“Eden?” Az’s careful tone snapped her back to reality.
“Yeah, I just… Sorry.” She cleared her throat. Eden couldn’t be sure she’d spoken Adam’s name aloud since everything had happened. She was prepared to feel hate, but not the hurt ache filling her chest. “Adam said once that Kristen wasn’t the worst. Madeline scared the shit out of him. She knew we were on the train, that you were with me. She’s having us followed, Az. I should call Jarrod and warn him in case she’s got someone on him, too.”
Az let out a long breath, shifting ahead of her. “Look, Eden, there’s something you should know about Madeline. I should have told you before, but Gabe didn’t want anyone to know.”
They were still two shops down, but the door to the Laundromat swung open, Madeline’s head popping around the door.
He leaned closer under the guise of a kiss he planted near Eden’s ear, his whisper urgent. “Madeline knows about Gabe. Don’t answer any of her questions if you can help it, understand?”
Surprise kept her frozen, but couldn’t help the sting of his words. “You kept that from me?”
Az lifted his head to Madeline and didn’t answer. She bounded toward them in something between a skip and a run.
“Look, she’s already doing her straight-to-business face!” Madeline’s smile seemed fastened to her lips, fake enough that it could pass for a prop, glued over her real mouth. Her attention shifted to Az, her tone playful. “You make scorching arm candy for someone who was supposed to be dead.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Turns out the afterlife is boring no matter how you get there.”
Madeline snickered. “I’m glad you decided to stick around.” Her tone darkened. “How are you doing?” Eden remembered Madeline’s face at Kristen’s ball, how she’d paled and panicked when Eden had told her about Az’s “accident.”
How well does he know her? Eden wondered. And why the hell didn’t I hear about it?
Madeline glanced over at Eden. “Wow. Now that is a death glare.”
From the corner of her eye, Eden caught Az scoping the street around them. They’d stepped off to the side, but were mostly out in the open. Whether on purpose or not, Madeline had made them easy targets.
Eden fought to keep the fear from her face. If Madeline knew about Gabe, that meant she really did have her rumored connections to the Fallen. No one else knew what had happened on that roof but Lucifer.
“You’re used to dealing with Kristen,” Madeline said, her eyes sharpening to a glittery emerald green. She crossed her arms, her neck drowned in the enormous fluffy scarf wrapped around it. “Ten thousand games that lead to one tiny nugget of a useless fact. She drives me crazy, Eden. Can we skip the drama?”
“I think that’d be best. You mentioned Gabriel.” Eden kept her tone even, neither challenging nor inquisitive, simply stating a fact. She didn’t react when Az took her hand, unsure whether it mattered if they appeared as a united front, if Madeline was a threat at all. He promised me no more secrets, she thought bitterly, and once again she was at a disadvantage because he’d kept something from her.
“I know that you spent a lovely sunrise on top of a building a few weeks ago.” Madeline pointed to Az. “You were there, and you were there.”
“What is this, The Wizard of Oz?” Eden forced the sarcasm.
“What do you want, Madeline?” Az asked. A sharp twinge in Eden’s stomach made her breath catch. She pressed her lips together to hide her distress, but luckily Az’s attention was on Madeline.
“God, you are completely set on ruining my good mood, aren’t you?” A bitter cold breeze swept past them, whipping a chunk of Madeline’s bangs loose from her bun. She unsnapped her barrette and yanked the red strands back where they belonged.
“I’m guessing it wasn’t a breakfast get-together. And I wasn’t invited.” Madeline’s gaze lingered on Eden before it shifted to Az. “You’re being awful picky about who you trust these days. Have you told Eden all the secrets yet?”
Az squeezed Eden’s shoulder. Her pain grew worse, stabbing.
She ripped away and spun on him, her breaths sharp. “Told me what secrets?” she demanded.
“On account of her love of causing strife, most of the Siders think Madeline sticks with the Fallen. In truth, she plays spy for both the Fallen and me and Gabe.” His tone wasn’t friendly. “Though I’m pretty sure Luke would be pissed to find that out.”
Madeline chuckled. “I’d say that’s accurate. Speaking of, Luke was on cloud nine, pardon the out-of-place Upstairs reference. Now, though, not so much. When I asked him what was up, he mumbled something about complications with Gabe.”
Seconds ticked away, the traffic sloshing by. A thin layer of snow had accumulated, already turning to slush on the road. “You shouldn’t have done things this way, Madeline.” Az toed at the concrete. “I can’t talk about Gabe with you. Not now.”
Under Eden’s ribs, pressure grew. Her entire abdomen and chest cavity clenched. She grabbed reflexively for Az’s hand, squeezing it harder than she intended. A whimper escaped her, but then she felt a soft pop, and the pain vanished instantly. The relief brought tears to her eyes as she slowly exhaled. It was so much worse than the aching she’d felt after taking in too much Touch.
“According to what Luke’s told me, being newly Fallen, Gabe should be on some sort of bloody rampage,” Madeline went on, oblivious. “He’s not. I mean, last time I saw—”
“Stop.” A shudder passed through Az. His fists curled and uncurled at his sides, tension rolling off him in waves. Eden couldn’t catch a look at his eyes, but she bet they’d changed from their normal blue.
“Az?” Eden said.
“Anything else.” His voice cracked. He allowed only Eden a flash of his eyes, the dark navy spreading like smoke past his irises and into the whites. “Talk about anything else but him.”
She jumped when Az dropped to one knee, reaching for him before she managed to stand up straight again. “Madeline, how are things in Queens?” Eden choked out.
Madeline’s eyes flicked down to where Az knelt, his shoulders rising and falling with his deep breaths. “There was,” Madeline said carefully, “another reason I wanted to talk to you. That’s why I really called you.”
Eden tore her attention away from Az, waiting.
“You can kill Siders,” Madeline said bluntly.
Eden hesitated for only a fraction of a second. “Yes.”
Madeline bounced on her toes. “I’m not sure if Kristen told you, but there’s been a bit of … restructuring in the other boroughs. It didn’t go well. So, I was wondering if there was a chance you’d work on commission.”
Eden cocked her head. “What, like a hit? You want me to take someone out for you?” She scoffed. “I don’t think so.”
“Hear me out,” Madeline said, moving a gloved hand to Eden’s arm when she turned back to Az. “You’ve been hanging out in Manhattan, but it’s not your territory. It’s Erin’s.”
“It was Erin’s.” Eden stiffened. The day she’d left Kristen’s house, Kristen had told her Erin was gone—made it seem like she’d done something to her to get her out. Eden hadn’t questioned it. For some reason she’d assumed the girl was dead, even though it wasn’t possible. “You’re doing this now?” Eden said in disbelief, her eyes flashing to Az.
“Relax.” Madeline forced a smile. “Eden, you’ve got a skewed picture of things, I promise. Kristen treats the rest of us like enemies, pretends she needs to hold on to her little stronghold like we’re going to yank it out from under her. Really we thought it’d be best to spread out so we can find the new Siders. We didn’t want them to be alone for longer than they have to be. It was difficult for us, when we didn’t have each other. And we didn’t want the Bound to notice us.” Her brow furrowed for a brief moment. “The rest of us couldn’t care less about territories and her silly alliances. She’s our friend, but her paranoid quirks really are paranoid quirks.”
Eden’s eyebrow r
ose. “A second ago you asked me to kill one of you. Yeah, she’s totally paranoid. Sure.”
“Honestly, it’s an isolated incident, I promise,” Madeline said, her tone soft but confident. “Vaughn’s selling Touch to the mortals. Like a drug. He had a whole crew of Siders in on the operation. As soon as the rest of us found out, Erin went to Staten Island. We asked him to stop; he didn’t. We used force, but it didn’t seem to faze him. Honestly, at this point I don’t care what happens to him. He’s putting us all in danger by being so blatant. Especially now that the Bound know about us.”
Eden bristled. She feigned disinterest, dropping down next to Az. The safest bet was to get them both out of there and grill Az on what Madeline knew later. “We’ll go as soon as you’re ready,” she whispered, and stood. “Look, Madeline. That’s not my thing.”
“I’ll make it worth your while.”
She couldn’t consider the offer, not now that anyone she killed only increased Luke’s numbers, but Madeline thinking of her as a last option gave her a bit of power. “What’re you offering?”
“What’s valuable to you? We need to make this happen.”
Something about Madeline’s words hit her. She couldn’t give her false hope. If she wasn’t going to be able to take out the Siders anymore, what did it matter if everyone knew? They’d find out eventually. Better from her. Eden opened her mouth.
Az grabbed her leg, startling her. “We need to go. I need…” He squeezed his eyes shut tighter and bit his lip. “Now.” He stood and leaned into Eden, speaking low enough that only she would hear. “It’s not getting better.”
Her heart thumped hard in her chest. “Okay, we’ve got this,” she said, with a calm she wasn’t even close to feeling. She couldn’t keep the desperation from her face when she turned to the other girl. “Madeline, we have to grab a cab.”
Madeline headed to the corner, her arm raised. Eden helped Az to the curb as the cab pulled up.
“Thank you,” she said to Madeline, slipping into the car beside Az. She gave the driver the address distractedly, her attention on Az as the car drove off, leaving Madeline behind.
Eden rested her head on his shoulder, her lips against his ear. She forgot about Madeline’s offer, the cab, the world. “I’m with you,” she said to him, soft as a lullaby. “I’ll always be with you, right here next to you. I love you.”
She ran her fingers up the side of his neck, gently tilted him closer. He dropped against her shoulder, and she moved a subtle hand to his back. Under her fingers, his wings trembled.
“I am not leaving you,” he grated out, his arm wrapping around her. The tightness of it stole her breath. His chest heaved, and under her hand his wings flexed, straining against the ace bandage she knew would be wrapped tight to keep them hidden.
“Fight it,” she whispered. “You fight it. Don’t you dare leave me.”
His lips rose from her shoulder to her neck. He kissed her there, his hands winding into her hair. Desire ripped through her at the intensity, his skin hot against hers. He pulled back suddenly, drawing a breath.
“Shhh,” she murmured.
“They can’t make me go.” Every word came softer, trepidation in each one, as if he didn’t quite believe what he said.
“I know,” she said, running her hand through his hair. A tiny knot of dread tightened inside her heart.
Only talking about Gabe had set him off this time.
He was getting worse, getting weaker.
Az lowered his head back onto the seat, his breathing slow and even, his eyes closed, though she knew he couldn’t be sleeping. He looked younger when the tension left his face.
She pulled her phone from her pocket, careful not to jostle Az. If Luke was angry, maybe Gabe wasn’t as evil as he’d hoped. Maybe… Maybe he was still himself enough that he would help Az. She hesitated and then typed out a text to the last number that had called her.
He needs Gabe back. You need Vaughn dead. Find me Gabriel first, and then I’ll handle Vaughn.
Eden lowered her head to the back of the seat, watching Az silently. Taking out Vaughn meant she would be sending him Downstairs. The thought made her sick. On the seat beside her, Az heaved a sigh. She ran a finger down his temple, across his cheek and chin, knowing she’d made her decision.
“Whatever it takes,” she whispered.
CHAPTER 5
Kristen’s hands were freezing, curled into fists and tucked against the folds of her dress. How did I get here? she thought, panicked, suddenly aware of the bench she sat on, the empty park around her. She shook her head, tossing free the snow that had settled on her hair, and wrapped her bare arms around herself. Her teeth had stopped chattering. How long ago, she wasn’t sure.
Think. There has to be an explanation.
You knew this would happen, her mind argued. You’re slipping without Gabe.
Her jaw felt wired shut. For a split second, she felt the wires, hardware glued to her teeth holding her mouth shut. Not real. It’s not real. The feeling faded. She took in a huge stuttered gasp of air. She’d banished the hallucination. It was all the proof she needed. “I am not slipping.”
Not yet.
The Bound. The thought came from nowhere.
“My God,” she whispered. Gabe had been able to read her thoughts. Maybe others who were Bound would be able to put thoughts there. “That’s it. It has to be.”
Her breath clouded, hovering before it dissipated. Would Gabe have been angry enough to tell the Bound about the Siders? She shook her head. No, if he did, they would come after his precious Eden, too.
Gabriel had worked so hard to hide the Siders away, keep them a secret so the Bound wouldn’t have them destroyed. But maybe they hadn’t needed Gabe. Maybe they’d found her anyway. Discovered the Siders. Were tormenting her.
“Get out of my head,” she commanded. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to make me think I’m going crazy, but I’m not!”
She heard a stick snap behind her. Footsteps crunching in the snow. “Kristen?”
“No. You leave me alone.” Her voice broke. Gabriel had told her how the Bound did what they felt needed to be done. Miracles took second seat to plagues, death, and destruction. They would torture her. Use her to find out how to kill the other Siders.
If there was anyone there at all.
She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m not playing your games. I know you’re not there.”
Pressure on her shoulder. A hand.
So real.
“Kristen, open your eyes.” The footsteps rounded the corner of the bench. The rustle of fabric as someone—no, you’re imagining this—as she imagined someone squatting down.
“No one’s there.” She leaned forward, rocking against her knees. A touch of fingertips, a hand pushing her back, forcing her to straighten. She shuddered. It felt so real.
“Open your eyes,” the voice demanded.
“I’m not going crazy,” she whispered.
“Going? From the look of you that line got crossed some time ago, my romantic hopeless.”
She didn’t bother answering. Sane people didn’t answer voices.
“Kristen?” Tender tones now. New tactics. Beware, some part of her mind cried. They’ll trick you. When he spoke again, any semblance of kindness had disappeared from his voice. “You’re in the park. You’re also covered in snow, and it’s freezing out. Now, clearly you weren’t batshit when you called me—”
“I did not call anyone.” She pressed her lips together.
“It’s Luke, Kristen.” Her breath caught. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
He was only inches from her face, flakes of snow caught in his black curls. He reached out to her, and in her shock, her hand left her lap, found his. A smile flashed across his lips at the contact, satisfaction glinting in the obsidian of his eyes.
“You called,” he said. “And I came to you.” He rose off his knees in one lithe move and slid beside her on the bench.
“I…�
� she trailed off. “No. No, you stay away from me.” She squeezed his hand for a second, long enough to feel the bones, make sure it was real before she tossed it away. “You don’t get to talk to me ever again.”
“Today hasn’t been so good?” He said it like she’d missed her bus or misplaced her keys. She hesitated, but his smile broke her down. There was no pity in it. He took her hands again, rubbing his over them slowly to generate warmth.
She glanced around. Everything lay under at least an inch of fresh snow. The lamps along the path were lit, fooled by the cloud cover, though it wasn’t yet dark. She blinked as the wind shifted into her face. Save for herself and Luke, the park was empty. No one would see her talking to him.
Her fingers felt frozen, mottled with patches of maroon and white. Luke followed her gaze down to their hands.
“Could you go, please?” She heard the desperate plea in it, knew before he answered that it wouldn’t be that easy.
“Come on, you know I’m not going to leave you.”
She licked her lips, and they seemed to freeze almost instantly.
Anxiety flooded through her. How long had she been gone? Had anyone else seen her leave? Why couldn’t she have called Sebastian? Her face crumpled, and Luke lowered his voice. “No one has to know you let me help. It can be our secret.”
“I don’t want anything from you,” she whispered. His name already sullied too many of her secrets.
“None of this is your fault. You shouldn’t have to go through this.” She searched his eyes, waiting for some sign that he played her, malice hidden in the darkest corners, but found none.
“Kristen,” he said, slouching forward to rest his elbows on his knees. His fingers rubbed the bridge of his nose, ran across his high cheekbone to tuck his hair behind his ear. He scooted closer. “Let me inside.”
A Touch Morbid Page 3