Page 33 of Revelations

Chapter 8 – Somebody’s Got Some Explaining to Do

Sofia’s Apartment

Over coffee and donuts at the old, tiny, yellow Formica table in Sofia’s kitchen, Jasper finally confronted her.

Greylyn had known that it was coming, and she knew that there was no escaping this scene. Oh, she had endured his fury, more importantly his disappointment, a few times before; enough to know that she could not sweet-talk her way out of this one—no lies, no half-truths, no excuses.

His steely silence the entire trip back from the Smithsonian had been a big clue. If his temper did not immediately explode, he would seethe, and the buildup would be far worse.

“Now, are you going to tell me what the bloody hell this is all about? Because I’m not buying the lame story you gave me yesterday.”

His eyes flashed as icy as a glacier, and he slammed his hands down on the table directly in front of her. Everything in the room shook, including Greylyn’s own hands.

“You’ve been lying to me for months.”

She recoiled from his rage, but there was nowhere to hide.

“I knew it. Against my better judgment, I didn’t press you about it. Gave you all the time in the world to come around and tell me. Called you daily. You never uttered a peep about what was going on.”

Shoving away from the table, he paced between it and the kitchen entrance while running his long fingers through his jet-black hair. “You haveneverkept a secret from me. Never. I’ve tried being patient. Hell, I’ve been patient! But your time is up. I want to know everything. The whole unabbreviated story. Every detail all the way up to the last breath you took spewing a lie to me.”

The tremble in her hands spread to her entire body. The words quaked in her throat but refused to pass her lips.

He took no pity. Fire blazed white in his eyes as he stopped his pacing and slowly, ever so slowly, turned to stare her down. “Either tell me everything now or I walk.”

Nothing but the ticking of the grandfather clock in the sitting room broke through the silence. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. Hell, she did not even know where to begin. With hersecrecy over the last few months, there was no hiding behind excuses anymore. Yes, she should have been completely upfront with him…regarding everything. Okay, maybe not everything, exactly. But if she could not trust Jasper with the truth, in whom could she trust?

Disappointment in her own piss-poor decision making coursed through her. Her lack of faith in the one person who had stood by her no matter what for over four centuries made her guilt explode exponentially in a torrent of self-revulsion and shame.

Jasper kneeled beside her chair, so that they were eye to eye; his expression clouded. He shut his eyes with a hard grimace before bowing his head for a moment. She felt the war of emotions inside him as if they rampaged through her own body. Understandably, he was angry, sad, disappointed, and hurt.

When he raised his head again, his expression had softened. His words came out slowly, but full of intent. “You’ve been distantandsecretive these last three months.” He placed one hand on her knee while using the other to gently hold her chin, so that she could notlook away. “Ever since we were last here defending Sofia and her friends from a full demon siege led by one of Hell’s finest.” A growl escaped his throat. “Ever since…you workedwithKael.”

He paused, waiting for her to object, but she could not. He was right.

“Now, we’re back here, in DC. I know, it was at my request initially. But here”—he pointed at the floor—“right here in this very spot you swore there was nothing to worry about. Olivier just wanted to have a little chat.” Laughter erupted from him. “Bloody hell, I knew you were lying then. But I let you. Trusted you’d tell me before things got bad.”

Greylyn’s head wobbled in a weak nod; the best thatshe could muster at the moment.

“Kael is neck deep in your business again. That’s never a good thing. You have me breaking into national monuments for obscure treasure.” A moment’s pause, then, “Dammit to hell, Greylyn! Kael! Kael is back in the picture! You wouldn’t let me kill him three months ago. You wouldn’t let me kill him less than one day ago.”

The hand that had been holding her chin released it before he abruptly stood to punch the wall. “I know damn well that you didn’t kill him, despite everything.” His stare pierced through to her heart. “I don’t like it, Greylyn. I don’t like it at all. Screw that! I hate it! Nothing good ever happens when Kael shows up. You know that.” He took a step back, staring at her with wide stunned eyes. “Or do you?”

Jasper deserved the whole truth. Okay, maybe she would leave out the part about just howcloselyshe’d worked with Kael, both at Gaelic Haven and during the vampire debacle. If Jasper discovered that she had allowed the dark guardian to kiss her…

Nope, best to keep that part to myself.

Lies. She was still intentionally lying to him.

Luckily, Sofia had long ago taken her cue and left the two friends alone in the kitchen.

“Okay, you’re right.” At least the first words out of her mouth were not lies.

Jasper shrugged. “Of course. And?”

“None of this has anything to do with anewassignment. It has everything to do with the same woman and child from the bed and breakfast three months ago.”

He stared at her with narrowed eyes. “Seriously?”

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