Blood of the Dead by Cassie Alexander

Author:Cassie Alexander [Alexander, Cassie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Caskara Press

Chapter Twenty-Four

Luna

We waited outside the construction site for our ride for a good ten minutes, and when they got there, Paco whammied them to ignore our appearances without a second thought. I was proud of him and was going to tell him that, then thought better of it as we sat in the back of the car together in silence.

I didn’t ask where Paco’s ride was taking us, but I knew I’d assumed right when we got off the interchange, and it pulled into Jack’s apartment complex’s lot.

“He gave me keys. He just never wanted me over,” Paco said after we got out, pausing to rate and tip the driver like any other human, then he looked at me and made a sound, like something was in him that he needed to throw up.

I grabbed his hand again. “You know why, right?” I asked, pulling him along. “Because he loved you.”

“That’s true—but it’s not helping,” he said, squeezing my hand like it was attached to a life preserver.

“I know. Come on.”

He let us in, and I fed Sugar, while Paco just stood three steps past the doorway, stunned.

“I can’t do this,” he said, when I’d circled back to him.

I caught his face between my hands. “Yeah, you can. And you will. He’d have wanted that for you. And despite your recent behavior, I don’t think that you’d turn your back on him, even if he’s gone.”

I watched fifty different emotions ride the man’s face, one by one by one. “How come you’re so good at this?” he asked as tears started to fill his eyes again.

“Because while Jack was my friend, we weren’t in love, like you were. And because I’ve done this before.” I let go of him and then stepped back. “Go shower, Paco. Everything’s better after a shower—and—when’s the last time you ate?”

I watched him run his hands through his hair, looking so much like Jack in that one moment that it hurt me. “The prior night.”

“Okay. You’ve got a little bit of time then. I’ll line someone up for you this evening while you’re down—you don’t want to go through all this on an empty stomach.” I went around behind him and softly pushed him toward the hall. He took the hint, and walked that way mechanically, before looking back.

“Why’re you being nice to me?”

“Why’re you still here?” I teased, but when he didn’t smile I told him the truth. “I don’t know what else to do.”

“Me either,” he agreed, then ducked into the bathroom, and a minute later I heard the water running.

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