The Secrets of Their Souls (12 page)

I played dumb. My only focus was to get out alive and then come back and kill him. “I don’t know what you mean.”

His hands shot out, grabbing mine so tightly that my skin burned. “I don’t want to kill you, although I’m sure you deserve it. Leave this town, leave my family alone, leave me alone. And I’ll leave you alone. If I see you again, I won’t be so kind.”

I looked at him with wondrous stupidity. He was insane if he thought I would ever walk away from a job unfinished. But I also wanted to live, so for tonight I would play another act. “Thank you.” The words were like acid in my mouth. I hated thanking anyone for anything: I took care of myself, I didn’t need anyone
—
my family had made sure of that.

He held on for a minute longer and then released me. “Leave town tonight.” He turned his back and walked away.

I should kill him now
, I thought,
throw my knife deep in his back, or maybe two knives just for fun
. But there were too many witnesses tonight and I didn’t want to cause a scene. His death would come, though, because I had no intention of leaving and I had every intention of killing.

It was Jayce. Even without the blue eyes, Zahra would have known it was him. She had been sent to kill him, but he was smarter than her usual targets, more shrewd, and Zahra doubted he had let her kill him that easily. But on the contrary, she had never failed before.
Christ
, she swore,
this is bad, very bad
. Her hands shook as she held them to her temples and her stomach bubbled like a volcano ready to erupt. She ran for the bathroom for the second night in a row.

Slowly she peeled herself off the porcelain and brushed her teeth. Her head throbbed as it comprehended the situation she was potentially in. The vivid dreams, the flashback in the elevator, the feelings of familiarity—it all pointed toward the reincarnation theory. If Jayce and Zahra were soul mates, how many times had they reincarnated together? If they had been together in other lives, had she been kinder to him or just as evil? She had only seen him in Raven’s lifetime but if dreams were suppressed memories, Zahra was positive she had closets full of skeletons buried in her mind.

She thought back to Jayce again. Had he dreamed of Raven? Was that why he was so interested in her dream? Zahra decided it was possible, but if he knew who she was, would he be able to look at her, let alone have a relationship with her?
He can’t possibly be that good of a liar,
she thought. And if her theory proved to be true, she wasn’t going to tell him anything. She didn’t want him to see what she was capable of; she didn’t even want to see her own true colors. And even if she did want to be a better, more honest, woman, what was she going to say?
‘Hey, Jayce, you know we’ve actually reincarnated together before, and I may or may not have killed you. If I did, I probably sliced your throat with a knife, my weapon of choice.’
No, he would think she was crazy! In this case, honesty would not be the best policy. Zahra had become very good at hiding her dreams and burying the unpleasant emotions they brought with them. She could do this again, she could keep her secrets from Jayce.

Her stomach dropped as she looked at her phone. She’d made such a big deal about Jayce not calling, and now, when he did as he promised, Zahra didn’t want to answer it. She had spent the entire day at her computer researching her theory and reading article after article on past life regression therapy. Subjects who, during the regression session, were able to speak languages they didn’t know in their current life. Subjects who traveled to new countries and were able to navigate around it like they lived there. Subjects who had realized they possessed a level of skill that should only be available after years of dedicated training. It was compelling and overwhelming, and Zahra struggled to process it all.

The call rang out but a second later her phone started ringing again. She answered it that time:

“Hi, Jayce.”

“Hey. Any chance you’re home?”

Zahra could hear traffic in the background and she prayed he was not around the corner.

“I’m home,” she said, her voice a little tight. She’d had a hard time answering his call, let along facing him tonight.

“Great. I’ve just finished a meeting about two blocks away. Can I stop by real quick?”

Oh, shit!
Zahra thought. She would have to face her boyfriend sooner or later so she supposed it was best she got it over with. Her eyes scanned her apartment, which was thankfully tidy. “Sure, I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She hung up, closed down every Google tab and ran to the bedroom to change.

It arrived via an unidentified courier, in a white box with a printed letter of instructions and a telephone number for technical support—straight out of a James Bond movie. No company name, no return to sender address, nothing. And Kyoji was as covert about where the recording device came from as the package itself:
“It doesn’t matter where it came from but trust me, these guys know what they’re doing and they work with nothing but the best. I would hedge a bet that the device you’re holding in your hands right now is not even on the commercial market. All you need to do is peel off the adhesive layer and stick it to the back of her bedside table.”

The device came in the form of a square, black, slim-line disk a quarter of the size of Jayce’s thumb nail. It fed the sound recording to either his phone or a tiny portable radio, also included in the package. Kyoji had delivered, and now Jayce just needed to get it into her apartment.

It was tucked into his jacket pocket now as he rode the elevator up to Zahra’s apartment. Their conversation on the phone had been slightly awkward and he wondered what she had been doing but gave it little more thought; he was too distracted by his new toy and he wanted it set up tonight. The sooner he had more information, the sooner he could finalize his plan.

Jayce knocked on the door and was greeted by a relaxed and smiling Zahra Foster. He second-guessed his perception of their conversation; it was feasible that she had just been unprepared for him to stop over unexpectedly, this was still a new relationship, after all.

“I’m glad you’re home,” Jayce said and walked through the open door. He took a deep breath; being in her presence affected him in more ways than one—lust mixed with revenge was a dangerous combination, and every second that he was with her was a battle to keep his mind calm, keep it focused.

He ran his hands through her hair and kissed her. His pulse increased ten-fold and he was instantly aroused. She could make him hard in seconds; she knew exactly what turned him on and, given their history, he supposed it made sense—they had been lovers before.

Jayce groaned when she squeezed his ass and drew him to her, and he could feel her tits brush against his chest. “I’ve got an hour,” Jayce said, sucking on her earlobe.

Her eyes sparkled. “Kitchen.”

“This is why I like you,” Jayce growled as he lifted her up onto the counter. She was wearing a short skirt that had ridden up to her waist and she opened her legs wide, teasing him. Her heels rested on the edge, tilting her hips back, giving him the perfect view. She slipped her panties to the side and rubbed two fingers over her clit in a slow, circular motion. Jayce couldn’t draw his eyes away, completely captivated by her performance. She separated her fingers, opening her folds and he could see how wet she was.

“Oh, baby.” Jayce’s chest rose sharply and his eyes stayed locked on her pussy, but his hand moved to his own crotch, stroking himself as he watched her do the same.

“Jayce?” She was panting as she said his name, and he stepped forward, between her legs. He took her fingers, the ones she had been using to play with herself, and held them in front of her mouth. “Open,” he told her and she parted her lips. She sucked on her fingers and licked them clean, never breaking eye contract with him. A guttural moan escaped his chest and he undid his pants, sliding his thick cock against her wet pussy, teasing her bud.

His mouth crashed down on hers and their kiss was spellbinding. Nothing mattered in that moment, nothing other than pleasing her.

Jayce lifted her top over her head and undid her bra. The sight of her heavy and swollen breasts almost undid him.

“Please,” she begged him, panting in his ear. She reached for his cock, wet with her juices, and put the tip at her opening. Jayce pushed into her, watching her body arch in response. The sound of their frenzied, carnal moaning filled her apartment.

“Lie down,” Jayce said, pushing on her flat stomach. Zahra wrapped her legs around his waist and he pushed deeper inside her. Her hips, painted with red marks from his hands, rocked against him, matching him in intensity. He pushed deeper still and her eyes closed and her lips parted. She tightened her legs, drawing him in tighter, and she felt so good. In and out, over and over—he could never get enough of her.

He looked at her flushed cheeks and knew she was close now. “Let go,” Jayce said, watching her face transform as she climaxed. Jayce slammed into her once more before he pulled out and blew his load over her navel. He collapsed onto her, breathless.

Zahra lay beneath him with flush cheeks and a glow that only an orgasm could produce. She sat up, pushing him back, and brought her mouth to his. She kissed him sweetly, her tongue gentle and fluid. Whether she realized it or not, she how to make him weak, how to break his defenses—Raven had been Dryas’ greatest weakness and again in this lifetime, Zahra was his greatest weakness. When he wasn’t with her, it was so easy to plot his revenge and to be the callous, calculating man, but when he was with her, his resolve broke down.
It is a shame
Raven was such a bitch, since we could have been so good together,
Jayce thought.

“What are you thinking?” Zahra asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Jayce snapped out of his reverie and back to the present moment. “That I want to stay here with you all night.” He kissed the tip of her nose and pressed his forehead against hers.

“I have plans, but I can always cancel,” she said in a singsong kind of voice.

“Don’t tempt me. Unfortunately, my father will be arriving shortly and he doesn’t appreciate being kept waiting.” Jayce looked at the time, which was fast running out. He had fifteen minutes to get out of her apartment and back to his. He reached for the small towel, cleaning her and then himself, and then helped her down off the counter.

She kissed his lips and then walked off to her bedroom. Jayce was dressed, with his jacket on, when she came back. He made the excuse he needed to use her bathroom. He looked over his shoulder, but she hadn’t followed him. Jayce retrieved the disk from his pocket and peeled back the red corner. The top layer came off easily and he stuck it where he had been instructed to—on the back of her bedside table. He could turn it on and off remotely, and he would do that when he got back to the office but for now, it was securely fastened, despite his shaking hands. Jayce went into the bathroom, flushed the toilet, washed his hands and went back to the kitchen that he would never look at the same way again.

“I don’t know what my schedule is going to be like this weekend with my father in town, but I’ll see you on Monday night, and keep next Saturday night free.”

She adjusted the robe sash around her waist, which had come loose, and then put both hands on his chest. “Thank you for stopping by,” Zahra said and gave him one mesmerizing kiss goodbye.

His father was already at his apartment when Jayce arrived. He already knew what the man’s first words were going to be, and he was right: “You’re late.”

Jayce greeted his father with a hug, a gesture his mother had always insisted on. “Evening. Yes, I know I’m late, I had to run an important errand.” Jayce hung his jacket on the dining chair. He retrieved a bottle of sake and two glasses and placed them on the coffee table between the couches. He sat opposite his father and poured them both a drink.

Mr. Tohmatsu Senior raised one of his thin, wispy brows. “Judging by that lipstick smudge on your collar, I assume this
pressing
errand
had something to do with Zahra Foster.”

Jayce regretted not checking himself in the mirror before he left. It was a careless mistake. “Correct. Contrary to what it may look like, though, the errand did have a purpose.”

Mr. Tohmatsu shifted his body and laid his arm across the back of the couch. He looked smaller; age was taking its toll. “Why are you doing this, Jayce? Let it go, it’s in the past. She’s not the same woman who hurt you.”

“It’s not in the past! It’s haunting both of us today. If I let this go, it’s never going to be resolved. I need to balance this debt, I need to end this.”

“My son, who are you to play God? We must not punish, that’s not our role. And anyway, how do you know the debt hasn’t already been paid?”

“It hasn’t, I know it hasn’t.” Jayce had no proof, but his intuition was good and he always trusted his gut: in business and in life. “I have spent lifetimes searching for her. There is pain in my soul that has stayed with me for hundreds of years. Believe me, the debt has not been paid.” Jayce was adamant and his father needed only to look at him to see it.

“You can’t be certain of that nor do you know that what you are planning is the only way to repay the debt. I think she’s come back to you again for another reason.” Thin lines creased his forehead as his mind went deeper in thought.

“And what would that be?” Jayce asked, tired of the conversation.

“I can’t tell you that, only you can know why, but perhaps there is another lesson to be learned here.” Mr. Tohmatsu sighed. “I should never have allowed your mother to take you to see her, to see Igraine. But those nightmares… You screamed the house down night after night. We had to do something, but we shouldn’t have let her show you the things she did. Look at what it has done to you! You were raised better than this, Jayce.”

“I was raised to be successful.” Jayce’s answers were snappy and oozing scorn; he was pushing the respect boundary. He took a deep breath and leaned forward to pour two more glasses of sake.