Page 10 of Unholy Cross

Well, when he put it like that, she sounded silly.She had to remember that she and Cross were nothing more than acquaintances, and she had no business butting into his personal life.She mimed writing and he leaned over the bar, looking, before reaching for something.When he sat back down, he had a pen, an ordering pad, and a bottle beer.

Flipping it over, she wrote her question.“Why did you come for me?”

“I was hired to rescue you,” he answered, taking a drink and reading her next question.“Truthfully, your dad mistook me for the real person he hired to rescue you.As soon as he showed me your picture, however, that other bastard was out of luck.You were mine, especially once he told me about your gift.”

Lorelei blinked.There was too much to digest from that short paragraph, so she held up a hand as she focused on the most important thing he said.

“What did my dad look like?”

“Short and bald with extra weight.”

“My father was tall.Took care of himself.Full head of grey hair.That man you described was not my father.”

“Son of a bitch!I had a feeling that man was lying through his teeth.”Cross stared at her for a moment, head slightly cocked, the gears in his head turning.“He wanted you but was unable to get you out of Noble Vale, so he hired me to deliver you right into his fucking arms.Someone else working against Birsha?”

Short, bald, with extra weight sounded like her uncle.Under no circumstances could she go back to him.

“The man you describe sounds like my mother’s brother.He was the man who sold me to Birsha.”

Cross blinked in surprise.“Sold you?What the fuck?If he sold you, then why is he trying to get you back?”

“Good question.”

He went to cup her face, and habit made her jerk back thinking she was going to be struck.

“You don’t trust me,” he said, lowering his hand back down.“You don’t know if I’ll be as bad as the others but I’ll prove that you can trust me.”

Trust.Betrayed by her mother’s brother, Cross had no idea what he asked of her.The memory of that night made her heart bleed from the festering wound that never fully healed, and she had to forcefully push it from her mind because to dwell on it made her want to break down and cry.She already lost five years of her life to that useless emotion, so she now had to figure out what was next.Vengeance?Hiding?Self-reflection?

She shook her head to clear it.There was no reason to rehash the worst night of her life.

“What do you know about my ability?”

His eyes narrowed, as if getting ready to argue about the shift in topics, but he must have seen the plea in her own because he backed down and followed her lead.

“A few months ago, I came across a woman who had the ability to calm people with a touch and a suggestion.She used it on me several times.So, I’m aware there are people out there who have certain powerful gifts.”

There were others like her?“Can I meet her?”

“Maybe one day,” he replied.“She’s far from here.Let’s figure things out before we go on a vacation.”

Didn’t he realize that every day she spent out of her prison cell was a vacation?He leaned closer, and suddenly he wastooclose.His nearness caused her heart to pound and she couldn’t help but glance at his mouth.She’d never kissed a man, and wondered what it would feel like to kiss him.

“Stop looking at me like that,” he murmured softly.“Or I may just eat you up.”

She snapped her eyes up, meeting his gaze.He watched her.The muted light of the bar turned his green eyes dark and intense.His face, however, was a blank sheet.She was quickly learning all his nuances.A veritable expert at emotionless expressions, and it made her wish she could be just as stoic.

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