Page 40 of Cheater Slicks

And reached.

And reached.

And reached.

“Frankie.” A strong hand clamped on my shoulder. “You’re levitating.”

“Mors tua,”I rasped, throat raw,“vita mea.”

Your death, my life.

“Don’t let your past rule your present.” Gentle fingers slid across my jaw. “You’re safe here, with me.”

Safe.

I wasn’t sure I trusted the word. Or the voice speaking it. But it was a nice voice.

And when soft lips brushed mine, grew firmer, more demanding, I couldn’t help noticing the light.

The soul before me glittered like diamonds, casting rainbows along the backs of my eyes. I reached for it to feel those hard edges. I expected it to be cold, but it was warm. So warm. I luxuriated in the comfort I found there, wanting to snuggle deeper and deeper and?—

A stuttering exhale whistled past my ear, my name a prayer on that agonized breath.“Frankie.”

The brilliant light I had been admiring flickered and twisted, a flame one draft away from extinguishing.

“Kierce.” I ripped away from him, thrusting myself back into my body.“Kierce?”

Sweat plastered his hair to his forehead, but he smiled down at me, trembling, his eyes sterling bright.

“Oh, God, no.” I stared at my hands in horror. “I’m so sorry.” I tucked my arms against my chest to keep them away from him. “I could have killed you.” I couldn’t breathe past the knot in my throat. “I’m?—”

“You did it.” Kierce shackled my wrist. “Look, Frankie.”

All I could see was him. His pallor. His strain. His ache. I couldn’t believe what I had almost done.

“Your hand…was in…my…chest.”

The hoarse voice snapped my attention to Rollo, who blinked like the overhead light blinded him.

“Hey.” I allowed that link to Kierce to calm my frantic heart. “How are you feeling?”

“The fuck you…think…I feel?” His head lolled toward me. “Your…hand…”

“Your soul didn’t want to go back where it came from.” He had inherited the sight from Vi, and like her, he could see my soul when it went wandering. To wake up with me wrist-deep in him must have been a fright. “We had to take extreme measures.”

As he regained his strength, he lifted his head a fraction, noticing the thin line of blood down his chest. “You cut me open?”

“Again.” I patted his cheek, trying to play it off like I hadn’t been seconds away from shattering us both. “Extreme measures.”

“We should get him into bed.” Kierce scuffed the salt line with the toe of his shoe. “He needs to rest.”

As the circle fell, Rollo’s complexion waned, and it gave me an idea. “Jean-Claude?”

We must have worked on Rollo longer than I realized since Jean-Claude had left to wait with Pedro and Josie in the living room. I recognized the squeak in the old floors as he rose from the couch and hustled down the hall. As soon as he cleared the doorway, he crossed himself and spoke a low prayer in French.

“What can I do?” He hovered on the threshold. “How can I help?”

“We need to move him to the bed, but I want to set a circle around him until we’re sure his soul is stuck tight. Can you and Kierce pull the frame out from the wall? I don’t want to leave any room for mistakes.”

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