Hold Tight (The Embrace Series) (26 page)

Chase’s bed had been positioned so that he sat upright, and the bandages around his forehead had been removed. He already had a Matchbox car in his hand. Dad sat next to him holding a miniature SUV. My friends were near the window.

“Hey, squirt.” I rushed closer and kissed his forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“Hungry, but the lady won’t let me eat anything.”

I brushed his bangs out of his eyes with my fingers. “Don’t worry. They’ll change their mind once they see how great you’re doing.”

In my peripheral vision, I saw Isaac and Josh glowering, arms folded over their chests like security guards at a club. Kaylee sat on the edge of a chair, watching me through bulbous eyes. It was obvious they knew I’d had something to do with Chase’s miraculous recovery.

“Um, I’m sorry I took your car without permission,” I said to Josh, not in the least bit remorseful.

Shrugging out of his jacket, I handed it back to him along with his keys. Josh looked as if he wanted to dash outside to make sure his baby was still in mint condition. Isaac’s anger hung in the air like humidity on a sweltering day. I was surprised Dad and Chase couldn’t feel it. He had no right to be angry, though. Nothing I’d done affected him.

Isaac jerked his head toward the door and marched into the hall.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” I told Chase and then squeezed Dad’s hand. He squeezed back, smiling. Seeing my family together and happy was worth whatever Caden would ask of me.

Isaac didn’t say a word until we were in my hospital room. Kaylee and Josh had followed us.

“What did you do?” Isaac demanded.

I sucked in a breath and dried my face with my sleeve. I was too tired to lie or make excuses. “I saved my brother.”

Isaac’s agitation rippled off him and collided with Josh’s and Kaylee’s. The air grew thick with their powers, making it hard to breathe. I knew they weren’t doing it on purpose; their emotions had simply gotten the better of them. I pushed a bit of my powers out to provide a protective barrier around myself.

“I couldn’t let him die,” I said.

Kaylee came closer and put an arm around me.

“None of us wanted him to die,” she whispered, giving me an
I totally understand
hug.

“Where’d you go?” Josh’s tone was as harsh as Isaac’s had been.

“To the crossroad,” I admitted.

Josh cursed. Kaylee sucked in a breath. Isaac threw the pitcher of water across the room. It crashed into the window and tumbled to the linoleum tile, spilling water down the wall and onto the floor.

“You sold your soul?” Isaac spat. “How is that a solution, Madison?”

I pointed in the general direction of Chase’s room. “I’m his big sister! It’s my job to look out for him!”

“To protect him! Not to die for him!” Isaac yelled.

“The accident was my fault! Chase wouldn’t have been on his deathbed if it wasn’t for me.”

“We need to take this down a notch.” Josh closed the door to my room with a glance toward the hallway and placed a hand on Isaac’s shoulder. “We’ll fix this.”

“No, we won’t. I made the deal, and there’s no breaking it.” I was so exhausted. I didn’t know if it was from the relief of seeing Chase smiling, the fatigue of being out of bed so long with my injuries, or if Caden had stolen my energy with his kiss. I leaned heavily on Kaylee to avoid stumbling sideways.

She steered me to the bed, where we both sank down onto the firm mattress. “What did it cost you?” she asked.

“Her soul,” Isaac grumbled. “A deal with the devil always costs your soul.”

“And years,” Josh added, although his words held more sympathy than they had earlier.

“It didn’t cost me either.” Three sets of eyes fell on me. “It turns out my soul wasn’t mine for the giving.”

“Whose is it?” Josh asked.

I looked at Isaac. “Apparently that little spell we did bound more than just my ‘being’ to you.”

The rage burning in Isaac’s velvet brown eyes vanished. He grabbed the back of his head with both hands. By the way the tension in the room lifted, I got the impression he was taking that time to get a grip on his emotions. What I wanted was to feel his arms around me. To hear him say it was going to be okay.

“Then how?” Isaac asked. His tone no longer slashed at my fragile exterior like razors.

“I’m sort of in his debt.” I told them the details of the deal I had made, leaving out what it would have cost if my soul hadn’t been spoken for—and the kiss I’d never be able to forget.

“Caden’s the crossroad demon,” Kaylee said, amazed. “He looks…normal.”

Isaac pressed his palms against his eyes. “I don’t like it.”

“We need to focus on the positive,” Josh said, taking a seat next to Kaylee. “The deal didn’t cost Madison her life, and Chase is healed.” When Isaac opened his mouth, Josh quickly interjected, “Dude, sometimes you have to be thankful for small miracles. This time it’s that you cast the unity spell.”

“It’s in the past,” I said. I didn’t want to talk about demons and consequences anymore, so I changed the subject. “Sorry again that I stole your car.”

“It’s in the past, right?” Josh replied with a wink. “She’s still in one piece, right?”

I smiled. Josh was the big brother I’d never had. “Yeah, your baby’s fine. Down a gallon or three in gas, but that’s all.”

A trip to the bathroom revealed a tear-stained face accentuated by puffy red eyes and pale skin peppered with scrapes and cuts. There wasn’t much I could do about my eyes or the scratches without resorting to a glamour, but cool water and a little makeup transformed me into a human being again and not the ashen-faced zombie I’d been a few minutes ago.

We returned to Chase’s room with a plate of fries from the cafeteria and apple juice for everyone. It was a good thing his doctor had given him the okay to eat while we were having our little powwow in my room.

I was released the next morning. Chase came home two days later. Unfortunately, my time in the hospital hadn’t eased my cravings for faerie food. An emptiness grew inside, and it wasn’t uncommon for my mind to wander and my hands to shake. I managed to keep it together around my friends and family, but there were times I could have sworn I knew what a junkie felt like.

I kept a close eye on Chase, expecting to see signs of withdrawal from him too, but he was fine. Better than fine, actually. When Caden stopped by to give my father a progress update on the doctor’s office, I asked him how Chase had managed to bounce back so quickly; he said he’d healed all of Chase’s illnesses, even his flu. I took Caden’s reply to mean he didn’t know about the bacca drops—so I dropped the subject, afraid he would tell me that undoing damage done by a faerie wasn’t part of the deal.

Natalie’s parents had since put up a reward for any information leading to the whereabouts of their daughter. I felt terrible that Natalie would forever be an unsolved missing person’s case. I wished I could let her family know that she wasn’t dead, but anything I said would bring about questions I couldn’t answer without either incriminating myself as an accomplice to a crime I hadn’t committed or getting diagnosed as crazy.

And I hadn’t seen Brea, but the fresh bouquet of flowers that mysteriously showed up on my dresser told me she’d stopped by. They smelled incredible at first. Now a delicate layer of ice covered them, announcing Reed had been in the house again.

Frozen daisies weren’t the only evidence of Reed’s unseen visit. He’d also left a note and a small wooden box filled with tantalizing chocolates just inside my doorway. It was obvious by the line in the carpet that he’d used his toe to push them over the threshold.

I’m in your thoughts. I know because your image invades my mind even when I’m not thinking of you. You need me.
Denying it is only going to cause unnecessary grief for us both.
Join me.
R~

“You are one deranged SOB,” I commented out loud as I read the message for a second time.

Every molecule in my body wanted me to help myself to a chocolate-and-berries treat. My stomach even rumbled as if wanting to know what was taking me so long to unwrap my first piece.

Instead of listening to my urges, though, I marched to the trash can near my dresser. My hand hovered over it, ready to dispose of the unwanted gift, but my fingers wouldn’t let go.

You need this,
my conscience taunted.
One piece will warm your spirits. Just one little piece.

I licked my lips and read Reed’s note again.

Chapter 23

Confessions

“But what does he mean you’re thinking about him?” Kaylee asked for what had to have been the fifth time.

We were in my room, her backpack lying on the floor where she’d dropped it when she first arrived half an hour ago. We were supposed to be catching up on missed schoolwork to free up our weekend. Instead, I sat on my bed with my legs crossed, elbows on my knees, and my forehead resting on my palms.

“I’m not thinking about him.” At least not intentionally. Every now and then, my stomach would cramp and my hands would tremble. Reed’s name would flitter through my mind. That was how I knew the withdrawals were getting the best of me.

Had Reed seen me hugging my knees close to my chest as I waited for the worst of the symptoms to pass? Was his gift out of kindness to ease the growing desire, or was he waiting for me to break and beg him to save me?

“Are you sure he isn’t here now?” Kaylee asked.

“Yes. The air’s too warm, and I can’t smell his cologne.” Only, I knew the woodsy fragrance that accompanied Reed was his natural scent. It was one of the many things that made him hard to resist.

Kaylee set the note on my dresser, picked up the small wooden box, and opened it. “You kept the candy?”

Guilty.

“Did you eat any?” she demanded.

“No.” But it wasn’t for lack of wanting to. I peered at her through my dark bangs. “The candy is the least of my problems right now.”

“The candy is how Reed managed to get in your head in the first place. It’s a huge part of your problem.”

“Is not.”

“Then you won’t mind if I burn it.” She held the box in front of her. The first indication that she’d called upon her powers was the faint aroma of lilies.

“Go ahead,” I challenged, yet my powers rocketed awake and traveled to my fingertips.

“I will.”

Kaylee squinted, just like when she’d trained to create magical fire, and I bit my lips to keep from screaming,
STOP!
Blue flames erupted in her palms, except now I held the wooden box clasped tight in my sweaty hands.

“Did you just save Reed’s chocolates?” Kaylee gaped at me.

“I didn’t mean to.” I tossed the box on the carpet. It opened, and tiny fuchsia and blue nuggets spilled out.

“You. Are. So. Gone,” she said as she dug her phone out of her front pocket.

I snatched it from her. “You can’t tell Josh or Isaac.”

“Why not?”

“Because they’re still upset with me about the deal I made with Caden.” I sat back down on the bed. “Isaac’s convinced Caden is going to force me to do something that’ll taint my soul. He doesn’t need the stress of knowing Reed still has a pull over me. I’m dealing with it.”

Her hand flew to her hip. “Protecting a box of faerie food is not exactly dealing with it.”

“I’ve resisted eating any.”

“Yet you can’t stand the idea of it being destroyed.”

“Please, Kaylee. Keep this between you and me.”

She sighed. After a few seconds, she took a seat next to me. “So when are you going to tell me what really happened with you and Caden?”

My shoulders slumped forward, relieved for the change in conversation. “I did. We made a deal. He saved Chase. I’m in his debt, no questions asked.”

“I know you, Madison. There’s more to the story than what you told us at the hospital. I’ve given you the week to ’fess up, but you haven’t.”

I shrugged. “I recapped. Full story ends the same way.”

“Maybe, but what I want to know is the part you neglected to tell us that has you fidgeting with your rings instead of looking at me.” She gave a pointed stare at my hands.

I bit my bottom lip. I did need to talk about that afternoon, and this was Kaylee, my oldest and most trusted friend. I told her about the original deal: my soul and only twenty more years to live for the crossroad demon to heal Chase’s wounds. How I didn’t have a soul to give. Kaylee listened in silence as I recounted every last detail of my meeting with Caden—until I covered my face with my pillow and blurted, “Ikissedhim.”

She lowered the pillow. “I’m sorry. I didn’t get that.”

“I kissed him,” I repeated before hiding my face in my hands.

“Ew!”

I peeked through my fingers.

Her mouth puckered as if she’d sucked on a lime. “Why would you kiss a demon?”

Caden wasn’t
just
a demon. He was a damn sexy demon. Not that
that
had anything to do with why I had kissed him.