Book of Revenge (28 page)

“Jane!” I heard Emily’s voice above the music, the crowd pushing and shoving until her red hair burst through, wings on her back.

Navia released my arm, floating into the crowd and chatting with Liz, who looked noticeably angry about Navia’s matching Cinderella attire and the fact that Navia looked infinitely better in it.

“What are you doing here?” I frowned at Emily, so used to her old partying ways that I instinctually feared a night of endless stress. Then I remembered that she was with Wes—a senior, and a responsible one at that.

“I’m with Wes and Jake,” she grumbled, clearly irritated by my accusations. “When are you going to get over it and accept the new me, Jane, seriously?”

Emily took his arm, leaning against him with a smile and answering for him. “No. She’s here with
Navia.
”

I saw Wes’s eyes twinkle slightly, a hidden joy glowing somewhere deep inside. He was a man, and like every man I’d seen in the vicinity of Navia, they all fell hopelessly in love her.

Emily bit her lip, and I knew what question would come next. “And Max?”

I drew in a deep breath, my hands gripping at the mass of yellow sateen that was draped from my waist. All I could do was shake my head.

Wes puffed out his chest a little, looking as though he was trying to summon strength. “What happened, Jane?
Spill.
It’ll make you feel better.”

I felt the chains wrap around me—I was out of excuses.

Emily touched my arm. “Come on. I hate to see you like this, and truthfully, we miss Max, too. It’s not that Navia isn’t great, it’s just…” Her voice trailed, and I sensed a familiar feeling of disappointment from her.

I swallowed, gathering my emotions and packing them up like a parcel for the mail, ready to give it to them straight. “I told him to leave.”

Emily gasped, quickly cupping her hand over her mouth. Did she have to be so
dramatic?

“Why?” she crooned.

I played with a ruffle near my waist. “It turns out that as his guarded, he and I can’t…” I stopped myself, knowing how shallow and naïve this was going to sound to an outsider.

“Can’t do what?” Emily pressed.

Wes gasped, getting something Emily wasn’t.
“It?”

I blushed and nodded. At least Wes got it. He knew that look on my face all too well—the look of disliking the term.

“What’s
it?”
Emily asked dumbly, still not getting it.

“Sex.” Wes said bluntly, looking Emily in the eye.

I blinked a few times, taken aback by his direct remark. He’d never been so outward with the term before. “Well, in so many words,
yes,”
I said sarcastically.

Wes snorted. “This isn’t really a subject I want to discuss, especially with you, so…” He shook his head, releasing Emily’s arm and walking away. Wes was pouting about it.

Emily just rolled her eyes. “Seriously? Why?” She leaned in, cupping my elbow and pulling me closer. At least she could respect some of my privacy and reasoning, and it made me want to respect her in return—a rare feeling.

“I guess it’s something in the way we’re connected. Max borrows my emotions in order to protect me, but I suppose he can take that too far. If we were to…” I once again stumbled over the term.

“Have
sex?”
Emily blurted, just as Wes had.

I scorned her. “Yes.
That.”
I rolled my eyes. “If we were to do that, his draw on my emotions could get carried away. Max would suck the life right out of me.”

Emily leaned back, looking mildly stunned. “Wow…
really?
That’s kinda heavy.”

Her remark was less than impressive. I ignored her. “I mean, you can see why I’d send him away, right? I loved him—
love
him—and being around him, and wanting so much from him, how do I know I won’t get carried away one day? I certainly can’t leave it up to Max to be the only responsible one. That’s just
ir
responsible.”

Emily grasped both my elbows this time, holding me square in front of her. “I can understand, Jane.” She shook me gently. “Besides, what we’re learning about Max’s past isn’t exactly…”

“Reputable?” I finished her sentence for her. It was the perfect word.

Emily shrugged. “I mean, I was going to say
savory
because I thought it sounded cool, but sure. I guess that works. I mean, everyone has a past, his just happens to be a little more…
intense…
and well…
extensive.
” I could see she was trying to play an even field, but there was also an understanding in her words, as though the issue was her own. “I know how it feels to overcome past…
um
… romances. I mean, you know, you and Wes and all.” She stumbled over her words. It wasn’t a subject we’d addressed in a whole lot of detail.

“Emily, you know I don’t have feelings for Wes, and knowing and loving Max as I have now, I know that I never did. It was a comfort thing with him, that’s all.”

Emily had dropped her hands to her waist, fiddling with a lump of my yellow dress as it invaded her space. “I know that. I do. What I’m saying, I guess, is that I understand. I want you to be able to talk to me about these things, and not just…” Her words trailed.

“And not just what?”

Emily let go of my dress. “And not just find a new friend, like that Navia girl to confide in. She doesn’t know you like I do. Frankly, the chick gives me the creeps.”

I couldn’t help but laugh and nod. “She is a bit different.”

Emily nodded along with me. “And I know what you’re going through with the whole…
intimacy
issue.” She was suddenly acting modest about it.

Emily laughed nervously. “I’m not joking! It was just comfortable having you think I was a moral-less person. Allowing you to believe I was someone else kept you at a distance. It kept you from finding out about my mindreading.” She tapped her head.

Flooded with relief and happiness, I pulled her into me, unable to control my need to hug her. I was full of pride and guilt at the same time, pride for her chastity and guilt because I’d assumed the worst from her for so long. She pushed me away gently.

“Maybe you should listen more,” she dared. “Like I do,” she added with a grin.

I giggled. “I promise to try and ask more…” I was nodding and smiling, but Emily’s face had suddenly drained of all color, her eyes fixed over my shoulder and behind me, searching frantically. My happiness quickly faded. “What?” I felt a flutter of nerves in my stomach at that look, knowing it couldn’t be good.

Emily narrowed her eyes, ignoring my question. I turned and looked in the direction she was, behind me and through the rooms of the house toward the kitchen. There were more guests now than there had been when I arrived a few moments ago, the hall overflowing, but not with anything out of the ordinary.

“
What?”
I repeated, looking back at her and giving her a little nudge.

Emily’s eyes pried away from where she’d been looking. She shook her head as though shaking away an image. “Nothing. I just thought…” she stopped herself, pressing her lips together as Wes returned, balancing four cans of beer.

“Want one?” he asked, looking proud to be serving us.

I scowled at Wes for cutting short Emily’s answer. “Emily, I thought we just promised to tell each other everything? You can’t just do that and expect to avoid an explanation.”

Emily frowned and reached over me, snatching a beer from Wes’s hand. She snapped it open and began drinking. Seeing that Wes was now struggling to balance the remaining beers in his hands, I quickly assisted him, grabbing two cans that were about to fall to the floor. Wes regained his balance. Emily’s abrupt change in attitude was confounding.

“What’s gotten into you?” he barked at Emily.

Emily had her eyes shut, her head tilted back as she drained the can. She crushed it in her tiny hand, looking brutish doing so. “Just anxious is all. Thanks for the beer.”

My brows were drawn together. I once again looked over my shoulder, but there was still nothing to warrant her strange and unexplained behavior. What in the world had just happened?

Emily:

I gave the empty can back to Wes. He took it with a confused look that rivaled Jane’s. I nervously glanced back across the house where I had seen it—seen
him.
Greg. It had to be a figment of my imagination, but what if it wasn’t? My lack of sleep the last week had been hard on my already flawed concentration. I wouldn’t be surprised to find I was seeing things now, too. Then again, if Greg really was in my room, then he could really be here and I wasn’t seeing things at all. My spine steeled, body shaking.

Where was Max?

If Greg were really here, there was no way Max would not know about it. Lover’s quarrel or not, Max was still sworn to protect Jane for the rest of her life including those she cared about, like me… at least that’s what he claimed the night he invaded my room. Now, more than ever, I actually missed having Max around—he would be able to tell me the truth—was Greg really here or not?

I know it seemed a stupid thing to obsess over, but no one saw what Greg did to me—what he made me
do
. I was trapped in my body, his every wish my duty to fulfill. Granted he didn’t take advantage of me, at least not to
that
degree, but he did make me kill a man. My hands sliced the heart right out of his poor soul, the blood forever staining my skin. I could never forget the way the man looked at me, my face the last he saw.

What Jane and Wes knew about my abduction was vague and loose. I hadn’t been able to open up about it yet. Given that, being terrified by the simple possibility of Greg’s proximity at this party made my reaction at this moment understandable. I certainly wasn’t about to foot my burdens of that experience on them here and now. This meant leaving Jane with unanswered questions, though I had promised not to.

Wes seemed to shrug it off rather quick, idly sipping his beer. “I brought one for Navia, too. Where is she?” I was glad Wes was changing the subject away from my weird and sudden behavior.

Jane stood still, holding the two extra beers and staring at them with a frown on her face. “I don’t know.” She looked around for a place to leave them, finding a side table in the corner behind her. I watched her maneuver the mass of yellow sateen fabric, setting the beers on two coasters—always the polite one.

“Well, did she go to mingle?” Wes pushed.

Wes’s pressing interest in Navia’s whereabouts sent an irritated twitch down my spine. On top of everything else I had to deal with, now I had to deal with the fact that Wes clearly had a thing for Navia, even if it was a superficial attraction to her super model looks. He thought I didn’t know, but he wasn’t as great at hiding it yet as he thought he was.

Jake approached then, and my whole body tingled with his nearness, hungering for the relaxation the veiled light could provide. Given the ape suit, however, there wasn’t so much as a glimmer.

“Hey, man.” Wes put a hand on his shoulder. “Got a beer over there for ya, on that little table thingy next to Jane.”

Jake groaned dramatically. “Oh, you’re a
god!”
He practically lunged for it, popping the top and chugging it down, finishing with a flagrant
‘ah’.
“Now that’s good.”

I rolled my eyes away from them, leveling my gaze across the room where the same, dark figure I’d seen before now leaned against an arched passageway—closer now. I felt my heart stop, my eyes lingering on the figure: undoubtedly a man, undoubtedly Greg. His face was shadowed by the overhang of the arch, his pose somehow coy and confident at the same time. I allowed myself to open my gaze to him, hoping that by doing so, he would disappear. He didn’t.

Black leather jacket and dark jeans—all the smoldering, dark romance he possessed was put on display. A sick part of me enjoyed it.

I shut my eyes hard this time, trying to quell the emotions that were mixing inside me—hatred, love, murder, and lust. Opening my eyes with the emotions haltered, I saw he was gone. Though he had once again disappeared, one thing was for certain. This was real this time. This was not just a figment of my imagination anymore.

What did he want?

Jake reached for the last beer. Leaning back into his place in our circle he snapped it open, but before he could bring it to his lips, I snatched it out of his grasp. I slammed the fizzy amber liquid down my throat once more. I would not let this scare me. I was poison to Greg, and I needed to remember that.

Tilting my head back, I choked on the beer, surging forward in a fit of coughing. Jake caught me in his arms, patting my back.

“What in the
world?”
he remarked, aiming the question toward Wes. “What’s wrong with her?”

I stood up straight, wiping my chin.

“What’s your problem?” Jake asked me directly, looking from Wes and back to me. He squeezed my arm.

I yanked myself out of his grasp.
“Nothing,”
I hissed. The beer was already beginning to get to me.