I shook my head slowly.
His jaws tensed. “Nina, don’t be stubborn. Please trust me.”
“I do trust you. That’s why I’m not going to hide,” I said again.
He jerked the Escalade onto the shoulder of the road and shoved the gear in park. “I’m not asking, Nina. I am telling you. It’s that serious.”
I narrowed my eyes at him and he sighed, hitting his steering wheel with the heel of his hand.
“Don’t do this to me! It’s bad enough knowing I’ve put you in this situation without you refusing to let me keep you safe!”
“Jack didn’t want you to tell me the truth because he didn’t want this. He didn’t want me to live in fear or in hiding. If you lock me up you’re giving them what they want.”
His knuckles were white as they gripped the steering wheel. “What makes you think you know what they want?” His voice was low and deliberate.
“Because Jack wanted the opposite,” I whispered.
Jared stared at me, considering my words. “Jack wanted you safe. These things don’t show mercy, Nina. They don’t care that you’re an innocent teenage girl.”
I swallowed. “Eli said we were only dealing with humans for now. Let’s concentrate on that.”
Jared thought for a moment and relaxed a bit. “Okay. We’ll do this your way. While we’re still dealing with humans, you can stay at Andrews. The second Shax calls out even a fraction of one of his legions, you’re coming with me. And I don’t want to hear a single word about it.”
I nodded. “Fair enough.” I pulled my arms around me, bracing myself. My curiosity outweighed my need to remain oblivious. “What are Legions?”
Jared grimaced, obviously wishing I hadn’t asked. “Shax has thirty legions under his command. Don’t ask me how many demons that is. You don’t want to know.”
I nodded again, swallowing the bile rising in my throat.
“Nina?” Jared asked, feeling my forehead.
“I don’t feel well,” I said, reaching for the door handle.
I ran to the grass, hearing both car doors shut simultaneously. As soon as my feet touched the soil, Jared was beside me, pulling my hair away from my face. It didn’t take long for the dry heaving to commence; I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast.
After my stomach relaxed and the gagging ceased, Jared lifted me into his arms and returned me to my seat.
“I’m taking you to the loft,” he warned, putting the gear in drive.
I was too exhausted and sick to argue.
Jared carried me up the two flights of stairs and gently placed me on my side of the bed. I let my body melt into the mattress while I listened to the water run in the bathroom. Moments later a cool, folded wash cloth was laid it across my forehead.
“Déjà vu,” I said.
“I wasn’t taking your condition into consideration when I drug you out to see Eli, and I should have gotten you something to eat. I’m sorry.”
“Quit apologizing. You didn’t force me to drink too much last night. How are you feeling? Like me?”
“I’m not sick, just uncomfortable. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll quit apologizing if you quit worrying about me,” he said, brushing my hair back from my face. I smiled but didn’t make any promises. Jared kissed my cheek. “I’m going downstairs to get you some crackers and soda to settle your stomach. Try to rest.”
“I’m really fine. You don’t have to fuss,” I said, pushing myself up against the pillows.
“I’m just trying to make you comfortable.” He had a strange expression on his face, almost sullen.
“Your bed is a thousand times more comfy than my bed at Andrews, and even my bed at home. And neither of them smells like you.”
Jared fidgeted before speaking. “So…why is it that you’re so against staying here? Is it me?”
My eyebrows immediately pulled in, hurt that he would ever come to that conclusion. “No! I’m not against staying here. I love staying here. I just need to go back to Andrews.”
Jared raised an eyebrow. “And why is that? I thought staying alive would be a good enough reason for you to want to stay here with me. You didn’t mind when I needed to dress your hand every night.”
“It’s not about that. It’s about being forced into hiding, it’s about my friends, and it’s about keeping some degree of normalcy in my life. I know you want me here where you know that I’m safe,” I explained, resting my hand on his leg.
“Not just to keep you safe. I just want you here,” he said, tenderly tracing my jaw line with his fingertip.
I smiled at his words, my jaw radiating with the heat from his touch. “We have plenty of time for that, right?”
Jared’s eyes immediately clouded over and I finally understood the urgency. He wanted to spend every second of the time we had left together. I looked away from him; I had to have faith that we would make it through this. My eyes felt heavy and I turned onto my side, pressing my cheek into my pillow.
“I have faith in you, Jared. More than you have in yourself. I’m not afraid,” I said, closing my eyes.
The door slammed and I jerked, looking around the room. It was morning.
“Can you close the door like a normal person?” Jared snapped.
“This is a terrible idea, Jared. Maybe the worst one you’ve had, yet,” Claire complained. Small footsteps stomped up the stairs. “You have to talk him out of this, Nina. He won’t listen to me. Not in the mood he’s in.”
“Stay out of it, Claire,” Jared said from downstairs.
Claire made a face and then jumped from the railing, landing on her feet. “I can’t stay out of it, because you keep making it my business!” she hissed.
I quickly dressed and met them downstairs. Jared was dressed in a buttoned-down shirt and slacks, holding a motorcycle helmet. He shoved it toward me without a word.
“What’s this?” I asked, staring at the helmet.
“I think better on my bike,” Jared said.
I looked up at him. “What’s going on?”
His expression didn’t change. “Are you coming or not?”
I looked at Claire and then to Jared. I pressed my lips together and then took the helmet from him. Claire sighed and stormed out.
I followed Jared outside and eyed the slick, black beauty parked on the curb. “What is that?”
Jared sighed. “It’s a Vulcan.”
“Weird. I thought it was a motorcycle.” I smiled, but Jared didn’t find humor in my words. I put up my hand and separated my fingers into a ‘V’. “Live long and…no?” I shook my head, seeing that Jared was in no mood for jokes.
I shoved the helmet on and fastened the chin strap. My father had a motorcycle and, although I’d never been brave enough to drive one, I was well-versed in being a passenger. Jared revved the engine and I climbed on behind him, glad that it was another nice day.
He raced down the street, taking various turns. It wasn’t until we pulled onto the sidewalk in front of Sovereign Bank that I understood the reason behind Jared’s mood. He lifted me off the seat as if I weighed nothing, placing me on my feet.
“Is there a reason you’re not speaking to me?” I asked, shoving his helmet at him.
“It’s not you that I’m angry with. It’s Jack,” he growled.
“Why?”
“Because he’s making it impossible for me to keep you distanced from this. They need both of our signatures. The box is in a special area. We need the key, our signatures and our fingerprints to get in,” he said, glaring at the door of the bank.
“But they don’t have my fingerprints.”
“I’ve never given them mine, either, but they have it on file,” Jared said, distant and cold.
“You tried to come here without me? Is that why Claire was at the loft?” I crossed my arms. “And let me guess, it just burns you that you needed my help after all.”
Jared’s eyes jerked to mine. “Is that what you think?” I stood with my arms still tightly inte
rtwined across my ribs. Jared shook his head at me and held out his arm. “After you.”
We walked into the bank and a man in a stuffy and notably hideous light grey suit approached us.
“Mr. Stephens, this is Nina Grey,” Jared said.
The man held out his lanky hand and I took it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Grey. Right this way.” He ushered us across the lobby to an elevator. Once inside, he used a small key to gain access to a lower floor that wasn’t on the button display.
The elevator opened into a cavernous room with an enormous bronze vault. Mr. Stephens briskly walked ahead of us, taking his place behind a tall desk with a computer. As we approached, he was tapping the keyboard.
“Miss Grey, I’ll need to see two forms of identification, please,” Mr. Stephens said, looking up from the monitor.
I shot an irritated look at Jared, realizing I’d left my purse at the loft. Jared reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out my wallet. I snatched it from his hand and then put my driver’s license and student ID on the small space in front of the computer monitor. Mr. Stephens’ eyes darted twice between my face and each of the cards and then nodded. I put the cards back into my wallet as he repeated the process with Jared.
“Miss Grey, there is a red pad in front of you. I’ll need you to press and hold your thumb there until you see a flash, and then I’ll need you to do the same, Mr. Ryel,” he said, watching us both follow his directions. “Now sign here and approve the date with the green button when you’re finished.”
I hastily signed and clicked the button with the pen, handing it to Jared, who signed his name under mine.
“And you have the key?”
“We do,” Jared said in a low voice.
“Right this way,” Mr. Stephens said, the vault automatically opening.
The room was filled with various sized boxes, all plated in the same bronze color as the door. Our steps echoed against the marble floor.
Mr. Stephens turned to us, pointing to a shiny golden square on the wall with a small black button in the center. “Press this button to let me know you’re finished. It was a pleasure doing business with you. Miss Grey…Mr. Ryel,” he nodded, leaving us alone. The vault door sealed shut behind him, and Jared’s eyes drifted to mine.
“Okay, he was creepy,” I whispered, half-expecting Jared to offer comfort.
Without a word, he walked ahead, pulling the key from his pocket. I scanned the boxes on the wall and noticed that the numbers were out of order.
“This is going to take forever!” I complained. Jared still didn’t respond, so I rolled my eyes and looked for box eight twenty-five.
Ten minutes later, Jared called to me. “Nina?”
I rushed toward his voice and found him in the back corner, looking at a bronze square the size of a shoebox. “Well, we should have looked back here, first. This is just like Jack, isn’t it?”
Jared still didn’t speak; he simply shoved the key in the lock and opened it, exposing a tan safe with a large black combination lock and handle on the front. He placed the safe on the floor at my feet as if it were a shoe box. I was sure it must have been at least fifty pounds, if not more, but Jared didn’t brace himself against the weight. The muscles of his arms didn’t even strain.
“The code is a combination,” I said.
Jared nodded, pulling out the wrinkled piece of paper from his inside jacket pocket. He read the code aloud and then looked up at me.
“Does that make sense to you?” he asked, holding out the paper for me to take.
825 2R2TL223TR05
“The eight twenty-five is the box number, and the rest is the key to the combination. But, combinations are just three numbers, one or two digits, right?” I didn’t look up, and Jared didn’t speak, so I wasn’t sure if he was in agreement with me or not. “So we need to figure out which of these numbers are the numbers of the combination. And the others are…what? Red herrings?” I shook my head. “No. Jack didn’t play games, these are all important.”
I concentrated on the dial of the combination lock, looking at the numbers and thinking about turning the dial to each number in the different ways they appeared in the code. I burst into laughter and looked at Jared with excitement.
“I’ve got it!” I smiled.
Jared masked an emotion, which in turn curbed my enthusiasm. It seemed we were back to square one of our relationship.
“You’ve got what?” he asked, his voice flat.
“The letters, the R T L letters, they mean right turn and left turn. Turn it twice to the right, stopping on two. Turn left twice, stopping on twenty-two. Three turns right, stopping on five.”
Jared shrugged. “Try it.”
My first inclination was to wad up the paper, throw it at him, and tell him to try it. My temper cooled as reason crept into my mind. I wanted to see what was in the safe, and he would catch the paper, anyway, even if I did manage to aim well enough to hit him.
I kneeled down and twisted the combination. I followed the directions, but when I stopped on the last number, it didn’t catch the way combination locks should.
My anger at Jared coupled with my frustration with the lock made my eyes water. When I tried to inconspicuously wipe my cheek with my shoulder, he sighed.
“Are you crying?” Jared asked.
I sniffed. “No. Leave me alone.”
“Try it again,” he said, indifferent.
I cleared the dial and paid close attention to each turn and stop, but when I reached the five, I passed by it once more. I had only passed it twice instead of three times. The lock caught and I gasped.
“It worked,” I whispered, staring in shock at the safe.
Jared pulled me off the floor and kneeled down to open the safe. He slumped over and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Damn it, Jack. What have you done?”
Chapter Thirteen
Guilty
“What is it?” I asked, leaning over his shoulder.
He turned to face me holding a brown, leather-bound book. It surpassed antique in appearance; well-worn on the edges, with a strange branded seal on the front cover.
“It’s the Naissance de Demoniac. The Bible of Hell,” he said in a whisper.
“Why is the Bible of Hell in Jack’s safe?” I said, stunned.
“Each of the patricians of the hierarchy of Hell has one. This one belongs to Shax,” he said, eyeing the black brand in the center. “I don’t want to know how Jack got his hands on it, but the fact that both of our names are on the account here tells me that he knew I would go against his wishes, and once I did, we would need this.”
“Need it for what?”
“To barter for the only thing Jack would be willing to hand this over for: Your life.” His expression was tortured, as if the guilt was crushing him.
“Jared….” I said, reaching out to him.
He pulled away and emotion disappeared from his face.
His rejection fueled my irritation. “Are we going to leave it here or take it with us?” I asked.
“It’s staying here. I don’t want this anywhere near you. Let’s hope Shax is the one demon in Hell that won’t hold a grudge.”
I reached my hand out to the book. “What’s in it?”
Jared jerked it away and kneeled down to thrust it back into the safe. He slammed the door shut, locked it and pushed the safe into the safety deposit box with a loud bang. He threw the paper bearing the code in with it and locked the door, shoving the key into his pocket.
Grabbing my arm, he rushed down the aisle toward the door. A short, low buzzer sounded when Jared pressed the button, and he fidgeted until Mr. Stephens answered.
“We’re ready,” Jared growled.
As soon as the vault opened, I was pulled forward again. His long strides had me trotting alongside him to keep up. The elevator doors slid open, revealing Mr. Stephens’ lanky frame. Jared stood rigid as the elevator climbed, and when the doors opened again he burst out, keeping a firm grip on
my arm.
At his motorcycle, Jared wasted no time handing me his helmet. I fumbled with the chin strap, and with one movement he snapped his firmly across my neck and swung his leg over the seat, simultaneously pulling me on the seat behind him with one arm.
He wrapped my arms tightly against his chest. “Hang on,” he demanded.
We raced down the road, weaving through traffic, blowing through red lights and stops signs until we reached his building.
My feet barely touched the steps, and once we were inside the loft, he released me. Without a word he climbed the stairs and disappeared beyond the railing. I stood at the bottom of the steps and listened as his footsteps stopped in the center of his bedroom. I waited, listening for a clue as to what he was up to, and then he walked into the bathroom. Seconds later I heard the shower turn on, so I waited.
Ten minutes passed. I sat on the couch, staring at the dark television screen. Nothing about Jared’s behavior made sense, and I assumed he would explain it in his own time, as he always did.
After half an hour, I began to doubt my own reasoning. I climbed the stairs and made my way to the bathroom door, pressing my ear against the wood. The shower was still running so I tried to be patient, but after the fourth time of glancing at the clock I couldn’t let him avoid me anymore.
I lifted my fist to knock on the door but held back, turning the knob instead. The steam bellowed out around me and dissipated, revealing Jared slumped on the floor. His knees up, his back against the tile wall, his head down; he looked hopeless.
I sat on my knees in front of him. “Jared?”
He looked up at me, his eyes a midnight blue. “The night I sat on that bench, Nina, I signed your death warrant.”
“What are you talking about?” The sight of him frightened me. “Please tell me what’s going on!”
“We had more company last night,” Jared said, with the same tortured look from before.
“Who was it this time?” I asked.
“Gabriel,” he choked out.
“You’re not talking about your father, are you? You mean The Gabriel?”
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