I didn’t doubt it for a second, and I bet she’d enjoy it, too. “Exactly what do you want him to remember?” I knew she wouldn’t give me an honest answer, but I wanted to see what she’d say.
She chuckled. “I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.”
That didn’t sound good. On the other hand, “If I do this, then you’ll leave my dad and me alone?”
“Scout’s honor.” She held up three fingers.
She didn’t come across as even marginally trustworthy, but here was the thing: Jack would want this cuff. He wanted his memories back. If it happened to come with the bonus of protection from this psycho cunt, then even better. Either way, it was a win.
“Fine. Deal,” I said.
She smiled with a glibness that troubled me.
“Just make sure he puts it on.” She handed over the cuff and turned to leave.
“Hey. Once he remembers who he is, what will he do exactly?” More importantly, what would happen to me? I would never admit it, not to her, me, or Jack, but the thought of him disappearing from my life bothered me.
“A man like King has no need for a weak little nothing like you.”
Her words stung. I wasn’t nothing. “I’m not weak.”
“Your kind is equipped with some unique gifts. I’ll grant you that. But you’re about as useless as they come.”
I guessed she was referring to these “Seer” people. And how could she tell what I was by looking at me?
“Wow. You really are a fresh find,” she said. “You don’t even know what a Seer really is, do you?”
I remained silent. She knew the answer. No.
“King can fill you in when he wakes up,” she said with a smirk.
She called him King again. Was that Jack’s real name? Last name?
She then added, “And when he does, ask him to teach you how to mask all those interesting colors swirling around you. It’s a dead giveaway to people like me.”
“Colors? What colors?” I glanced down at my chest and legs. I saw nothing.
She rolled her eyes and turned to leave. “Tell him I will be back in a few days to settle up.”
She left the warehouse, and a gust of cold ocean air swirled around the room. I raised my arm to block my face from the dirt and dust. When I opened my eyes again, for one split second, the warehouse was filled from floor to ceiling with…stuff—crates, cars, enormous vases, and sculptures.
With the blink of an eye, it was all gone.
What the hell? God, I hated this place.
“Jack? Jack? If you can hear me, please hurry and wake up.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I must’ve dozed off, because I woke to the sensation of someone kicking my thigh. My eyes fluttered open to find Jack standing over me.
“Impossible.” I sat up and stared at his elegant, masculine face. As good as new.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
Confused.
He offered his hand to help me up.
I stared at it. How could he be so calm and cordial? I’d murdered him and punched in his eyes. Yes, he’d provoked me—he’d been willing to die, to endure horrible pain simply to show me the truth—but that didn’t make the situation any better.
“Not to worry, I have been through worse.” His hand remained extended.
I took it, and warmth surged through my body when we touched. He pulled, and I got to my feet, placing us toe-to-toe. He didn’t let go of my hand.
I began feeling sick remembering I had the cuff in my bag. If I gave it to him, I didn’t know what would happen. Would he still need me? Would he ditch me like that woman said? As twisted as it sounded, I didn’t want that. It had only been a few days since he came into my life and changed everything.
No, this wasn’t a statement of love or affection or even that I couldn’t bear to part with him. Truthfully, I felt like Alice in Wonderland, only this world had quicksand instead of rabbit holes. This world was filled with scary fucking shit that was slowly eating away at my sense of reality.
I’d lived my entire life believing in things, like people died and stayed dead, or bad people got arrested and went to jail, not maimed by death. Everything I knew wasn’t real anymore, and the only person I felt safe with was a man who couldn’t die and couldn’t remember exactly who he was. Yet he had the answers. This new dangerous, frightening world was his domain, and he seemed to rule over it.
So yeah, as fucked up as it sounded, I didn’t want the only person who understood what the hell was going on to abandon me when the walls of my reality were crumbling. Better the devil I know than to be left alone in hell.
“You are frightened that I am going to leave you?” His deep voice was tinged with amusement.