”
That got Caleb’s attention. He lowered the bat and squeezed his eyes shut, breathing deeply through his nose. “Okay. We’ll go upstairs and talk. You and me only, though.”
~*~
By the time Azrael finished recanting the day’s events, she was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. “Well?”
Caleb shifted on the bed. “Let me get this straight. Not only did that piece of crap take the picture of you, but he’s the one who got you into all this in the first place? And you stopped me from beating his ass? I was only planning on putting him in the hospital. Now I’m going to kill him.”
“Caleb—”
“Don’t you Caleb me. He’s got it coming.” He leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. “But, I’ll wait until after he helps us.”
“Really?” she asked, grinning.
“Yes.” Caleb nodded. “But you’ve got to promise me you won’t stop me from beating the crap out of him if we survive this.”
“Promise. He’s all yours.”
~*~
They sat around the fireplace. Azrael couldn’t decide which was more uncomfortable, the walk of shame she did in college or this moment. Caleb and Lance were both staring at Garrin, eyes narrowed. Caleb’s hand kept twitching in the direction of the baseball bat lying in the corner. Lance kept his arms crossed over his chest. Occasionally Caleb and Lance would look at each other, an odd comradery in their eyes.
Well, Azrael thought, at least something good is coming out of this.
Garrin appeared unaffected by their attitudes. He was leaned back on the couch, eyes closed, enjoying a glass of Lance’s expensive scotch. She was pretty sure he hadn’t asked permission to partake of the liquor cabinet, but it seemed like Lance was willing to let that slide.
“So, what’s the plan? When do we start?” he asked.
Garrin had given them an abbreviated version before they left. He’d bring the stone and translate for Sarah. In truth, they weren’t really asking Garrin. The question was up to Sarah to answer. Opening his eyes, Garrin stared at the far corner of the room. “She says we need to wait for the full moon when the clarity stone will be at its strongest.”
“That’s like two days away,” Caleb argued, his eyes sliding back toward the bat.
“I agree. I don’t think the full moon will make that much of a difference,” Lance added.
Garrin leaned back. “Well, if you’d rather not wait to keep Azrael safer, then, by all means, we’ll just do it now.”
If looks could kill. Azrael could practically feel the heat intensifying in the room. It was like one of those old western stand-offs, each man staring the other down. No one budged. No one blinked.
“This is ridiculous. Everyone just stop being assholes to each other. Two days. That’s all you have to deal with. Then we part ways if we live. So instead of making our last two days miserable, let’s all at least try to get along.”
Caleb sighed. “She has a point.”
He seemed to be the only one willing to concede, though. She turned toward Lance. “Well?”
“Fine.”
“Garrin?”
He glanced at Lance, his face set in a grimace, but nodded.
“It’s settled then. Two days gives us more time to prepare anyway. I’d like to be as ready as possible.”
As they were discussing plans on how to kill Blais once she summoned him, she leaned back and covered her eyes with her hand. A truce. It was better than nothing. Although, two days in the company of an ex, a boyfriend, the dead love of his life, and her best friend who was contemplating murder might leave her wishing for death.