Return to the Darkness - Ripley Proserpina Page 0,43

hold himself up any longer. “You’re a fucking liar. You can do it. Send her right where she came from, because if you don’t, I’ll fucking kill you.”

That made me gasp. Oliver turned a hard gaze on me and lifted his eyebrows. “I killed the first man who killed you, and I’ll kill the next one who tries. My life is shit, Lacey. The only hope I have is you.”

“And I’ll help him this time,” Thorn added.

“Me, too.” Aaron pushed his hair out of his face before dragging his hands down his cheeks. Behind him, Colton crossed his arms and glared.

For the first time since arriving in this reality, I got a glimmer of my guys. It made me miss them so much, my stomach clenched. God. I needed them. I didn’t work without them, and it was clear from all this that they didn’t work without me.

“You’re serious.” Mr. Chee stared in disbelief at the four of them, but his gaze stayed the longest on Aaron. I wasn’t surprised. Aaron was steady and compassionate. The promise in his gaze though… If I were Mr. Chee, I’d watch myself.

So I wondered—did he care enough about his own life to let his sons bully him into helping me?

“Do you have the stones?” Turning away from the guys to face me, he held out his hand.

I lifted my eyebrows. “If you think I’m giving these to you, you’re crazy. I have no reason to trust you.”

He spun away from me and stomped down the hall.

“And he’s never coming back,” Colton whispered, as if Mr. Chee were just a child having a temper tantrum.

But a moment later, he appeared again. In his hands he held a mirror, one that sat on a table or vanity. He plunked it down on the kitchen table before jabbing a finger at me. “Sit,” and then strode off again.

He did the same thing three more times, carrying three more mirrors. One was so large, Aaron had to help him prop it on a chair. He moved the mirrors until they were placed on each side of the four-sided table.

“Time is like light. It can be deflected and bent. Nothing travels faster than light.” He adjusted one of the mirrors to catch a beam of early morning sunlight. With each mirror, he changed the angle at which they sat until that one beam of sunlight was reflected by each mirror and then cast off in a dozen different directions. “Hold onto those stones.”

Chapter 14

As the universe tried to tear me into a billion tiny pieces, I had the oddest thought. I should have said goodbye.

Pain, unlike any I’d ever felt, flayed the skin from my bones. It pulled muscles while pressing me so hard, I wondered if I would ever be able to breathe again.

Mr. Chee had sent me, hurtling, into the sun. The light was hot. Blinding. A roar filled my ears. Maybe it was the blood rushing from my body, or the speed I was traveling. Maybe I was screaming.

Everything was gone until there was only me and the light and pain and the roar.

And then it stopped.

Spat out, I landed hard on my hands and knees. I slammed into a solid wood floor with so much force, I couldn’t hold myself up. Face-planting, I lay splayed and panting.

Slowly, carefully, because my bones were mush and my muscles liquefied, I got onto my hands and knees and studied my surroundings.

The furniture was different, the decorations different, but I knew this place. It was the Chee’s house. He did what he said he’d do.

Hopefully.

The memory of the first time I’d landed in an alternate reality hit me, so as fast as I could, I got to my feet and hurried out the door.

The neighborhood was quiet, and no one was outside when I limped to the sidewalk. Thank god. Everything ached. I rolled my shoulders back, aware suddenly I was squeezing my hand tightly. Opening my fist, I found I’d held onto the stones. That’s something, at least. I wouldn’t have to break into the house again to find them. I stuck them in my pocket before reaching for my cell phone.

My back pocket was empty. Okay, well, I couldn’t have all the luck. If this was some fucked up reality where things were even worse, then I’d have to bend time again. Or whatever Mr. Chee had done to get me here. I hoped this was my reality. With every ounce of my being, I prayed