Veiled (Ada Palomino 1)

Just like before, in my dream, there’s a faint buzz of electricity as our palms touch and his fingers curl over mine. It sends a wave of warmth straight to my core, down between my legs.

I swallow hard, hoping he can’t sense it off of me. His gaze tells me nothing.

Then the grey dead air in front of us begins to warp and shimmer and before I know it, it feels like my head is being filled with steam and gravity has gone haywire. I’m pulled forward through a vice and . . .

Suddenly I’m back on the street in the dark, light purple-grey tinging the corners of the east. The air is warm and smells like dry grass.

And we aren’t alone. Jacob, Dex and now Perry are standing on the lawn. The moment that Perry sees me she runs forward, enveloping me in a frantic hug.

“Oh my god!” she cries out, practically flailing. “I thought I’d never see you again!”

“It’s okay,” I tell her, pulling back and trying to get her to see that I am indeed A-OK. “I’m fine. We just had a talk.”

“You took her to the fucking Thin Veil,” Perry spits out, turning to Jay. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

He exchanges a glance with Jacob who raises his arms up in a shrug.

“Sorry,” Jay says to Perry. “I assume Jacob filled you in?”

“He did,” she says sharply, her eyes boring into him. Jeez. She’s acting just as protective as Dex had been. “That doesn’t mean I trust him and I definitely don’t trust you. If you’d have been me at fifteen, you would understand why.”

“And yet your friend Maximus, the one who sacrificed his life to save you,” Jacob pipes up smoothly, “that doesn’t matter at all. Listen, love, I know your Jacob scarred you for life but one sour apple doesn’t spoil the bunch.”

“Maximus had gone rogue by then,” Perry says quietly. I know his death still wears on her conscious a lot. “He . . . he was a friend. Not a stranger. And it took a long time to trust him. In fact,” she looks over at Dex who is standing there with his arms crossed, “I’m pretty sure Maximus became a better person when he wasn’t a Jacob. When he was one, he led Dex through hell. What does that tell me? That for all your righteousness and entitlement, you’re just about as crooked as cops are, except you get to live forever.”

“Perry,” I tell her, grabbing her arm and turning her away from them. I look her square in the eyes. “I believe them. For now, anyway. Jay is just warning me, that’s all. And he took me into the thinnest part of the Veil, there’s no real transference or side effects.”

Okay, I’m making that part up but as I look to Jay he just nods.

“Now, let’s go to bed and tomorrow is another day,” Jacob reminds us in his band manager voice, like he’s trying to corral a bunch of wayward rock stars.

“Tomorrow you’re coming back with us,” Perry reminds me, pulling me toward the house.

I pull right back. “Wait. No, I’m not.”

“Ada!” she exclaims. “I’ve sensed what’s in that closet. That’s a portal in itself, straight to Hell, isn’t that right?” She looks over at Jay and Jacob.

Jacob slowly nods. “That’s what we think,” he concedes. “But as long as Jay is here, Ada will be in no danger.”

“Right. Like she’s in zero danger having the doorway to Hell in her bedroom.” She looks back at me, her eyes blazing in determination. “You’re coming with us where you will be safe.”

“There is no safe place anymore,” Jacobs says mildly, examining his fingernails like he’s utterly bored of our middle of the street, middle of the night, pajama-clad drama. “If she goes with you, you invite this into your house. And as skilled as you two seem to be when dealing with ghosts, neither of you know how to handle this. Jay does.”

Dex raises his hand in mock politeness. “Um, I’m pretty sure we sent a demon back to Hell.”

Jacob doesn’t even look up. “No. You didn’t. That was Mrs. Palomino who did that. Their mother.”

Both Perry and I flinch, his words burning despite the truth.

“And are you willing to do the same should the situation arise?” Jacob goes on, finally looking over at us, the lines deepening in his forehead. “Or perhaps it would be best not to test it and put anyone in any danger. Ada should stay here. Jay will take care of her as it’s his duty and I’m here as well.”

“Micromanaging?” I question.

“Overseeing,” he says with a quick smile. “Of course, Ada, the choice is yours. You’re capable of making your own decisions regardless what we say or your family says.”

“I’ll sleep on it,” I say dryly, though with the sun rising slowly in the distance, I know there won’t be any more sleep for me. Not that I could have possibly fallen asleep anyway after all that. I also know deep down I’m not going to Seattle with Perry and Dex.