At that, Ari felt her metaphorical claws come out. As if sensing her imminent attack against Nicki, Jai grabbed Ari’s arm and pulled her to him.
Luca sighed. “I am choosing my Tribe over David. I won’t have decades of hard work and a legendary reputation put at risk because of his proclivities. Jai gets his wish. David is out.”
Satisfied, Jai gave his father a brittle nod before turning to Ari. She tensed at the rawness in his expression as he told her, “We’re going to back to the house.”
Trembling, Ari nodded and stepped back into the Peripatos. When she reappeared in their kitchen, Michael was still there. He opened his mouth to speak but the flames hissed and Jai and Trey arrived. Michael took one look at Jai and sighed heavily. “It’s taken care of, I see.”
Jai’s jaw clenched and he nodded before shooting Ari an unfathomable look. He then turned his back to them and leaned against the counter, his rapid breathing slowing. Silence settled around them as they waited for him to gain control over his emotions. Finally, he turned and looked at Ari again. “What I don’t understand is why you kept this from me.”
“Jai, I just …”
“You just what?”
Trey cleared his throat. “Michael, I’ll walk you home. I’m going to meet up with the guys at the training center.”
Michael nodded, shooting Jai and Ari one last concerned look before leaving.
As soon as the front door slammed, Jai snapped. “Well?”
“Because,” Ari turned to face him, her arms crossed defensively. “I didn’t want what just happened to happen.”
“I’m supposed to be protecting you, and I couldn’t even protect you from my own brother.”
“I protected myself.”
“And then didn’t tell me!”
“Stop yelling at me!”
“How far did it get? What did he do?”
Ari sighed, her cheeks burning with
the memory. “It didn’t get far. He touched me, kissed me …”
“Touched you where?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes, it fucking matters.”
Ari blanched and stepped back.
“You’re scaring me.”
“Yeah, well, I’m scaring myself.”
He turned on his heel and marched out of the room, his hand gripping the back of his neck.
Taking a moment to control her nerves, Ari waited before following him into the sitting room. She found him standing at the fireplace, his hands braced on the mantel, head bowed. Crossing the room to him, she felt him tense as she placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. Slowly, he relaxed under her touch. “My hip, my thigh, and my neck.”
Jai stiffened when he realized she meant those were the places David had touched her. “I should have killed him.”
“No,” she whispered. “No. Not over me. For what he did to you in the past, maybe, but never over me, Jai.”
“Ari,” he turned his head and she saw his lip had already healed. Pain still seared in his eyes, though. “What he did to you, he did to me. Whatever happens to you happens to me. Don’t you get that?”
She nodded, feeling the tears prick her eyes. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you.”
Jai stood straight and pulled her roughly into his arms, his head bowed against her shoulder. “Promise you’ll never keep anything from me, no matter how much you think I won’t want to hear it.”
“I promise.” Ari gripped him tight.
“But I swear I’m okay. A little shaken up when it happened, but it hasn’t kept me up at night. I swear.”
“Good,” he murmured, his hot lips pressing soft kisses up her neck to her ear. “Did it frighten you? What I did to him?”
“A little,” she answered honestly.
“It frightened me too.” He held her even tighter.
When Ari felt him tremble, a tear spilled over her lashes. She didn’t want him to think badly of himself. She wanted him to know she understood. “Jai,” she whispered and pulled back so she could look him in the eye and he’d know she was telling the truth. “I would hunt down anyone who hurt you. I would. I don’t know what kind of person that makes me, but it’s the truth. So even if it frightened me … what you did … I get it.”
With a groan of gratitude, Jai crushed her lips beneath his.
The kiss grew quickly out of control and they stumbled together to the couch. Jai braced his body above hers, his chest heaving with emotion. “We don’t have to …”
With a soft smile, Ari sent her magic out into the room and it darkened suddenly as she closed the curtains.
“Yes, we do.” She reached for the hem of his T-shirt and helped him pull it up over his head. Quickly they undressed one another, frantic to be close, and to wipe out the violence of their morning.
6
There’s Dry Rot in This Wooden Bridge of Promises
The house seemed to ring with silence. Was that possible? Ari frowned, trying to relax in the chair in her room. Her muscles, however, refused to do her bidding, her spine ramrod straight as her whole body perched, ready to jump into action at a moment’s notice.
Yesterday, Jai had stayed by her side the whole day. He needed the reassurance of having her close, and not just because of the revelation about David’s attack. No, he needed her close because he knew that the next morning, he was going to have to leave her all alone to start this thing with Charlie. Ari appreciated him believing in her, believing that she could take care of this. She was proud of him for being able to put his differences aside with Charlie to help her try to save her friend.
Especially when Ari wasn’t sure if there was anything left to save.
She was pretty sure he was no longer the boy she’d loved. But for all they’d been to one another, she had to try …
“Are you really mad at me?”
Ari gazed up at her best friend, feeling her chest squeeze with affection at his wide, pleading eyes.
Charlie had beautiful eyes and he was using them to his advantage. Still, he had taken Macy McGuffin to their tenth-grade dance, and although it was partly her fault for not asking him when she should have (it was ladies’ choice), she was still pissed he’d said yes.
Okay, so he’d won some points dropping by her house first thing in the morning, Ari thought, leaning against her front door, but it still didn’t stop her from feeling confused and hurt. Although they hadn’t declared themselves boyfriend and girlfriend, she’d assumed that’s where they were eventually headed. But if he wanted to start dating other girls, well …
Ari shrugged. “Why would I be mad at you?” she asked lazily, not meeting his eyes.
Charlie groaned.
“You’re mad at me. You’re definitely mad at me.”
“I’m not,” she lied.
He took a step toward her. “Ari, she asked me last minute and you hadn’t, so …”
“I hadn’t so you went with Macy. That’s fair.”
“You don’t sound like you think it’s fair.”
“Of course it’s fair. I didn’t ask you so of course you’d look for another girl. We’re interchangeable.”
“Interchangeable?”
Charlie looked horrified. “No, no, Ari, no, you’re the one who didn’t ask me.”
She scowled up at him.
“Did I ask anyone else?”
His face dropped.
“Well, no.”
“And I could have.
Bobby, AJ, and Stevie B. all asked me to ask them.”
Now it was Charlie’s turn to scowl. “They did?”
; “Mmm-hmm. And I said no.”
Her best friend heaved a massive sigh. “I knew as soon as I turned up at the dance last night that I’d made a mistake. I’m really sorry, Ari.”
When he gave her those puppy dog eyes, she found it difficult to resist. “Fine,” she grumbled. “I forgive you.”
Charlie grinned with relief. “Good, because I need to ask you something.” He got down on one knee and it was then Ari realized he’d been hiding one hand behind his back.
Her eyes widened in horror. “Charlie …” If this was a marriage proposal, she was going to die. He did know they were only kids, right? And that it was kind of illegal?
He pulled his hand from behind his back and offered her a corsage in a clear box. “Ari Johnson, will you go to homecoming with me?”
Laughter burst from between her lips as she stared down at him on his bended knee. “Homecoming is next semester. It’s months away.”
“I know. I’m planning ahead so Bobby, AJ, and Stevie B. can’t beat me to the punch. So will you?” he grimaced. “A quick yes or no will work … My knee is kind of on a stone.”
Laughing hard, Ari reached out and took the corsage. She gripped Charlie’s arm and urged him to get up. “Yes, I’ll go to homecoming with you.”
Grinning a little goofily now, Charlie gripped the edges of her doorway and leaned close to her.
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
His expression suddenly changed as his eyes roamed her face. The smile left his lips and regret flashed in his dark gaze. “I’m sorry if I hurt you, Ari. I promise I’ll never hurt you, or let anyone else hurt you, ever again.”
It was not a promise Charlie had managed to keep.
The hiss of flames brought Ari’s head out of her memories and into the room. Charlie stepped out of the Peripatos beside the bottom of her bed. He was wearing faded jeans and a wrinkled T-shirt, and a lot more jewelry than he used to. He wore two silver rings, a couple of copper bracelets, and a number of chains bearing metal talismans. It was all to fuel his power. The jewel that fueled most of his power must be on him if he’d used the Peripatos, but it was hidden. Was the emerald in his pocket?