Forgetting the very real flesh and blood man standing next to me, I launched myself at the monster taunting me from the past.

Strong arms wrapped around me and held me back. Ellery’s image broke and

scattered like ashes on the wind.

I LAY on the bed and listened to Kayden pace in the living room as he spoke on

the phone with Delacourt. He was retelling what I shared about the weird heat mirage that manifested around Ellery just before his telekinetic drop of the bullet

into the gun safe, and his even weirder behavior at the end. I could only hear Kayden’s side of the conversation, but it was enough to follow along.

“Yes, sir, she’s certain he didn’t jimmy the lock in any way.” A pause. “No,

but we know Nate’s ability could have.”

For the first time I considered the ramifications of Ellery using the full spectrum of the abilities he stole. If we listed just the ones we knew about—

telekinesis, healing, fire, predicting the future—outwitting him would be

difficult.

And if he got his hands on my ability?

Dear God, that wouldn’t be good. My ability was a spy’s wet dream—walk

into any building, peek into the past, gather pass codes, see documented

information, find out who met with whom, listen in on conversations—all of that and more. Who would consider security being breached after something was set in motion? For a moment, the bedroom walls crowded in, and the world took a

sickening dive. A small whimper escaped.

Needing air, I got up and on shaky legs crossed to the sliding glass door. I opened the curtains wide and let the warm afternoon sun wash over me. Even this late in the afternoon, the July temperatures guaranteed hundred plus degrees.

Right now, I needed that heat to chase away the unnatural chill settling into my

bones.

I slid the door open and stepped out on the balcony. I tugged over one of the

chairs tucked in the corner and settled in, propping my boots on the railing’s edge. I slouched farther down in the chair and rested my head against the chair’s

back. The heat started to seep through muscles and sinew, until bit by bit, I began to warm. I closed my eyes against the stabbing sunlight. Not that it did much to alleviate the now familiar throb of an impending headache, another legacy of my jaunts into the past, but it helped. Microscopically, but still.

I sat there, trying not to think. I realized, after hearing the condo’s AC kick

in, that I had left the door open. I’d get up in a minute and close it so the electric bill wouldn’t require ritual sacrifice. I just needed a minute. Maybe two. The faint sounds of people and traffic drifted from the street below to add an interesting counterbalance. I drifted, searching for a calm that hovered just out of reach.

Vibrant, ruby grooves carved into masculine wrists.

Kelsey gasping in much-needed air, her face, bruised and pale.

Her fingers gouging into tan-skinned wrists, struggling to pry them from her

neck.

The frantic acceptance of her impending death, changing to accusation.

My eyes flashed open, and the sunlight left me blind, my vision white and hazy. Guilt and pain tore through me, jerking me upright, and my boots landed

with a loud thump on the deck. I hunched over, drawing my legs up until my heels hooked the edge of my seat. I dropped my head to my knees, and wrapped

my arms around my shins, holding myself together so I wouldn’t shatter into

unrecognizable pieces. I squeezed my eyes shut, gasping against the suffocating, hot air.

God, it hurt. So much so, I wanted to scream. But I couldn’t. Screaming wouldn’t solve anything. It wouldn’t bring Kelsey back. It wouldn’t chase Ellery

back into hell where he belonged. It wouldn’t make anything right. Instead, I was left with no choice but to suck it up and play Ellery’s sick game.

Time slipped by as I sat there, lost in the unlit spaces of my soul. There were

lines I’d told myself I’d never cross, but in this particular moment, when grief and rage combined into an unforgiving storm, I would have crossed every single

one in exchange for Ellery’s destruction. Options I would never consider played

through my mind, tempting me a little deeper into the darkness. It would be so

easy to let go and give in to the driving need of revenge. There were things I learned, vicious, cold things, from my time in the military.

“Cyn?”

The sound of my name was accompanied by a stroking caress along my

spine. It stopped the unconscious rocking motion I adopted and kept me from tumbling headlong into the moral abyss yawning at my feet. I blinked my eyes

open, only then noticing the tears weighing down my lashes.

Kayden knelt next to me, his face etched with concern, and his eyes

watchful. He waited until I focused on him. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” My question was hoarse.

“Don’t go down that road, you’ll get lost.”

I held his gaze, unable to answer, not caring how eerily well he read me. Part

of me didn’t care anymore. There was too much rage, too much guilt, too much