Page 53 of Reap the Night
“You don’t think you’re her?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that I care about him.”
Ordell sighed. “Then all you need to do is focus on that and hope…Hope that his connection to you is enough to help him fight his way out of his nightmare and back to sanity.”
“What about Ariella?”
“We should go speak to her again. See what else she knows.”
I didn’t want to leave Ezekiel. “You go. I’ll stay here.”
He looked torn.
“I’ll be fine.”
He exhaled. “Stay away from the bars.” He pointed to a bench by the door. “You can sit there. I won’t be long.”
He left, and I parked my ass on the bench. Long minutes ticked by, and the full impact of this situation hit me.
What if I was her? Arabella. Reborn. If I was, then I’d loved him once, enough to fall into hell with him. It would explain why I was drawn to him. No…I couldn’t allow myself to believe it. Not until there was concrete proof. If my heart got involved, and the real Arabella showed up…
No. I’d do what I could to help him using the connection we had and then…then we’d see.
Movement in the cell pulled me out of my thoughts.
Ezekiel stood at the bars, his golden gaze fixed on me.
“Ezekiel…” I stood slowly. “Hey, you’re awake.”
His throat bobbed as he scanned my face. “You’re here…”
“Yes.” I moved closer. “I’m here.”
“My head…” He lightly touched his temple. “It hurts.”
“I know. I’m sorry. But it will get better.”
His mouth turned down, and he made a soft choking sound.
A sob.
My heart lurched, and I bridged the distance between us, wanting nothing more than to hold him. To comfort him. “I’m here. I promise I won’t leave you.”
“I know,” he said. “I know and I’m sorry. So sorry.”
I was close enough to touch him now. To push my hand through the blue haze and graze his cheek if I wanted. Ordell’s warning was nothing more than a whisper in the back of my mind as I reached for Ezekiel.
He lifted his chin, and his sob turned to a growl. The next moment, his hands were wrapped around my neck.
“You think you can fool me,” he snarled. “You think you can wear her face and make me want you. Die, you bitch!”
He squeezed, and my scream died in my throat.
Chapter 18
The kitchen was dead and silent without Ingrid, a room without a soul. I was grateful I was alive to be able to miss her.
“What were you thinking?” Hemlock snapped for the third time. “Ordell warned you not to get too close. I thought you were good at following orders.”
