Charade (Heven and Hell #2)(11)
Author: Cambria Hebert

She hates me. I told Sam.

Who is that?

Cole’s mother.

“Let’s go,” Sam said, ushering me away, his body blocking most of mine from view.

“I’ll call you later,” Cole called to me.

“Don’t bother,” Sam growled.

In the truck, I was sandwiched between Sam and Logan.

Sam took a moment to rev the truck’s engine and stare out the windshield before turning to look at me. “You’re bleeding,” he said stiffly.

“I am?” I became aware of a sharp stinging in my cheek. I reached up to touch the cut and my fingers came away red. “Oh.” I guess that explained why my replacement kept looking at me funny.

There was still anger in Sam’s eyes, but he was gentle as he used the hem of his T-shirt to wipe away the blood. To my embarrassment, tears sprang into my eyes.

“It’s all right,” Sam murmured, tucking the hair behind my ear. His anger seemed to lessen as he studied me. I’m sorry I was late. His voice vibrated through my head and soothed away some of my anxiety.

“What’s the deal with that Cole guy?” Logan asked over my shoulder.

Just like that, the angry glint was back in Sam’s eyes.

“Nothing, he’s just a friend,” I hurried to say. Couldn’t Logan tell Sam was upset enough already?

“He doesn’t look at you like a friend.”

A quiet growl vibrated Sam’s chest and I turned to give Logan a look of disapproval. I swear he smirked without moving his face. I wished, not for the first time, that I could see his aura. But, since he was a hellhound, just like Sam, I couldn’t and I was left to wonder what exactly was going on in his head.

I didn’t much like the feeling.

It was a little startling to realize that I have actually grown accustomed to my ‘supernatural’ ability of seeing auras. Somehow, without realizing it, knowing exactly what someone was feeling became a normal thing for me.

Sam lightly touched my cheek with his thumb and frowned. “Does it hurt?”

I shook my head and looked down at my lap. Unfortunately, another normal for me lately was being weak while Sam twisted himself inside out to protect me. I was strong, but fighting off demons with super-human strength was something that I still wasn’t able to do.

What happened? Sam asked.

I looked over at Logan. “How about some pizza tonight?”

“Cool,” he said giving me a real smile. I smiled back, taking advantage of a moment to hopefully get a little closer to him. Maybe if he began to like me, he wouldn’t see me as a threat to his relationship with Sam and he would give trying to get between us a rest.

When we arrived at the pizza place, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the tips I made that day and handed it all to Logan. “Get whatever you want, okay?”

“Thanks, Heven,” Logan said, opening up the truck door and jumping out. Sam and I watched as he ran across the parking lot toward the pizza place. As soon as he disappeared inside the door, Sam turned to me.

“So that demon just walked in?”

I nodded. “I walked into the break room to get my bag, and when I came out, it was standing in the center of the room.”

“Why didn’t you run?”

“It was standing between me and the door. I tried to get around it, but…” I shook my head and a muscle ticked in the side of Sam’s jaw.

“How did Cole get involved?”

“He came in earlier to get some ice cream with his mom and she wasn’t very nice to me,”

“What do you mean, she wasn’t nice to you?” His eyes narrowed. “You said she hates you.”

“She does. The intensity of her aura practically attacked me. At first, she was nice, until Cole told her my name. Then everything about her changed; it’s like she couldn’t stand the sight of me.”

“You’ve never met her before?”

“No.”

Sam seemed to find this surprising.

I sighed. “Cole and I are friends, Sam. That’s it.”

Energy seemed to drain right out of him before my eyes. “I believe you,” he said, reaching out and bringing me closer. I rested my cheek against his chest and closed my eyes. “What else?” he prompted softly.

“His mother made some lame excuse about getting something from the bakery next door and ran out. He went after her. I guess he was coming back to apologize for her weird behavior, but when he walked in that demon was there… he was only trying to protect me.”

He snorted. “Well I guess he did give that demon someone else to beat up on until I got there. He might be good for something after all.”

I smacked him in the ribs. “Not funny.”

“You know you can’t tell Cole what’s going on.”

“He’s going to want to know.”

Sam pulled me back to stare down into my eyes. “I don’t think Cole should get involved, Hev. Please.”

I nodded, a little lost in his whiskey-colored eyes. He covered my lips with his and I automatically opened further to allow his tongue to sweep inside. We shared too few moments like this lately. During the past two weeks, all we have had time for was settling Sam in his new efficiency apartment, work and, of course, settling Logan into Sam’s life. The latter took a lot of effort. Not to mention that every time we turned around, another creepy demon was trying to kill me.

I’ve missed you, I whispered through Sam’s mind. I refused to say the words out loud because I needed the contact of our lips.

Me too.

Too soon, Logan was getting back in the truck and Sam was pulling away. I tried not to pout as Sam steered the truck in the direction of his apartment. I don’t think I was successful because Sam hooked and arm around my waist and slid me over so that we were pressed side to side. You and me, time alone… tonight.

“I got your favorite toppings, Sam,” Logan said.

“Thanks, bro.”

“I walked over to the Red Box while you were at work and I rented us an action movie for tonight,” Logan said enthusiastically.

I suppressed the urge to groan. Seems our party of two just turned into a party of three.

*   *   *

Half way through the movie, my cell rang. I jumped up from my seat on the sofa and hurried to dig the phone out of my bag. “Hello?” I kept my voice low, so as not to disturb the boys and walked into only separate room in Sam’s apartment—the bathroom.

“What happened today with Cole?” Kimber demanded as I shut the door behind me.