Page 15

I sucked in a breath. What was it that Granny had said? “Those who burn the brightest dim the quickest.”

“What?” Liam asked. He moved closer.

“It’s something Granny said.” It was odd how the fact I saw my dead grandmother didn’t even seem to faze them anymore. They all just stood there waiting for me to continue with my story. “She told me Jax and his demon are more than just our problem. It’s every witch’s problem.”

“We’ve kind of all seen that,” Gabe started. “Jax just hasn’t been focusing on us. He’s drained and killed witches, too.”

“You tell her she’s not the first to come up with it.”

Gabe stilled and looked around. “She’s not still here, is she?”

I smiled. “No, she’s gone. But she just said that we should be getting everyone with us to fight against him. She also said that we don’t need the Order to fight against something that’s not right. Everyone should be doing that.”

Liam eyebrows raised as if he was impressed with Granny’s sentiment. “She’s right.”

“Oh, she knows,” I said. “Trust me.”

“He’s hurt a lot of people,” Randy said. “There’s a list too long to even say.”

Travis swallowed. I knew he hated us talking like this, but what were we supposed to do? We couldn’t just act like none of this happened, or act as if it wasn’t his childhood friend that was doing all that.

“Are we okay in here?” Gabe asked, looking around the apartment once again. It took me a moment to realize he wasn’t looking for Granny and that he actually meant Jax.

“I don’t think Jax was actually here,” I said. “I think it was just all in our heads.”

“That’s somehow way worse,” Gabe said.

Yeah, I didn’t think of that. I was just too preoccupied with thinking that we needed to be physically safe, but what if our minds weren’t safe from him? He’d already tried to take us apart by separating us, though he probably hadn’t even intended to do that.

“I vote someone stays awake just in case,” Gabe said. “It’s two in the morning. The rest of us can sleep, and then when we wake up, that person can take a nap.”

“I’ll do it,” Randy said. “I’m awake now, anyway.”

Around me, the guys settled in again. Gabe took his spot on the opposite couch, Travis sat in the armchair and Randy gestured toward the sofa. Liam took it and looked up at me. “I’m going to need a moment,” I told him.

Randy walked away. He headed toward the bathroom and I heard the shower go on.

Liam nodded and laid down by himself. As sweet as ever, he still squished himself into the inside in case I changed my mind.

My fingertips buzzed. The sour taste from the beer last night was still in my mouth, so I followed Randy into the bathroom. “It’s just me,” I said when I walked in. I put some toothpaste on my finger and pressed it onto my tongue. I swished it around in my mouth and spit it out, my mouth feeling so much more refreshed right afterward.

My hand started to shake afterward, and I had a feeling I knew what was going on. That light, or whatever had come from me, if it was my element, I’d probably used a lot of magic to get it to do it, even unwillingly. I was about to crash.

At least Randy was awake. I pulled the shower curtain back and peeked inside. Randy faced me, pulling his hands through his hair as the water from the shower cascaded down over him. Rivulets of water ran down his body. Over his tattoos. Over his pierced nipples and further. Past his abs and off his cock. “Psst,” I said.

His eyes immediately opened, and he stared at me, startled at first. “Yes?”

“Meet me in your room?”

A wicked smile pulled at his lips. “Be right there.”

I gave him one last smile and then I put the shower curtain back before moving to Randy’s room. I wish I had a selection of lingerie to choose from. Randy enjoyed stuff like that, but I had no idea where any of my sexy stuff was at the moment. Most likely in a box one of them threw together from headquarters, or it could still be in Liam’s parents’ house for all I knew. I hadn’t thought about being sexy for one of them in a long time. At least it felt like a long time. When you enjoyed sex as much as I did, a whole day was a long time. We hadn’t been in that frame of mind recently, but something clicked earlier today.

The door creaked open and Randy walked in. He hadn’t even bothered to dress himself. Standing there in all his glory reminded me of the first encounter we’d had in this room. How he’d brought me home here from the bar after a ride on his motorcycle. How I’d stopped us from going too far even though I knew how amazing it could be between us. Come to think of it, that was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do.

“Why are you still dressed?”

I chuckled. “I don’t know. Indecisive, I guess.” He frowned, and I quickly shook my head. “Not about doing this, but I was trying to look sexy for you.”