“Yeah, but there are jinn who live a long time?”
“Yes.”
“How old was your mom?”
Jai’s expression tightened and Ari immediately regretted the question. “I don’t know. But her kind have been known to live for hundreds of years.”
“Okay. So besides the possible extended lifetime, you live a normal human life? You what? You have an apartment in L.A.? A life? A car? A girlfriend?” she threw in.
“Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. None of your business.”
Ari grunted. “You’re so easy to get to know, Jai.”
“I know, I’m an open book,” he muttered dryly.
“Ugh!”
He exhaled wearily, his head dropping with a groan. “Ari—”
The phone rang beside her, interrupting him. Ari hoped it was Charlie. Yet, as the voice on the other end of the line explained who they were and why they were calling, she felt the room tilt a little as she forgot to breathe.
“I’ll be right there,” she replied hoarsely and dropped the phone without hanging up.
Jai’s concerned face hovered above hers. “Ari, you okay? What’s happened?”
Ari blinked, feeling nauseous. The sounds of sirens on the television made her head pound and the flicker of blue across the living room walls from the screen disorientated her. As if he had read her mind, Jai reached for the remote and switched off the television.
“Ari?”
“It’s my dad,” she told him, standing up on shaky legs. She fumbled for her phone and searched for her shoes and keys. “He collapsed at the office. He’s in the hospital.”
Jai cursed, snatching her keys up from the windowsill. “I’ll drive.”
In the car, Ari called Charlie and was thankful that this time he picked up. He promised to meet her at the hospital and she felt better just hearing his voice. As Jai drove them through town, Ari tried not to hyperventilate. They said he’d collapsed. Was it a heart attack? A stroke? A terrible flu virus? As her mind wandered into the morbid, she started berating herself for the way she’d acted over the last few days. She’d blamed her dad for her real father’s crimes, and that was unfair. What if something awful happened to her dad and the last thing she ever said was how disappointed he was in her? That could not be their last conversation.
The rough and hot touch of Jai’s hand jolted her out of her dark thoughts as he reached over and thread his fingers through hers. He squeezed her hand. “Stop,” he said quietly. “Stop beating yourself up.”
Ari squeezed his hand in return. The entire moment was surreal. “Can you read my mind or something?”
“No. I just know what you’re thinking.”
“How?”
He smiled sadly, an unfamiliar expression for Jai. It tugged at something in her chest, and she gripped his hand even harder. She felt warm, safe even, as his fingers flexed and tightened around hers. “Spending 24/7 with someone gives you some insight into their thought process. He’s going to be alright, Ari. He’ll be alright and you and he can sort out all of your problems.”
God, she hoped so.
Any hope Jai had given her evaporated when the doctor led them to her dad’s room in the ICU.
Her dad had fallen into a coma and the doctors couldn’t determine the cause. They were doing several tests, but for now he was stable.
That was it?
Ari felt like screaming. The pale blue room seemed to tilt as Jai led her into her dad’s room. Her dad was a tall man, but lying there in that cold, white bed, he seemed smaller somehow. His skin was a horrible ashen gray, and there were purplish dark circles under his eyes. The skin on his arms seemed papery and translucent. Even his hair looked thinner and lank. A sob caught in the back of Ari’s throat as the doctor left them alone. She took hold of her dad’s hand, hoping that would magically awaken him. It didn’t. His touch felt cold and empty. Ari never used to believe in stuff like auras but standing there looking down at him, it was as if she could feel him dying. There was no vibrancy; very little life pulsed from him and she gasped, feeling breathless. She gulped for air, tucking her head into her chest, and she ignored Jai’s comforting hand on her back. He coached her in his hoarse voice to breathe.
“Where is he?” she whispered. “He’s not in there, Jai. What’s going on?”
“Ari… this is… this is jinn enchantment.”
“What?” she gaped up at him.
He nodded grimly. “Jinn did this to him.”
The door of the hospital room squeaked open and Ari looked over her shoulder. Charlie strode in, his hair askew, his face pale. “What kind of jinn?” he asked fiercely, looking from her to her dad on the bed.
She was so relieved to see him, so grateful to him for coming when she knew he hated hospitals. He hated the walls and the smell and the squeak of linoleum under foot. All because of Mike. Without thinking, Ari flew at him, throwing her arms around his waist and crushing herself against him. Charlie’s arms encircled her, holding her fast, his lips pressed to her hair. Wanting to immerse herself in him, Ari inhaled a lungful of him and then promptly pulled back, frowning. He smelled like a bar.