Break the Day - Lara Adrian Page 0,21
refuse. He slipped his hands under the jacket he’d covered her with, moving his palms over the length of her arms then along her center.
“What did you do to Jordana back there?”
“I didn’t hurt her, I promise. I just borrowed her ability . . . temporarily.”
“Borrowed it.” His brow furrowed. “You mean you absorbed it into yourself? Explain.”
She hesitated, uncertain how he would react. “I can siphon someone else’s ability. I can use it as if it’s my own. Not for long, though. I can only hold it for a few minutes.”
“That’s what you turned on Nathan when he came at you? Jordana’s power.” He shook his head, his expression grave. “No wonder. That’s about the only thing that could stop a former Hunter like him. Don’t make the mistake of thinking he’ll give you a chance to do it again.”
Devony wasn’t surprised to hear that Jordana’s mate had been one of those formidable assassins. When he’d come at her, explosive in his fury, she had almost resigned herself to the fact that her next breath might be her last.
But Jordana’s power had protected her.
Not even a massive, clearly lethal Breed male like Nathan was any match for the light that had manifested in Devony’s hands.
“What is she, Rafe? Jordana . . . she isn’t Breed like you or Nathan. She isn’t a daywalker like me, either.”
“No.”
“But she is an immortal?”
His lengthy silence neither confirmed nor denied it. But he obviously wasn’t going to give her any more than that. The message in his stony expression was clear enough.
He didn’t trust her. Not with information about people he once cared about. He probably didn’t trust her with anything.
Not that she should blame him, considering the way Cruz had set him up tonight. Choosing the MFA had been Rafe’s test. She doubted Cruz could have anticipated they might run into someone he knew. The gang leader was cruel at times, but she wasn’t ready to give the man that much credit.
And while Devony didn’t have an obligation to clue Rafe in about Cruz’s intentions, she couldn’t deny that her guilt had been gnawing at her the entire time.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where we were going tonight.”
Rafe grunted. “Don’t worry about it.”
His reply was clipped, toneless. She couldn’t decide if that was because he expected everyone to betray him, or only her.
“Well, I’m saying it anyway, Rafe. I am sorry. Cruz told me he was going to test you somehow, but I didn’t know the details. And I didn’t know there was a chance we could run into friends of yours.”
His gaze clashed with hers. “I said forget it. And they’re not my friends. Not anymore.”
“But they were once?”
He blew out a harsh sigh. “Yeah, they were. Nathan is the captain of my old patrol team. He was one of my best friends.”
“Then why aren’t you still with them? How could the Order just cut you loose?”
“I fucked up, all right?” His eyes flashed, hot and fiery. “That’s all you need to know.”
His curt, defensive reply jarred her. Whatever he’d done bothered him deeply. He may not trust her with information about his former friends or anything else, but there was no denying the honesty in his voice now. Nor in his handsome, tormented face.
Yet for all his irritation with her probing, his hands remained warm and soothing on her.
She sighed and let her eyes drift closed for a moment, hating how easy it was to melt into the pleasant heat of Rafe’s touch. Energy flowed back into her by the moment, drawing away her pain. With the power of his bare hands, he was reversing the physical toll she paid for using her ability.
Healing her, much like he had done for Fish the other night.
“You saved my life back there,” he murmured. “Hell, you saved both of us tonight. I should be thanking you for that, not snarling at you.”
“It’s all right.” She lifted her lids and found him watching her. The intensity of his gaze unsettled her, even as it stirred something deep inside her. Something more than just the remarkable energy of his healing hands.
His eyes searched hers as he continued to restore her depleted body. “I’ve never seen an ability like yours before. Jesus, Devony. Do you realize what you could do with a gift like that? No enemy could stand against you. You could be unstoppable.”
She never had enemies, not until a few months ago. As for using her gift? From the time she was