Drowning In The Dark - Pippa DaCosta Page 0,64

back of the couch, offering Ryder a bigger target and a smug smile. “Just so you know, I can freeze the bullet before it leaves the barrel.”

“Horseshit,” Ryder drawled.

I took a single step away from Ryder. “Okay, guys, let’s dilute the testosterone. We have a limited number of daylight hours left. Save the pissing contest until after, okay?”

Jenna’s fingers fluttered at her forehead. “Please, just stop, or take it somewhere else.”

Ryder withdrew his hand and wiggled his fingers. See? Unarmed. “I could outdraw you.” He said it like it was a widely known fact.

Stefan’s blue eyes sparkled. “You think so? I was always faster in training.”

“Yeah.” Ryder shrugged his jacket off and neared the couch where Jenna sat. “But you’re easily distracted by pretty things.”

Stefan’s sharp eyes flicked to me and back to Ryder. “Relax, Ryder. I just came here to talk.” He sighed and dipped his chin. “I knew Jenna had been attacked, and I clearly wasn’t needed at Muse’s apartment this morning, so I came by to check on Jenna and ask some questions about Valenti.”

“Why?” I asked, ignoring Ryder’s glance. I’d told him I hadn’t seen Stefan. Now he’d be wondering why I’d lied.

“Because we need all the information we can get, it used to be my job, and old habits die hard.” A slither of deeper meaning almost slipped through his words unnoticed. Stefan and I really needed to talk, but not yet.

Ryder stood behind the couch, close enough to Jenna to be protective, but far enough away that it could be argued nothing was going on between them. He might have gotten away with it if Jenna hadn’t looked up at him and stopped herself from reaching out. “Muse thinks we can lure Val back here and trap him.”

“Only if you’re up to it, Jenna,” I added.

“Do I get to kill him?” she growled.

“You get to stop him. He’s immortal, so killing him isn’t really an option.”

Ryder and I filled Stefan and Jenna in on my simple plan. Stefan wasn’t convinced PC34 would sufficiently slow Val down, but at the very least, it would mess with my brother’s head. It would have to be enough. Stefan absorbed my explanation and nodded his approval with the cold efficiency of a demon. Things are pretty simple now.

Ryder left the apartment to retrieve his weapons from the car, and Jenna went to her room to change, leaving Stefan and me alone in the living room. The pregnant quiet plucked at my patience. Perched on the edge of the couch, I rested my elbows on my knees and clasped my hands together. With my head bowed, Stefan couldn’t see me chewing my lip, and I couldn’t see him watching me. But I felt his gaze crackle across my skin. He held his power in check while mine strained behind the effect of Jenna’s framed symbols.

“There’s a change in you,” he said.

“Yeah.”

“Your owner?”

“Gone.”

A few seconds passed. “Good.”

“About what you saw…” I lifted my head. His flat, enquiring expression didn’t make this any easier. “Akil removed the soul-lock.”

“Removed or replaced it?”

My tongue traced my lower lip. “Replaced it, but—”

“Well done. You swapped one psycho for another.” His caustic tone told me more about his state of mind than any of his words could. To wield sarcasm effectively, one needed a modicum of emotion. He does care.

“You could say that.”

“You must be relieved.” His blunt white teeth flashed behind a tight smile.

“Actually, I am. You said you’d seen what was in me. I’m more in control now than ever before. I know what I can do. I can beat this, my brother, Akil, maybe even you if it comes to it. Don’t think you understand me because evidently, you don’t.”

“Whatever you want to do and who you want to do it with doesn’t matter to me. I told you. I really don’t care.”

To borrow a Ryderism: “Horseshit.” I sat back, mirroring his relaxed posture. “You care. That’s why you walked away. Your demon wants to kill Akil. After what you saw between me and him, you should have attacked. If you were all demon, you would have. Akil expected it.”

His expression hardened. His cheeks hollowed, and the line of his jaw tightened. “You’re right. You left me hanging upside down in a wrecked car in the middle of nowhere. When I woke up to find Wrath about to make me an entree, you know what my first thought was? That he’d already gotten to you. So what do I do?” He waited,