Page 22 of Unholy Cross

“My generosity for saving you tonight has a price,” Jeremiah said, cutting through the tension

“Why am I not surprised?”Cross cocked his head.“Nothing comes from the heart, not even for your brother.What do you want?”

“That phone call I just had.I want you to get my money.”

“You want me to shake him down?”

“I expect you to either bring my money or bring me collateral.”

Cross looked at Lorelei.He didn’t want to leave her side.What if something happened when he wasn’t there?What if she woke up and was terrified of these people?

“I won’t let anything happen to her, Aera,” Evren stated.

“Take my personal elevator down to the garage and use a company car,” Jeremiah ordered.

“I’ll take my bike.”

“No,” Jeremiah said, already walking away.“A motorcycle will be too conspicuous.”

Looks like he didn’t have a choice.He looked at Evren.“Give me the address.”

Chapter Ten

No light penetratedthrough the thick cloak of darkness where Lorelei waited.It wasn’t the first time she’d found herself in the endless sea of black, healing after absorbing someone’s pain.She simply needed to wait until her body purged the trauma she had taken from Cross.She remembered he’d been shot.He’d been dying.Pain flared through her, robbing her of breath for a moment, as tears leaked from the corner of her eyes.

An invisible someone wiped the tears away.

“Hello?”she asked, spinning in the dark.The sound of her own voice startled her because it had been a very long time since she had heard it.“Cross?”

She kept searching but couldn’t see anything.Then, a lone light appeared, and from the darkness came a figure.A shorter man stepped forward, causing her to squint.When he finally tilted his face up, it took her a moment to realize it was her mother’s brother.Involuntarily, she retreated a step as a shiver of revulsion danced down her spine.

As a child, he would watch her.Even as a little girl, she realized there was something fundamentally wrong with him.His shifty eyes followed her everywhere she went, and her mother told her never to be alone with him.Now, in the dark, she found herself in the one position that had always frightened her.Slowly, she backed away, and thankfully he didn’t pursue.Instead, he retreated from the light, and that was when she realized if she couldn’t see him, she had no idea when or where he’d strike.So, she ran forward, chasing the single light, only the closer she got the farther it faded.

“Lorelei!”

Cross’s voice halted her.Panting, she turned in a circle.

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