Page 149 of Inferno

Another step. The air crackles. It’s like my body remembers.

My eyes shut. This isn’t real.

“I know you’re in here.”

My eyes fly open. My heart slams against my ribs like a war drum.

That voice.

Him.

His fist hits the wall, an earth-shattering thud that vibrates through my bones.

“There’s nowhere to hide. Nowhere to run.”

His Irish lilt is rougher now. Darker. Still laced with the power that once melted me.

The footsteps stop.

Silence wraps around us.

This is the last thing I wanted, not him. I wanted to be wrong so badly.

I draw the blade from my mouth, grip it tight in my fist.

I know where the door is. He took six steps.

I could run.

“You smell just like I remember,” he breathes in, deep, almost reverent.

My stomach knots. Every nerve flares.

“Decadent.”

The word drips from his lips like poison.

Jimmy.

A choked yelp slips out. I freeze.

I swear I hear him smile.

He’s alive. Not rotting in some Italian cell. I didn’t ruin him.

But it appears he became the devil. Or was he already that? Was everything in Italy just one big fucking lie?

Anger consumes me. Trust no one.

It all happens fast.

A blur of motion. Instinct takes over.

I run.

Blind toward the door. Just one second of grace. One miracle.

Only one of us leaves through those gates.

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