Providence

Chapter Six Truth(s)

Patience is a virtue I do not possess. Amusement park lines, doctor’s appointments, college acceptance letters — all enough to drive me insane. Waiting for my date with Jared felt very much like torture. Each class failed miserably at holding my interest, and by mid-morning I had given up on taking notes. The final class of the day was insufferable. I bounced my knee up and down, tapped my pencil on the desk, shifted in my chair, and sighed at least a dozen times.

Beth touched my arm.

“Don’t interrupt my anxiety attack. It’s rude,” I whispered.

Beth pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh. “Stop freaking out. It’s a date. You’ve had dates before.”

“Not with Jared.”

She tapped her finger on my forearm for a moment and smiled. “Why don’t we visit Ryan after class?”

“I think you’re brilliant,” I said, peeling off the last bit of my eraser.

By the time Professor Hunter had spoken the word ‘dismissed’, I had shoved the last of my things in my bag, with the fastest path to the Beamer already plotted out in my mind. Beth struggled to keep up, and growled with frustration when we reached the car.

“You’re ridiculous,” she puffed.

“You have no excuse. Your legs are longer than mine.”

She rolled her eyes as I put the Beamer into gear.

Ryan looked much better — he had more color in his face and the network of tubes and wires that had covered him just days before had all but disappeared.

“Hey there,” he said, stretching his torso. “They’re moving me to PCCU today.”

“That’s fantastic!” I smiled. “You’re going to be out of here in no time. Do you know what room number you’ll be in?”

Ryan shook his head. “I’ll call you and let you know, though.”

“You’d better. How else are we going to sneak in the illegal contraband?” Beth said.

“Speaking of which…did you happen to bring me another burger?”

Beth shook her head. “Nina was in a hurry to get here.”

Ryan didn’t enjoy her remark as much as I thought he would. “That’s surprising. I figured you’d be rushing to Andrews to get ready for your date.” He tried to sound casual, but I heard resentment in his words.

I glanced at Beth and then back at him. My face instantly flushed with anger.

Ryan rolled his eyes. “Calm down, Nina. Josh saw you at the Ratty. It pissed him off seeing Jared there. He doesn’t trust him.”

“It’s ridiculous that he’s upset about it at all,” I snapped.

“It’s not Josh’s fault. He just thinks I’m better for you than that double-oh-seven wannabe. I happen to agree,” Ryan said, squirming to sit higher in his bed.

“That double-oh-seven wannabe is the reason we’re alive,” I said through my teeth.

“Come on, you guys. This can wait,” Beth sighed.

“You’re not really going to go out with him, are you?” Ryan said, disgusted.

“Yes, I am. And I really don’t care what you, or Josh, or any of your other buddies think about it.”

“Buddies?” Ryan repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Who says buddies, anymore?”

“Shut up,” I seethed. “Let’s go, Beth. Visiting hours are over.”

“Oh, come on, Nigh. Don’t leave mad,” Ryan chuckled, raising his hand toward me.

“I told you that you could only call me that once. The time limit on that has been exceeded.” “Nina, I’m sorry. Don’t leave. It’s none of my business who you date. I’m sure it’s pretty obvious why I have a problem with it.” He looked down at his hands with a frown.

I stared at him for a moment. It was hard to hold onto my anger when he was lying in a hospital bed. “I hope they clear up whatever it is that has you acting like this before they release you.”

“Oh, I’m not that bad. You’re coming back tomorrow, right?”

“I will,” I said, ruffling my fingers in his hair.

He swatted my hand away. “But I don’t want to hear about your date, all right?”

“I’m sure we can find other things to talk about.”

“We’d better go, Nigh. We have lots to do,” Beth said in a sing-song voice.

I stuck my tongue out at Ryan before following Beth to the car.

In search of the perfect outfit, Beth and I blew up my closet. Clothes were everywhere. Something too dark, too tight, too loose, too short, or not short enough covered every surface. I finally settled on a winter white three-quarter length sleeved sweater dress with my favorite fancy brown belt — it boasted a pearl in the center of the cross buckle — and brown strappy heels. Beth assured me over and over that my curve-hugging dress was the perfect balance of sexy and elegant. I stared into our long mirror and worried my dress was too short; I was all legs.

I passed the time taking a long shower, being extra careful about shaving my legs, plucking my eyebrows, and painting my toenails.

After all of the indulging, I’d still managed to be ready twenty minutes before Jared was due to arrive. My heels clicked against the elevator floor as I stepped in, and I couldn’t help but fuss with my hair and dress while I waited for the doors to open to the first floor. Walking down the hall, I checked my watch; I still had fifteen minutes before he would arrive. Just as I peeked out, the door popped open. Jared stood in front of me in a solid black dress shirt and charcoal-grey slacks. His hair had the slightest bit of gel in it, easing the subtle messy waves into each other.

I sucked in a tiny gasp, throwing my hand up to my chest.

“I’m sorry, did I startle you?”

“Yes! I wasn’t expecting you, yet,” I said, breathless.

Jared handed me a small but beautiful bouquet of pink and white tulips — my favorite — and smiled sheepishly, “I couldn’t wait until six-thirty.”

I pressed my lips together to keep from uttering the embarrassing truth, but I couldn’t stop myself. “I couldn’t either,” I blurted out.

A triumphant smile broke across his face, and then he helped me with my coat. He gently pulled me against his chest and whispered into my ear. “You are stunning.”

My ears burned. I willed the blush in my cheeks away, glad to be stepping out into the brisk air.

“Where are we going?” I asked as he pulled away from the curb.

“You’ll see,” he said, an excited grin spreading across his face. “I’m glad you agreed to come. After the other night, I wasn’t sure you’d say yes.”

“Well, after you ambushed me at the Ratty in front of everyone, I hardly had a choice.”

“Coercion was the plan all along,” he said, chuckling. He reached over and lightly traced my fingers.

“So this place we’re going to…should I expect more strange cuisine or are you playing it safe this evening?” I casually turned up my palm to intertwine our fingers. Normally I wasn’t so forward, but the rules had changed. We both knew that nothing about our time together was ever ordinary.

“It’s a surprise.”

I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t like surprises.”

“Yes you do.”

“I know,” I huffed. It was maddening that he knew me so well. “Am I going to learn anything about you tonight?”

“That’s the plan.”

Jared pulled onto a narrow street and parked beside the curb in front of a darkened building. I wasn’t sure what restaurant it was, but it didn’t look open. He took my hand and led me down an alley, guiding me around the water-filled potholes.

“Your cut has healed nicely,” I noticed, “I can barely see it.”

Jared simply nodded, leading me further into the darkness.

His hand left mine only to reach into his pocket for his keys. He unlocked the door, and then stretched his arm toward the inside to signal me to walk in.

“We’re going up the stairs,” he said.

My heels clanged against the iron steps as I slowly climbed to a small landing. At the top, Jared edged past me to use his keys once more. He stepped ahead of me this time, holding the door open.

I walked into a spacious bi-level apartment decorated in grays and blues. It was dimly lit and the blinds were drawn, setting off the glow of the numerous candles lit around the room. Chinese panels and manuscripts from different parts of the world hung on the grey cinderblock walls, illuminated by track lighting. He didn’t have enough furniture to fill the space — or maybe it was simply clutter free — everything was in its place. The entire room was immaculate. The air was saturated with different spices and flavors, and the small round table displayed empty wine glasses and white plates.

“This is your apartment?” I asked, looking up the wooden stairs leading to the loft.

Jared stood behind me, sliding my coat from my arms. “Is that okay? I thought it would be the best place to talk,” he asked, a bit anxious.

“No, it’s great. It’s amazing…you’re cooking?” I asked, preoccupied with my surroundings.

“Something like that. Try not to get too excited.” He tucked my hair behind my ears. “Have a seat, it’s almost ready.”

He took the flowers from my hands and whisked them to the kitchen, filling a vase with water. He reappeared, vase and flowers in hand, placing them in the middle of the table.

Jared brought a serving dish to the table and forked out a slice of meat.

“Pot Roast?” I asked.

“Well, there are other things—,” he gestured back to the kitchen.

“No, no, it’s just that…pot roast is my favorite. My father had a close friend that always invited us to dinner when I was little, and his wife made this amazing pot roast. It’s been a long time since I’ve had it, but it smelled a lot like this.”

Jared made a strange face as if he didn’t know how to react to my little anecdote, and then returned to the kitchen. He brought out a bowl of steamed vegetables, a plate of dinner rolls, and a baked potato…all of them favorites of mine.

“You thought of everything,” I said, bewildered at the food sitting on the table.

“There’s an Angel Food cake in the oven,” he said, sitting across from me.

“I love angel foo—,” I cut myself off when I realized how redundant it would be to say the words. “You knew that, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Jared said with an uncertain half smile. It sounded more like a question than an answer.

“We’re going to talk, right?” I asked, staring down at my plate.

“We are going to talk. But let’s get through dinner, first.”

“I can do that,” I grinned.

I bit into the pot roast and instantly I was seven years old, sitting in a homey kitchen with a million savory smells floating throughout the room. Cynthia was politely chuckling at something Jack’s friend Gabe had said, and Gabe’s wife circled the table in a light blue apron, spooning out vegetables onto everyone’s plate.

“How is it?” Jared asked between bites, bringing me back to the present.

I shook my head, searching for the words that would do the taste I was experiencing justice. “I haven’t had a meal like this in a long, long time,” I chewed, “since I was a girl. Where did you learn to cook like this?”

Jared shrugged. “It’s my mother’s recipe.”

I smiled at that. It was the first time he’d ever mentioned anything about his life. “Are you close with your mother?” I asked, settling into my chair.

“Pretty close. I spent a lot of time away from her when I was young.”

I raised my eyebrows with interest, waiting for him to elaborate.

“School was very easy for Claire and me — we finished at a young age — and we went on to train in more special areas.”

“Special as in what you can do? Fight, I mean.” Although I was prepared for an outlandish explanation, I was surprised that it began in his childhood.

“Right,” Jared confirmed. “My father taught us much of what we know; he took us all over the world to round out our training.”

“What kind of training?” I asked.

Jared squirmed in his chair. My insides wrenched as I watched him struggle; I wanted to somehow make it easier for him. I reached across the table and slid my fingers between each of his.

“This is why I’m here, right?” I said, offering a reassuring smile. Jared relaxed a bit and gently squeezed my fingers.

“We were trained to defend ourselves, to defend someone else, and received all the training each branch of military receives, including tactical, structure penetration, reconnaissance and patrolling, hand to hand combat, demolitions, weapons, field medicine…you get the idea.”

“Why?” I said in a more incredulous tone than I’d intended.

Jared took another bite, considering my question. I couldn’t wait for him to decide the best answer.

“Your father was in the security business?” I prompted.

“More along the lines of security detail.”

“Bodyguard stuff,” I nodded.

Jared chuckled. “Yes, bodyguard stuff.”

“So Claire went through the same training?” I imagined tiny Claire training with the Navy Seals and shuddered. I wasn’t sure if it was because I feared for her safety, or because she was even more dangerous than I had previously thought.

“We were separated a lot. When she proved to be accelerated in most things we trained together.” His face twisted with irritation.

“Accelerated?”

“She could hit a target from fifteen-hundred yards by the time she was eleven. She’s probably the best sniper the military has ever seen,” he waited for my reaction. After seeing the deliberate smooth features of my face, he continued, “You can imagine how many elite branches of government and private sectors are falling over themselves for her, counting down the days until her eighteenth birthday.” He said the words with a hint of the tone a protective father might have when discussing his daughter’s first date.

“Are you close?” I asked, remembering the way they had reacted to each other in the pub.

Jared frowned. “I love her. She’s my sister.” The crease between his eyebrows grew deeper, “She’s also very obstinate and, like most teenage girls, she’s very self-absorbed. But in a lethal-type of way because of her training.” He was suddenly very far away. “Claire’s been through a lot. She didn’t get to have a normal childhood because of the way we were raised, and she’s angry about a lot of things.”

“Are you angry about the way you were raised?”

“No,” he said the word softly, but with firm conviction. There was no pause between my question and his answer. He scanned my face with such affection that I felt myself fidgeting with unease.

“Why is that?” I bit my lip, still apprehensive about the intensity in his eyes.

“We’ll get to that later. Dessert?” he asked, squeezing my hand before letting go.

I noticed the absence of his touch instantly when my hand turned cold. He took my nearly empty plate and returned with the perfect-sized slice of Angel Food cake. No icing, no layers. Just the way I liked it.

Taking a bite, I closed my eyes. “You have more than one talent, Mr. Ryel,” I said after swallowing the moist, spongy goodness. “Tell me more about you. I want to hear the little things, too. You know all of my favorites; it’s only fair that I know yours.”

Jared laughed once. “Okay.” He wiped his mouth with his napkin and leaned against his chair. “The little things….I was born in Providence on May ninth. I’m twenty-three,” he explained. “Breakfast is my favorite meal. Summer is my favorite season. I don’t have a favorite color, but I’ve always been partial to that crazy green-honey brown color of your eyes. I have this addiction to sweet potato fries.”

“Well. There you go…I knew something about you after all,” I grinned.

“See? I’m an open book.”

I rolled my eyes. “Go on….”

“I think best when on my motorcycle; I don’t really have time for hobbies. I have a sister, whom you’ve met,” I nodded, “and a little brother, Bex, who’s eleven. They both live with my mother, but Claire spends a lot of time here…sometimes too much,” he grimaced.

I giggled. “And you have your own security business?”

As soon as I asked, I wished I hadn’t. Jared’s eyes instantly clouded over into familiar twin storms.

“I brought you here tonight to be honest with you, Nina.”

“I know,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt. Whatever it was I would listen, believe, and figure out a way to live with it. I had no other option versus the alternative. Now that I’d met him my life would never be the same again. It would be something too peculiar for anyone else to accept, but I had seen enough in the past months to know anything was possible. “I want you to tell me everything.”

Jared looked away. “You may feel differently before the night is over.”

I tilted my head to draw his eyes to mine. “After everything that’s happened, you don’t think I know there is something abnormal going on? I’m here, aren’t I?”

Jared leaned over and touched my cheek with the palm of his hand. I couldn’t help but lean into it, his skin was always so warm that it radiated into my bones.

“Okay, then. The truth.” He took a deep breath, “My father has been…close to your father for a long time.” He watched my expression, but that part I was somewhat prepared for. He continued, “My father served as protection for your father and, as you can imagine, Jack was a full time job. He made a lot of the wrong people very angry on a regular basis.”

I winced. I had come to this conclusion after reading the Port of Providence file, but hearing it from Jared rubbed salt in the wound.

“I’m sorry, Nina. I don’t like telling you this; it goes against the very principle I was raised on.” Jared reached his hand across the table to mine.

“What do you mean?”

“That’s what my family does, Nina. We protect your father. And your mother…and you.”

I shook my head. “I don’t understand. Your family protects mine? Since when?”

“My father has known Jack since before you were born…before he married your mother.”

I felt my eyebrows pull in. “Why haven’t we met before?”

Jared squeezed my hand. “We have. One of my earliest memories is of Jack encouraging you to take your first steps. We went on family vacations with you; I watched you blow out the candles on your birthday cakes; I saw you drive your first car; we were always in the background.”

I shook my head. “When we had lunch I asked you if we’d met. You said we hadn’t.” Frustration made my words sharper than I had intended.

“We hadn’t met in the way you were inquiring,” Jared pointed out. “The moment I sat beside you on that bench I’ve been very careful not to lie to you, Nina. I promised myself that if the day ever came that I could finally be in your life — in a real way — I would always be honest with you.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Your father protected mine?”

Jared nodded.

“Who is your father?”

“Gabe Ryel.”

“Gabe is your father? But…I don’t remember you. I spent time in his home. You weren’t there.”

“Claire and I were away. We had to start our training early to be ready in time. Bex is eleven and he’s already finished school. He’s been in training for the last eighteen months. It’s just the way it works.”

“It’s the way what works?”

Jared winced at my irritated tone. He was struggling with each piece of information, now. He spoke as if he expected me to run away with every new fact he revealed.

“I’m getting to that,” he shifted nervously.

I pulled my hand from his and lowered it to my lap. “I don’t remember any of that.”

Jared watched me pull away from him with a pained expression. “You weren’t supposed to. Your father did everything he could to keep you from the dark parts of his life. He did love you, Nina.”

I shook my head, trying to keep the tears at bay. I couldn’t think of any words. Jared stared at me for a moment and spoke again, “Are you sure you want to hear this?”

“Yes. I’m sure.” Knowing something real, even if it was hurtful, was far better than living a lie.

Jared sucked in another breath. “About the time I was ready to work alone, you were becoming more independent. It was thirteen months before there was a need for my training. Up until then, I’d pretty much felt like a babysitter.”

I cringed at his choice of words.

“Five days before your sixteenth birthday Jack had begun a deal with the cops you saw in the surveillance photos. My father told Jack it was a bad idea, but the bottom line was always the money, and those men—,” Jared spoke with disdain, “—were the easiest way to bypass the system.

“Once Jack realized that dirty cops are a different breed of criminal with even less regard for the law, it was too late. Jack was used to being targeted, but he wasn’t prepared for them to go after you. No one had ever been stupid enough to push Jack that far.”

“After me? We’re talking three years ago, and I had no idea? How is that possible?”

“Because I’m good at my job, Nina. I had to be.” Jared tensed as he continued, “I’d hoped your father would be honest with you — although at the time I wasn’t sure why — but it only made Jack even more determined to keep you from the truth. He didn’t want you to live in fear, and I couldn’t argue with that logic.”

“What made you change your mind?”

Jared’s hands locked together on top of the table. “The first time you were targeted, I took a bullet to the shoulder. The training made it automatic for me to stop that bullet, Nina; but in that one instant, my eyes were opened. The moment I saw Tipton’s finger press against the trigger I wasn’t protecting you because I had to. For the first time, I realized that I could lose you.”

“You were almost killed?” I gasped. I imagined him bleeding from a bullet wound while I went on with my life, oblivious. My heart faltered.

Jared crossed his arms on the table and smiled. “Not even close.”

“So these feelings you have for me…you had them before I ever knew you existed,” I said, more of a statement than a question.

Jared grimaced, incensed at my choice of words.

“Nina,” he shook his head. I had obviously offended him somehow. “I was in love with you before you ever knew I existed. It was very difficult to be around you for hours on end and not be able to comfort you, or touch you…even speak to you. I wasn’t allowed to let you see me, but it was my job to watch your every move. That included standing by while people lied to you, betrayed you, caused you pain.

“Jack reminded me constantly that it had to be that way. He could see that every day it grew harder for me to be non-existent…to be invisible to the woman I loved.” His eyes were unfocused, mulling over the memories that troubled him.

Jared had now said it twice: He was in love with me.

“You can’t imagine the rage I felt seeing some sleaze that didn’t appreciate you take you to dinner, take you for granted, kiss you…make you cry. It was my duty to protect you and I wasn’t allowed to protect you from that; although, I would have gladly murdered Howard without a second thought the night of your sixteenth birthday.”

Adrenaline rushed through my veins, and my mind burned through the memories of that night. Stacy Howard was my first and only boyfriend. He personified the stereotypical supercilious rich boy, complete with rebellious nature and bad attitude. The longer I put-off a physical relationship with him, the more acerbic he became. It didn’t take long for me to grow tired of him, but just when I’d decided to end things, Cynthia insisted on it first. Playing the part of the stubborn fifteen year-old daughter to perfection, I grudgingly stayed with him just long enough to show my mother that I would make my own choices.

We had been together for just over a year when he’d chosen my party to break it to me that he was in love with Emma Noble, my then-best friend. His plans were unnecessary when I caught them having sex in the pool house before he had a chance to tell me. I was so relieved I barely noticed.

“You’re referring to Stacy,” my eyes narrowed.

Jared nodded with an angry expression on his face.

“You knew about that?” I wailed.

Jared shook his head and closed his eyes. “From the moment it began. It was hell watching him go back and forth, not being able to tell you… or kill him. He was just a kid, and I wanted to end his life…so many times,” he whispered in a low, intimidating tone.

I buried my face in my hands. Fire exploded across my face and ears. It was worse than anything I could have possibly imagined. Jared hadn’t just been hired to protect me since my father had passed away; he’d observed my awkward tween years, my humiliations, and every one of my embarrassing failures.

The degradation was unbearable. I sprang from my seat and headed for the door, but before my first step, I heard Jared’s chair grate against the floor. In the next moment he gently grabbed me from behind, wrapping his arms around my waist.

“I know this is humiliating for you,” he spoke quietly in my ear. “I wanted to tell you, I begged Jack to let me expose that cheating little maggot so many times, but he wouldn’t let us interfere unless it was absolutely necessary. Doing that to you on your birthday,” he said, fuming, “it was the breaking point for me. That night was the first time I’d fought Jack on anything.”

I flipped around and pushed away from him. “I’m not humiliated about Stacy! That was years ago! I’m humiliated because of this!” I said, gesturing to the space between us. “When you meet someone new, that’s the way it’s supposed to be! New! You know all of my bad habits…you’ve seen me do God knows what. You’re only supposed to know the best parts about me in the beginning!”

He stood there for a moment, shaking his head with an expression of confusion and awe. “I love everything about you.”

It was at that moment that I realized why his eyes seemed so familiar to me. “You were there,” I whispered, scanning his face.

Beyond the cocktail dresses, the twinkling lights draped from every tree and light post, and the smell of the freshly cut grass and imported flowers my mother insisted on, his eyes flickered in my memory. I pressed deeper, feeling the light sheen of perspiration on my skin from the exceptionally warm night, the smell of the chlorine from the pool, and the sounds of the crowd humming in happy, flowing conversation.

When I glanced across the lawn at my father, I caught the glowing blue eyes of a stranger standing by the koi pond. His tailored suit and absent tie set him apart from the sea of tuxedos. Our eyes connected for only a second before he reluctantly pulled them away to face my father, who was having a low, serious conversation with him.

My memory replayed in slow motion as the chiffon of my short, white dress waved gently against my legs. Once again his stormy blue eyes singled me out of the crowd, and I shied away from his stare.

I snapped back to the present when Jared called my name.

“You were speaking to my father by the pond. That was you,” I said, my eyes wide with realization.

Jared’s brows pulled in. “You remember that?”

“It was just before I’d gone to the pool house. Jack was by the pond, talking with that face he made when he was giving orders.” I tried to recall every detail I could. “You were throwing rocks in the pond; I only saw you for a moment, but that was you, wasn’t it?”

Jared nodded slowly. “I wanted to throw Stacy out, take him somewhere and…I don’t know. Punish him, I guess. Jack refused, but he realized how I felt about you, then. He insisted that my family, including me, be kept a secret from you indefinitely. That was a rough night,” he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I am so sorry,” I whispered, not knowing what else to say. My heart ached for all the years he’d spent as a ghost.

Jared took my hand in his and pulled it to his chest. It was then that I realized I’d been absently twisting my Peridot ring around my finger.

“I picked up this ring, you know,” he said, softly pressing his lips against my fingers. “Cynthia was up to her neck in party details and she’d forgotten to get it,” he smiled. “And because you were in my father’s presence, I was sent to pick it up for you.”

“Great. They used you as a gopher.”

“I volunteered. I wanted to,” he explained. “I can’t describe the way it made me feel to see your smile when you opened the box. You were so pleased with it, and I had a part in that,” he said. His smile faded. “Later, it helped a little with the…misery of never being able to console you when I’d see you twist this ring around your finger. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it has always been comforting to see you reach for it when you’re upset.”

I stared at him, bewildered. I wasn’t sure how to feel; even with the suspicions I’d already had, I couldn’t have prepared myself for what he was telling me.

“Please don’t leave,” Jared whispered, still holding my hand to his chest.

I looked down at my feet and then reached down to unbuckle the straps of my shoes from around my ankles. “You’d just follow me if I left, right?” I said, kicking off my shoes.

“Even if it weren’t my job,” he said with an impish grin. He looked down at my bare feet. “I’m glad you’re staying, we still have quite a bit to discuss.”

“There’s more?”

Jared nodded and led me to his small, grey couch.

“Maybe we should save the rest for another night. It’s a lot to take in,” he sighed.

I ignored him. “Why did you sit beside me on that bench the night of Jack’s funeral?”

“You were crying. Jack was gone. I couldn’t think of any more reasons to stay away.”

“What about your father? Didn’t Gabe care that you were breaking the rules?”

Jared looked to the floor. “He died the morning of your father’s funeral.” He spoke as if exhaustion had just set in.

I gasped. “Gabe is…?” I couldn’t finish.

Jared had comforted me just hours after his own father’s death. I gently pulled his chin to face me. His eyes were thick with grief, as if he was experiencing it for the first time.

It dawned on me how it must have felt to Jared, to see me suffering, and the deep need he struggled with to make it go away. I felt the same urgency that very moment. My eyes focused on the thin line between his lips, and I moved a bit closer to him.

Jared rested his soft hands on each side of my face. He leaned in slowly, inches from my mouth. His jaw tensed; he seemed to be struggling with what he had been told was the right thing to do and what he wanted.

He shook his head. “This isn’t why I brought you here,” he said, pulling away from me.

“I know,” I sighed.

Jared stared at the floor, working to even out his breathing.

I touched his arm. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe we’ve had enough truth for one night.”

“Do you want to leave?” he asked, concerned.

“No!” I paused to regain my composure. “No. I just meant that maybe we could talk about something else…if you want,” I fidgeted. “Your training, what schools you went to, friends…girls,” I said, a corner of my mouth turning up.

“Girls?” he repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“You know about my utter failure when choosing a boyfriend, and I’m sure you saw the awkward dates I’ve been on.”

“Those were never a good day at work for me,” he said, furrowing his brow.

“It’s only fair,” I reasoned. “You must have had at least one bad date….”

Jared shook his head dismissively. “I didn’t have time to date.”

I wasn’t sure what expression was on my face, but it made Jared’s eyes squint with chagrin. He clearly didn’t expect to talk about his love life, or lack thereof.

“I was focused on keeping you alive. Making mistakes in my family means more than having to say you’re sorry.”

“Never?”

Jared shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “It wasn’t that I never had the opportunity, or that I wasn’t allowed the time…or even incessantly encouraged,”—his face twisted into a disgusted scowl—“I just had my priorities.”

“Should I feel guilty or flattered?”

Jared looked straight into my eyes. “By the time it occurred to me to care about things like that, I already knew you were all I’d ever want.”

I controlled my eyes from bulging from their sockets, but I couldn’t stop my mouth from turning up into a half surprised, half appreciative grin. My eyes focused on his lips again.

“So…why did you bring me here?”

He shrugged. “You said all I had to do was tell you the truth. That was all I needed to hear.”

“When did I say that?” I felt my eyebrows pull in as my mind rewound the night’s conversation.

He hesitated. “To Beth…last night.”

“In my room? How did you hear that?”

Jared sighed and sat taller in his seat, bracing for round two. “Just hear me out before you leave,” he said in a low tone. “It’s my duty to protect you. I can’t do that without knowing where you are at all times. I couldn’t walk around freely in your dorm, so we had to have eyes and ears in place.”

“What do you mean eyes and ears?”

“Your father was meticulous.” He was stalling.

“Spit it out, Jared.”

“When you were accepted into Brown, Jack had cameras installed in Andrews and different places on campus. We tracked the GPS in your car of course, but that had been in place the day Jack bought it. We tracked the GPS in your cell phone as well, and your parents’ house has always been wired.” Jared spoke casually, but he was braced for another outburst.

“There’s a camera… in my room?” I spoke slowly, the anger and shock nearly choking my words.

“No! No, no, no…,” Jared chuckled nervously. “There’s a camera in the hall. We only placed a mic in your room.”

I considered that for a moment, trying to recall if I’d ever done anything embarrassing. Nothing came to mind — I hoped that nothing would.

Jared squirmed. “Just to be clear, I don’t enjoy invading your privacy in that way, but it is necessary.” I pouted as a smile spread across his face. “Well, that’s not true. I enjoyed it last night.”

I tensed, closing my eyes. “What did you hear?”

Jared’s warm hand touched mine. “I heard Beth say that you loved me. And I didn’t hear you deny it.”

My eyes popped open. “You heard wrong, then. I did deny it.”

“I heard you try to convince her otherwise. Are you telling me that I’m mistaken?”

I pulled my hand from his in defiance. I didn’t like being ambushed.

He smiled at my stubbornness. “The second you walked away from me, my choice was clear.” His expression didn’t last long when I didn’t return his smile. “You’re angry.”

“I have no secrets,” I sulked. “Does my mother know about this?”

Jared nodded. I threw up my hands in frustration, letting them smack loudly into my lap. He kneeled in front of me on the floor, forcing me to look at him.

“It was necessary, Nina,” he said, lightly touching my bare knees.

“So that’s how you always miraculously appear?” I was aware that he knew my whereabouts, but I had no idea I was being spied on twenty-four-seven.

“That’s part of it,” he said with the evasive tone I was bitterly becoming accustomed to.

“And the other part is?”

“I’m getting to that.”

“There’s more?” I howled.

“First, since you now know the worst part of it—," I rolled my eyes, “—I owe you an apology,” Jared said.

“I’d say so!”

“I’m sorry about Mr. Dawson. Claire was on watch both of those nights, and she made the decision to let it get farther than I would have for intel purposes. She wanted to know what Mr. Dawson knew.”

“Claire watches me, too?” I shrieked.

“Yes. I’m sorry you were scared. I relieved Claire the second I heard the news, which is when I came to take you home.”

Initially I was furious, but the anger disappeared when I remembered feeling desperate for Jared to intervene. How could I be angry with him for wanting the same thing that I did?

“I thought you would come,” I whispered.

“You what?” he said, surprised.

“When Mr. Dawson threatened me, I expected you to show up at any moment. It made the whole thing…tolerable.”

“Tolerable?”

And then he was angry. He didn’t speak for several minutes. His jaw flitted under his skin, and he occasionally shook his head. I waited for as long as I could, but I finally prompted him.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, searching his stormy eyes.

“The first time that you expected me to protect you…I wasn’t there.” He spoke the last three words as if they were poison in his mouth.

“You can’t be there every second, Jared. You’re only human.” I returned my hands to his. He brought my hand to his lips.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his face twisting in torment.

“It’s okay,” I said, surprised. I didn’t expect his reaction.

His earlier description of the suffering he had experienced while witnessing my pain materialized. His time with me must have seemed like purgatory. I felt an overpowering urge to comfort him, and I was just inches away.

“It won’t happen again,” he promised. His eyes were fixed on mine.

“I’m holding you to that.” A match had been lit inside me; I was burning from the sudden need to touch him, to alleviate the self-loathing in his eyes.

I leaned forward and rested my fingers against each side of his neck. My thumbs grazed his jaw line, the fear of rejection a faint memory. Pulling him closer, I pressed my lips against his. He cautiously returned my kiss, but when he began to pull away I refused to let go.

After a brief, surprised pause, Jared gave into my insistence, wrapping his arms around me and pressing me against him. A quiet hum of satisfaction escaped my lips, and his mouth grew more urgent against mine. He sat up on his knees to tighten his grip, and his hand clutched the back of my neck. My breath became ragged as his lips parted and his outstandingly warm tongue found its way to mine. My knees parted and I pulled him against me, eliminating the tiny space between us.

He groaned in frustration and then his grip tightened, holding me a few inches away by my shoulders.

“What?” I puffed.

He took a few deep breaths before answering, staring at my lips. “We still have a lot to discuss,” he breathed, letting go of my shoulders to press my knees together.

“I’m done talking,” I whispered, leaning in again.

Jared gently restrained me, amused at my fortitude. “I can’t,” he said, taking a deep breath. “I brought you here to tell you the whole truth, not just half of it.”

I sighed in resignation, sinking back into the couch cushion.

He smiled at my pouting. “Not that I’m not incredibly tempted.” He sat up on his knees again, and brushed his lips against mine, pulling away as quickly as he began.

“Okay. Let’s talk,” I said, more eager than ever to have everything out in the open. “You haven’t been honest with me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“You can’t tell me that you haven’t had time for girls, now. Not when you kiss like that.”

Jared’s expression was ecstatic, and then he made a poor attempt to disguise it. “I beg to differ. I’m not an idiot…it’s not a difficult concept.”

“I have kissed boys, some of those boys more than once, that never kissed like that.”

Jared closed in and kissed my neck — from collar bone to the line of my jaw — stopping to whisper in my ear. “That’s because you kissed boys, sweetheart.”

My heart pounded so loudly that I was sure he could hear it. I let out a long sigh. “Okay, you’ve got to tell me the rest. The suspense is killing me.”

Jared shifted to the couch, turning to face me. His face returned to the worried frown he had before.

“Jared, thus far it’s my understanding that you’ve been raised by a family of assassins. You’ve spied on me, stalked me, installed microphones in my bedroom, and confessed to falling in love with me before I could drive. If I haven’t left by now, I don’t think I’m going to.”

His face screwed into disgust. “We’re not assassins.”

“Have you ever killed anyone?"

Jared raised his eyebrows, shocked at my pointed question.

“I…er…yeah. But it was to keep you safe,” he explained.

“You killed people for me?” I asked, my mood immediately shifting.

“Don’t feel a second of guilt for those people, Nina. They wouldn’t have lost a single night’s sleep over taking your life.”

I swallowed. “Do you regret it?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Never. It’s who I am.”

“What does that mean? You’re a killer?”

Jared rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I don’t think of it that way. We’re protectors. Though there are those that disagree.”

“Like who?” I shook my head, thoroughly confused.

“You’re getting ahead of me.”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself.”

“I know.” He rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger and sighed.

“You’re making me nervous.” I laughed without humor. He looked up at me; the hardness of his eyes didn’t relieve my trepidation. “Is it that bad?”

“It’s just…implausible. It will be your first inclination to be skeptical, and I don’t blame you. But it’s the truth.”

I nodded and then took his hand in mine. “I’m ready.”

“Gabe,” Jared paused for a long time and then cringed, “isn’t from here. He’s known your father since Jack was an infant, but it wasn’t until Jack was a bit older that they met.

“When Jack was twenty-one, he worked for a man named Van Buren. While working there, he befriended Van Buren’s oldest son, Luke, and because Jack spent so much time with Luke, my father in turn spent quite a bit of time in Luke’s home.

“It didn’t take long for Luke’s younger sister, Lillian, to catch Gabe’s attention. Lillian is my mother. Similar to the way I feel about you, he couldn’t stay away from her. Eventually he made the choice to reveal himself to her, which is against the rules.”

I started to ask about the rules, but Jared held a finger up so that I would let him continue, “Gabe made a huge sacrifice to be with Lillian. He loved her, and so as far as he was concerned, he had no choice. Even though he had given up everything, his existence still depended on Jack.”

I shook my head. “Why did it depend on my father?”

“Gabe was assigned to him. For my father, and those like him, he is assigned to someone — his Taleh — from their birth. Because I’m half of what my father was, the draw isn’t right away. We have to figure it out on our own, and that’s part of why my siblings and I are the bastards of Gabe’s world.”

“Gabe’s world? I’m sorry, Jared, I don’t understand,” I shook my head in frustration.

Jared’s hardened expression smoothed into a warm smile. “I know. You will. I’m trying to explain this in the best way possible. Trust me.”

“Sweet potato fries?” I smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

Jared’s grin widened. “Sweet potato fries.”

He watched me for a moment, and several emotions scrolled across his face. His hands touched my cheeks and then he pressed his lips against mine. It felt like he was saying goodbye.

He reluctantly let me go, and avoided my eyes when he spoke. “We aren’t accepted by Gabe’s family or his enemies. It makes it very difficult to do our job in some ways, and easier in others.”

“You mean as protectors,” I determined. Jared confirmed my revelation with an approving nod, but my expression caused his small smile to vanish.

“What?” he spoke in a soft, hesitant tone.

“Are you saying there is a society of protectors out there that all do…what you do?”

“S-Sort of. But it’s…providential.” He waited anxiously for my mind to catch up to what he was saying.

“Providential?” I repeated, letting the word simmer…providential protectors. He chose his words carefully, specifically attaching divinity to describe the family he referred to. When the comprehension hit, Jared winced. “Are you talking angels, Jared?” I said, indignant.

“I told you it would be your first inclination.”

I waited for him to tell me he was joking, but his eyes were far from amused. I stood up and paced between the table and the couch.

He was serious.

He expects me to believe he is a…he’s my….guardian angel! I thought. My mind mulled over wings, halos, and harps, and I laughed out loud. Jared watched me pace as if he were afraid he’d sent me over the edge.

“I’m not an angel,” he said as if I was totally off-base. “My father is. Was,” he corrected.

“You’re half….” I trailed off, unable to mouth the word. I felt ridiculous for even considering it.

“Human,” he amended, intercepting the alternative.

My thoughts traced to Jared’s lobbing the man the impossible distance across the parking lot. “That does explain some things. But….” I shook my head. I wanted to believe him and that made remaining objective more difficult.

Jared walked toward me, but I instinctively took a step back.

He cringed at my reaction. “I would never lie to you. Do you believe that?”

Just a few moments before I was determined to believe anything he had to say. But Jared was asking me to believe in fairytales, in the supernatural. His anxious eyes searched my face, begging for me to believe. I was worth his truth and I stood cruelly obstinate. The need to ease his anxiety overwhelmed reason.

I touched his fading scar with my fingers. “It makes sense, really.”

I had described him as angelic once, when I hadn’t realized it was closer to the truth than I could have ever imagined. His glowing blue-grey eyes, his strength, the flawlessness of his face and the way he moved; it would be the only explanation. It suddenly didn’t matter if it were possible. I believed him.

“I still have questions,” I said.

Hope touched Jared’s eyes, and he led me to the table. I took a bite of my half-eaten slice of cake and giggled.

“Something’s funny?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Angel Food.” I pressed my lips together, stifling a laugh.

Jared chuckled and sucked in a big breath, seeming relieved.

“Angel Food. Good one.” He attempted an annoyed expression, but the relief on his face thwarted his efforts.

“Sorry.”

“You’re forgiven,” he said immediately. “So. Now you know.”

“Everything?”

“Pretty much.” A fresh energy seemed to surround him. “There is more, but it’s the logistics of what I’ve told you, and part of that…well, it’s best that you don’t know about them.”

“Them?”

“You know the stories, Nina. Where there’s light, there’s dark. If I go into detail and you become aware, it attracts them. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

My body suddenly felt cold, causing my shoulders to curve in and shudder. I knew exactly what he was talking about: demons. Of course they would exist if angels did.

Jared’s eyes sympathized with my reaction, and he pulled my chair closer to him, leaning over to kiss my forehead. “I suppose I didn’t think through the consequences of promising absolute truth. I don’t want you to be afraid, Nina. I would never let anything happen to you.”

I took a deep breath and put on a brave face for him. “I know,” I shook my head, “there is so much that I don’t understand.”

“You have more questions?” he asked, ready for the next barrage of inquiries.

I looked at my watch. It was almost midnight. “I’m not sure I can get them all in tonight.”

“You have somewhere to be?”

“No. I assumed you wanted to sleep sometime. You do sleep, don’t you?”

Jared smiled. “I do. But I don’t require as much…just a few hours to recharge. Claire and I take shifts.” He sighed and touched my arm. “I owe you another apology. I hadn’t slept long — about twenty minutes when Claire called to inform me that you wandered out of town and were stranded on a dark road. She was prepared to let you wait, but I couldn’t just let you sit in the cold. I’m sorry I was so…abrupt.”

“Cranky when tired…check,” I nodded once.

Relief brightened Jared’s face. “This is surreal. I’ve dreamed about how I would tell you for years, and now it’s done.”

“And here I sit, in front of my half-angel Hybrid boyfriend eating cake. I think I win.”

Three lines appeared on Jared’s forehead when his eyebrows shot up. “Oh. It’s boyfriend, now, is it?”

I swallowed hard, feeling the heat radiate from my face. I picked up my wine glass and took a large gulp.

“Are you okay?” Jared asked, concerned.

“I’m fine. I just…I didn’t mean…ugh!” I moaned, covering my eyes with one hand.

“Nina,” he chided, “as if I’m not thrilled beyond words at that idea.” Jared pulled my hand from my face. “What could you possibly have to be embarrassed about?”

“Just…forget I said anything, okay?” I said sheepishly.

“Absolutely not,” he smiled.

I involuntarily yawned, using the back of my fingers to cover my open mouth.

“I should take you home,” he said.

“I don’t want to go home. I still have questions,” I argued, wiping the inevitable tears that followed.

“We have a long, long time for Q and A, sweetheart,” he said, tucking my hair behind my ear. I smiled, realizing why he always seemed to pull my hair from my face the moment it crossed my mind.

I yawned again, but stubbornly shook my head. “The cut on your face?”

Jared touched it with two of his fingers. “There are pro’s and con’s to being what my father’s world calls Half-breeds.”

I wrinkled my nose at the word. “Sounds derogatory to me.”

“It is. Most Archs don’t believe we should exist, and the…Others see us as the enemy as well.”

“Archs?”

“There are several types of angels: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones…there are nine in all. Archangels serve as protectors for humans. They relay messages, fight demons on occasion, and protect their Taleh against harm, from demon and human alike. But all humans have Archs, and even if their Taleh is threatened by another Arch’s Taleh, Arch’s are forbidden to harm humans. They are strictly protectors, but that protection has limits because of the Laws. Claire, Bex and I are half-human, freeing us from many of those restrictions, just like my father when he chose to live as human.”

“So…Gabe…turned human?”

“No. He relinquished the ability to transfer planes….” My expression must have reflected how foreign the words sounded to me, because he stopped to explain. “To be invisible. Falling from grace has a price. Archs are cursed when they choose to stay, and that curse carries on to their offspring; although, it lessens with each generation. As the blood is diluted with the human gene pool, so is the curse.”

“What kind of curse?” I asked. His world was much darker than wings and harps.

“Archs are obligated to protect their humans even after they fall, and because their priorities have been compromised, so to speak, the curse keeps that obligation in check. Fallen and their offspring, like Archs, don’t get sick and we can’t be killed. But unlike Archs, we experience a degree of pain and have a limited life span. Once our Taleh die, we almost immediately fall ill and expire.”

“So you lost your father when I lost mine,” I whispered.

Jared nodded infinitesimally and wiped a tear from my eye.

I leaned away from his hand. “Please don’t do that. Don’t comfort me for your father’s death.”

Jared shook his head. “I can’t stand to see you cry. Not when I’m close enough to stop it.”

“I’m so sorry, Jared.” I couldn’t imagine having to experience the constant worry of not only my father’s mortality, but someone else’s as well, for the sake of my father.

My eyes widened as my thoughts shifted. “I’m you’re Taleh?”

“You are.” He sat up a bit taller as his sad expression warmed at the thought.

“How do you know?”

“It’s a feeling we get. When you’re in pain, embarrassed, scared, sick, happy…aroused—,” he looked down for a moment, seeming embarrassed—“…we feel it to a lesser extent.”

“You can feel it when I feel those things?”

“It’s hard to explain. I guess I could liken it to a mosquito buzzing in your ear.”

“So, if I…bump my side on my father’s desk?”

“I can sense it,” he confirmed, amused that I had caught on.

“Was that you on the phone with my mother?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. I just wanted to make sure you were all right. You hit pretty hard. I’d be surprised if you didn’t bruise,” he said, lightly touching the exact spot where I had collided with Jack’s desk.

“I did bruise. I thought you said my parents’ house has cameras. Couldn’t you see that I was okay?”

“Your father’s office is the only room in the house that isn’t wired. When you’re in there I have to rely on my senses. I’d prefer it if you wouldn’t spend so much time there in the future.”

I nodded, preoccupied with an errant thought that had popped into my head. “So…if I’m cramping….”

Jared closed his eyes and nodded. He clearly didn’t want to dwell on the subject.

I giggled in disbelief. “That hurts you?”

Jared chuckled and rolled his eyes. “I don’t get cramps, Nina, no. I’m aware of it.”

His answer caused my giggles to erupt in laughter. I was definitely feeling the effects of fatigue.

I tried to remember where we left off before my short bout of hysteria. “When did you know I was yours?” I asked. Jared’s eyebrows lifted and I corrected myself. “When did you know that I was your Taleh?”

He nodded in understanding, but a grin lingered on his lips. “Archs are assigned to their humans, but Half-breeds—,”

“Hybrids,” I interrupted. I didn’t like him using a derogatory term to refer to himself.

He smiled. “Hybrids have to figure it out on their own. Another reason Archs resent us — it leaves our humans vulnerable for a time. They don’t agree with that.”

“Lots of cons,” I sighed.

“There are pros,” he assured me. “We have few advantages over the Archs, the most important being that because we’re half-human, we can kill other humans to protect our Talehs if necessary. We can see them, even if they remain hidden to humans. We also retain a fraction of their pronounced strength, focus, intelligence, and accelerated healing. Archs are indestructible and they don’t bleed; bullets don’t bounce off of them, they simply pass through them.”

I glanced at his fading scar. “But you bleed.”

“Yes, but we heal quickly. Very quickly.”

“So, the wings thing….” I yawned as exhaustion set in.

“You don’t have to worry about me sprouting feathers, Nina,” he chuckled. “Archs don’t fly. They simply appear where they wish to go. I’ve always found the pictures a bit silly, myself.”

“I like those pictures,” I argued.

“You’re disappointed, then?” The corner of his mouth pulled up as he rested his hand on the back of my chair, leaning towards me.

“Not really. I’d rather be sitting across from my angel without wings than looking at a picture of an angel with them.” I could feel his breath on my lips, and I leaned closer to him.

Jared fell against his chair. “I knew this conversation was going to be difficult, but it’s become difficult for a completely different reason,” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

“Why is that?” I asked, surprised at his sudden retreat.

He glanced up at me with a smirk. “I thought I’d have to stop you from running out into the street in a panic, instead I have to concentrate on finishing everything I want to say before you get me too flustered to speak at all.”

The blood pooled under my cheeks, and Jared touched my face lightly with his thumb, tracing to my lips.

“It’s a nice surprise,” he said, letting his thumb slide from my chin.

“I’ll try to restrain myself,” I said flatly.

“Why don’t you leave that up to me?”

I raised a dubious eyebrow at him and he chuckled. His demeanor had improved one hundred percent since the beginning of our conversation, and I couldn’t help but grin.

He outlined my fingers with his and I yawned, relaxing with his warm touch.

He gave me a disapproving look. “Nina….”

“I still have questions,” I said. “You said you don’t get sick. Ever?”

Jared shook his head with an amused smile, he was enjoying my interview.

“But the rest, about dying after your Taleh, do you…?”

“Yes.”

I gasped. “But that’s not fair!”

“Nina, don’t forget…I fully intend on growing old with you.” He enveloped me in his arms then, pulling me into his lap. “I literally can’t live without you. But I wouldn’t want to, even if I could.”

I struggled for words to reply with, but they never came. Jared’s expression tensed as though he might have said too much, and the need to relieve his quandary had me searching for new questions.

“That’s very convenient, isn’t it? That you and Gabe’s Taleh just happened to be father and daughter?” I asked, hoping to take the uncomfortable expression off his face.

“It’s great for carpooling.”

I tried not to smile. “Seriously.”

Jared leaned his forehead against my cheek, taking in the scent of my hair. “It’s quite common. Archs are family as well as an army, existing in groups. Those groups are generally assigned humans that are related or connected in some way. It creates stronger bonds with humans.”

His candid desire to grow old with me made my heart race, and I was suddenly focused on his mouth. After all, he’d only qualified that we wait until he told me everything.

And we were so close…

“How many like you exist?” I asked to distract myself. I didn’t want to give him another reason to point out my embarrassing lack of self-control.

“Not as many as you might think. Like I said, it’s taboo to get too involved with humans. It’s even worse to fall in love with one — to betray your seraphic family for one.”

“So how can they protect us if they despise us?” I asked, incensed.

“It’s not that, Nina. They have an almost maternal love for humans. They see you as innocent, naïve children. Falling in love with a human is frowned upon by Archs as humans would an elderly man falling in love with a five year old. It’s a social taboo, it’s inappropriate. It’s not because they are disgusted by humans, though there are those that feel that way. But those types of emotions lead to falling farther than earth.”

“Dem—,”

“Don’t say it. Don’t even think it. Especially in my presence, they tend to hover.”

A shiver traveled down my spine, but when Jared pulled me tighter to him, I instantly felt more at ease. As I relaxed my cheek against his neck, I yawned again.

“All right, it’s morning. Time to take you home.” He stood up and in the same movement, lifted me effortlessly in his arms.

“I’m not leaving until you kick me out,” I said, feeling slightly intoxicated.

“Then you may never leave,” he said, kissing my lips.

He sat beside me on the couch and I leaned against his chest, sliding my arm across his middle and nestling my head under his chin. He didn’t speak; the only sound in the room was the buzzing from his ceiling fan and our quiet, rhythmic breaths.

Before I could focus the fuzziness in my brain to form another question, exhaustion engulfed me, and my eyes became too heavy to keep open. I relaxed further into Jared’s side, feeling my consciousness slip away. It wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling — I felt I was just where I belonged. My last coherent thought was the contentment I felt as Jared’s warm arms tightened around me.