Dead Man's Deal The Asylum Tales - By Jocelynn Drake Page 0,45
Reave possessed. If I was lucky, it didn’t, but I wasn’t a lucky kind of guy.
As I pulled away from the curb, I hit the radio knob, silencing the announcer. He was repeating the same horrific information over and over again, adding to the sickening feeling in my stomach. It would be a couple more hours before they could provide details about the damage in Indianapolis. I had no doubt that everyone was dead. The witches and warlocks were thorough when they decided to kill.
“Gage.” Trixie’s soft voice shook me from my dark thoughts. “Is this the beginning of something new? The start of another war with the Ivory Towers? Because I don’t think I can go through another Great War.”
Her words cut through my heart, leaving me feeling wounded and bleeding. I had never thought about it. She was over six hundred years old. She had lived through the Great War the warlocks and the witches had waged against the world for dominance, while I had only read about it in books—most written by the Towers. Millions had been slaughtered, leaving at least two races extinct and many others on the cusp of extinction. The elves had come close. At the time of the war, Trixie had been on the run. Every day must have been a torture, never knowing if the people she loved had been killed.
I reached across and grabbed her hand in mine, tightly squeezing it. Her fingers were cold against my palm as the horror filled her. “I will do everything within my powers to stop it from reaching that point. This world can’t survive another Great War.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her lift her head and look at me. “If you did know what was happening in the Towers, would you tell me?”
I flinched and I knew she felt it because I was holding her hand. She captured my hand as I tried to withdraw it, holding it with both of hers. “I honestly don’t know,” I said. “I’ve got a couple ideas as to what’s going on, but I don’t know anything definite.”
“But you still won’t say.”
“I think it’s better if I don’t.”
“Because you don’t trust me?”
I jerked my hand free while struggling to keep the car on the road. “What the fuck? How could you even ask that?” I exploded. Growling, I found an open spot on the side of the road and pulled over before I got us both killed with my distracted driving. I threw the car in park, tore off my seat belt, and twisted to face her. There was fear, pain, and a lot of uncertainty in her wide eyes, causing my anger to disappear.
Slowly, I reached up and cupped her cheeks, wiping away her tears with my thumbs. “I love you, Trixie. I have loved you for so long that I can’t remember a time when I didn’t. I love your smile, sarcasm, and that brilliant mind of yours. I love how you mother Bronx and Sofie like they’re a pair of lost children. I love how you laugh and I love every time you tear into me because I’m a fucking idiot. For almost two years, the worst days of the week were Sunday and Monday because I knew I wouldn’t see you. And every day since I told you about my past I wake up in a panic, terrified that you’re going to come to your senses and hate me because of what the Towers did to your people.” I paused and licked my lips, my heart pounding in my chest. I hadn’t planned to tell her any of this now. I didn’t know if I ever planned to tell her. I could be pushing her further from me, but it didn’t matter. With the world teetering on the brink, she had to know.
“There is no one in this world that I trust more than you,” I whispered. “I wish I could tell you everything, but I can’t. It’s not a matter of trust. It’s because I’m a coward. I’m afraid if you know everything, then you’ll leave. I’m afraid that you could be hurt because of what I tell you. Short of pulling out my wand and killing anything that comes near you, keeping my mouth shut is the only way I know to protect you. I’m sorry.”
The pain had eased from her eyes as I spoke but she still looked sad. She reached up and laid her palm against