Page 67 of Infernal Secrets

“It doesn’t kill you to wear something else besides combat boots all the time.”

Cyn scoffed.

“It looks good on you,” Zeke said, voice uncharacteristically soft.

Cyn’s gaze snapped to him, and he looked away, cheeks coloring.

My mouth fell open, and I caught Ash’s eye. He shook his head, making me frown.

It wasn’t my business, but if I were right about Zeke, Cyn had nothing to worry about. I guess I understood Ash’s reaction. They needed to figure it out for themselves.

17

FORCED PROXIMITY

RAE

Ash insisted on driving the hour’s trip back home.

I didn’t mind. The funeral drained me, and my eyes ached from crying.

Ezra took the passenger seat, and Cyn and Zeke piled into the back on each side of me since they were a few inches taller than my five-eight.

“What if we get pulled over?”

Ash met my eyes in the rear-view mirror. “I doubt we will, but Zeke can handle it.”

Zeke reached over and squeezed my knee. The touch of his warm hand on my leg relaxed me. “Don’t stress it. We’ll be fine.”

“If you say so,” I said around a yawn.

Ash fiddled with the radio until he found a station playing classic rock and left the volume down.

I tried to stay awake, but the car’s gentle rocking and the warmth on both sides lulled me. My eyelids drooped in no time.

I heard whispered arguments, but I didn’t want to come up from the cocoon of warmth surrounding me. The smell of cedarwood and jasmine relaxed me, so I buried my face in the soft material beneath me, inhaling the addictive scent.

“We need to get her inside,” a voice said.

My cocoon tightened around me, and I gripped the soft material on reflex. I didn’t want it to release me either.

Fingers brushed hair from my forehead. “We’re home, Rae,” Zeke whispered.

“No,” I whined, tucking my head down, drawing my knees closer to my body. I didn’t want Zeke to take me away from the first peaceful rest I’d had since finding out Grandma had died.

Someone chuckled.

“She’s kinda cute like this,” Zeke said.

“Yeah, but why me?”

“You don’t look like you’re in a hurry to let her go, either.” Ash. I recognized his voice instantly.

“Shut up.” Cyn. “She’s the one who grabbed me.”

What? I couldn’t make sense of their words, and I hated them interfering with my rest.

“So let her go,” Ash said, a challenge in his voice.