Unfaithful (59 page)

Fighting the urge to steal the kiss she’d promised me when I got back, I caressed her again. At my touch, Gemma moved her head, following my hand. I froze, not wanting to wake her for anything in the world.

I could have stayed there for hours, watching her sleep, but I had to go.

“Evan . . .” she murmured, still asleep.

Her eyes moved beneath her closed eyelids. She was dreaming of me. The peacefulness in her voice melted my heart. I could have joined her in that dream. Every last bit of me wished I could, but I didn’t have time and I knew that if I didn’t go soon I wouldn’t be able to find it in my heart to leave her.

No. I wouldn’t be able to. I would leave her a message. I had to let her know I would be late, but without disturbing her sleep. Gemma expected me at six, and if she woke before I got back she would be worried.

I picked up a sheet of paper and let the pen move under my fingers.

Fate is against us; it keeps trying to separate us, but don’t worry—it can’t. Nothing in the world could ever keep me away from you. You can’t separate a body from its heart without killing it. One more hour, my love. Just one more hour and I’ll return to you.

Yours forever,

Evan

I would definitely be back before she woke up. As I placed the note on the coffee table the light of the display on the Blu-ray player caught my eye. It read exactly six o’clock. I would be back by seven.

The air was filled with her scent. I inhaled it deeply. An hour—just one more hour. What could possibly happen in an hour? Calmer now that I knew she was safe, I looked at her one last time, feeling a pit in my stomach for having to leave her again. If it had been up to me, I would never have left her alone to begin with. I wanted to engrave in my mind the sight of her face as she slept so peacefully and have the memory to keep me company while I was away.

I would always be there for her, as long as there was breath in my body. I wouldn’t let anyone near her. I would rewrite her destiny, binding her life to mine, defying fate. I didn’t care how much longer I needed to fight or how many of them came looking for her—I would be there to protect her. I would kill them off until there wasn’t a single one left on earth. But Gemma would survive.

I leaned down and touched my lips to her forehead. It was painful to pull them away again.

“This will all be over soon,” I whispered. With bitterness in my heart I vanished.

A violent sense of vertigo woke me up. I opened my eyes groggily and realized I wasn’t alone in the room. It took me a few seconds to make out my surroundings clearly. Finally I saw him. Evan.

I smiled and studied him for a moment. His back was turned to me and he was holding something, a piece of paper, maybe.

“Hey,” I whispered tenderly.

He started and turned toward me. “Hey,” he replied, smiling.

“What’s that?” I murmured, my voice still sleepy, nodding at the piece of paper in his hands.

My curiosity seemed to surprise him and he hesitated before answering, then smiled. “Just a note for Ginevra. Nothing important,” he said casually, folding the sheet in four. He tossed it into a stone vase on the coffee table and held his hand over it. The paper began to burn.

I looked at him, puzzled. My thoughts were still bleary after my long nap and I didn’t understand why he’d done that. Raising my head from the cushion, I turned toward the clock. It read twenty after six. “You’re late,” I said with a grin, not taking my eyes off his.

“I didn’t want to wake you.” Evan held out his hand. When I took it, he helped me up from the couch, gently pulled me against him and clasped my hips.

“Well? What are you waiting for?” I asked, a hint of naughtiness in my tone that he didn’t seem to catch. He looked a little tense—maybe he was frustrated that we didn’t have a plan. Simon and Ginevra probably hadn’t spoken to him yet. They must still be downstairs, and Evan had likely come to see me first thing after getting back. “I owe you a kiss, remember?” I whispered, pressing my lips against his and sinking my fingers into his wavy hair.

“I think I deserve a little more than that, don’t you?” he whispered back. He finally seemed more relaxed. His arms pulled me closer as he kissed me.

I smiled against his mouth and pulled back gently, resting a hand on his chest. “Hey, give me a minute. I just woke up.”

“I’ve already waited too long,” he said, his breath uneven, pulling me to him again.

“I mean it,” I whispered with a smile, finally managing to pull away from his embrace. I took him by the hands and led him to the couch. “There’s something I have to talk to you about.” I sat down and pulled him down next to me. Now that he was there beside me, I felt calmer, stronger. Nothing could stop me. “I was afraid you wouldn’t get here in time.”

“In time for what?” he asked warily. “What are you talking about?”

“Drake.”

I noticed that his pupils dilated slightly at my mention of the name. “We have a plan,” I announced proudly, as if the plan didn’t involve my death. But that was how I felt. For once, I wouldn’t have to hide. I wouldn’t have to fear my hunter any more. I would no longer have to dread death. And I couldn’t wait for Evan to know every last detail.

He blinked several times, clearly not expecting this. “That’s great news,” he finally said with a nervous look on his face as if he already suspected the danger I would be facing. “I’m listening.”

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. “Ginevra is convinced Drake will try to get near me again in your appearance.”

“I agree,” he replied, clenching his fists.

“Good. So you’ll also agree we can use the situation to our advantage.”

“How, exactly?” He tensed.

A knot in my stomach made me hesitate. Having agreed to the plan didn’t necessarily mean banishing all my fear. “Since I’ll be closest to him, I’ll be the one with the best opportunity to kill him,” I blurted out all in one breath.

Evan didn’t laugh like I’d expected him to. “What? How do you plan to do that?” he asked, seeming shaken.

I hadn’t imagined he would actually consider the plan so quickly though, judging from the look on his face, I wasn’t sure he liked the idea.

“That’s absolutely ridiculous,” he said, frowning.

“No it isn’t, and unless you’ve come up with something else it’s all we’ve got.” I touched the vial in my pocket, then took it out and showed it to him. Evan went rigid, his head snapping back instinctively. “It’s not ridiculous if I have this.” My eyes were sparkling from the power I held in my hand.

“Is that what I think it is?” he asked, still frowning, his eyes riveted on the little glass vial. He looked anxious.

I nodded and tucked the poison back into my pocket where it couldn’t hurt him. “I can do this, Evan,” I reassured him.

“It’s risky,” he said, his gaze abstracted.

“I know, but I have to do it.”

“How do you plan on making it happen, though? Do you really think Drake would be that stupid?” There was a note of bitterness in Evan’s voice.

“I’ll pretend I don’t realize it’s him.” I swallowed. Having seen Evan’s reaction to the first time his brother had stolen a kiss from me, telling him I would have to kiss Drake again might end up being the hardest part of all. “I just need to wet my lips with the poison,” I explained softly, letting him guess the rest of the plan.

Evan didn’t react as I had expected him to. Continuing to stare into space, he slowly rolled his hands into fists.

“Evan, I can do this, trust me. Let me do it. I’m not afraid to face death.” Finally he looked at me. “I’m not afraid, because I know you’ll be there to bring me back.”

He was lost in thought.

I waited. Suddenly, a glimmer appeared in his eyes and he looked at the clock. I did the same. Six forty.

“It’s shrewd,” he murmured finally.

“It’ll work,” I said, possibly more to reassure myself than to convince him.

“We’ll make sure it works,” he replied. “Now listen carefully: Drake is going to try to find out what we’re planning, and we already know how he manages to get close to you. From now on you can’t trust anybody—not even Simon. You have no way of knowing it’s actually him. You need to be absolutely certain who’s in front of you. With Ginevra it won’t be hard—you can always ask her to tell you what you’re thinking. Drake can take on her appearance, but he can’t mimic her powers. He’ll definitely try to trick you to find out what we’re planning.”

“Okay, but how do I know if he takes on your appearance?”

After a moment of thought, Evan took my hands and looked me straight in the eye, inches from my face. “How did you feel without me?” he asked, his voice hard.

“What?” I said, puzzled.

“How did you feel without me?” he repeated, articulating the words carefully.

“Terrible, like always when you’re gone,” I stammered nervously, still confused by his question. “Why are you asking me that right now?”

“Because that’s what I’ll tell you whenever you ask me that question. Remember the words carefully, Gemma—it’s absolutely critical. You need to remember them to be sure it’s really me. This is a decisive moment. My brother could be here any minute. We can’t make mistakes. His eyes, his voice—everything will lead you to believe he’s me. So before you use the poison, before you kiss him, you need to test him by asking him what I just asked you. ‘Like always’: that will be the right answer, your key to recognizing me. Otherwise it doesn’t matter how much he looks like me or how much he acts like me,”—Evan looked me straight in the eye, deliberately articulating each word—“you’ll know it’s not really me. Do you understand?”

I nodded, surprised by the hard note in his voice. He tensed and searched the room with his eyes, then looked at the clock again. I wondered why he kept doing that.

“It’s time,” he warned me, his expression sharp. My heart began to race. “He’s close. I can sense him,” he whispered.

I blinked as panic gripped me. “What?! He’s here?” I asked breathlessly, wrapping my arms over my chest.

“Not yet, but he will be soon. I’m sure he’s waiting for just the right moment.” He looked me in the eye. “Ready?” he asked point-blank.

“How soon?” I asked, my voice trembling.

“I can’t say. Just don’t forget anything I’ve told you.” He got up from the couch.

“Where are you going?” I asked in alarm, too quickly for my anxiety to escape him.

“Don’t worry.” He took my hands. “I won’t be far, but I need to get out of here or he won’t come near you.”

“Right,” I murmured, shaken. “That’s what Ginevra said too.”

Evan nodded. “Because it’s true. I’ll go tell the others that I know all about the plan. We need to be ready when the time comes to bring you back.”

I swallowed, my mind suddenly blank. He leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. His expression unexpectedly turned sly and I flinched at the dark glint that flashed in his eyes. “It’s going to be the most unforgettable kiss he’s ever been given.” He smiled to himself. “Because it will be his last,” he hissed, his eyes narrowed to slits.

A cold shiver gripped my stomach.