The Second Sign (11 page)

“Max?”

“Yeah.” She gestured to the phone. “I thought you
were him.”

Jake looked at his watch. “Do you think you have
time? I want to show you something.” He led her gaze to a
motorcycle parked on the road.

“You want me to go with you on that?” She wanted to
sound horrified. Like how could he think she was so easy to go
speeding with him while she was still nursing her wounds? But she
really wanted to go with him. And it came through in her voice.

His smile did nothing to lessen her resolve.

She shrugged. “Okay, let’s go. Let me put on my
boots.”

She ran back into the house and came back wearing
her Doc Marten’s.

A look of admiration or awe fell on his face.

“You’re not the only one who rides. My brother has a
bike. He’ll kill you if he finds me on yours.” She walked up to his
bike and stopped, turning to him as he slowly made his way behind
her. “Let’s hope we get back before he does.”

She loved that she could tell a good lie.

Jake straddled the bike, pitching it to life with a
thunderous roar. Gabby got on behind him, and her heart wouldn’t
slow, not even a little. She tried not to lean on him, but the
first thrust gave her no other choice.

The bike was loud but the wind even louder. The
night rushed around them, and Gabby closed her eyes when they began
to water, loving the feel of the bike under her and Jake in front
of her. It was too perfect. She half expected them to go sliding
off the mountain at any moment. Slowing the bike, he sat straighter
and took her hand in his, pressing it against his chest. His warmth
made her cold. But what she didn’t expect were the shadows that
edged along her mind from the contact with his hands. Usually,
she’d get jolted with images she couldn’t sort, or feelings that
overwhelmed her whenever she felt other people’s impressions. With
Jake at the beach, she got nothing and had shrugged it off as an
anomaly. It happened with Pat, but he was a Fallen. But now, Jake’s
shadows played on the edge of existence. It was as if he were
blocking her from his impressions, which was impossible.

Unless he wasn’t human.

She pulled her hand away from him. “Are we almost
there?” she shouted over the wind.

“A couple more miles.” He stiffened, leaned forward,
and drove faster.

Gabby regretted the interruption. She cursed herself
for not wearing gloves. It was one of the reasons why she stayed
away from others. A bump here or a touch there didn’t fill her with
visions, but hands usually explored, lingered on the flesh longer,
making the impressions stronger, not easy to ignore. But she hadn’t
expected Jake.

He pulled the bike over, kicked the stand out, and
killed the engine. Using him as leverage, she got off and handed
him her helmet.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, sliding off the bike and
clasping both helmets to the handlebars.

She tightened her lips and scanned his face. His
green eyes bore into her, his face drawn tight as if fearing her
answer. She wanted to start over, but knew that would be lame.

She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m sorry. I told you,
I don’t do well with people.” But his smile broadened, and she
wanted to pinch him. “You’re a nerd, you know that?” she asked.

“I’ve been called worse.”

“That doesn’t inspire confidence, especially since I
let you bring me out to the middle of nowhere.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Ha! The last words of a dying man.” She folded her
arms across her chest.

Not moving, he gave her a look. Not sure what to
make of the look, she found the thought of losing herself in the
thicket with him appealing.

“Just say yes. Besides, I’m pretty sure you can
outrun me.”

“And kick your ass, don’t forget about that one.”
She cocked a brow at him.

“And even in that beautiful dress.” He motioned to
her dress, and she felt hotter than the inside of a hot air
balloon.

“Okay.”

He turned into the thicket, and she followed him
down the slope. She’d never prayed, not to anyone other than Max
anyway. There were perks inherent in having an angel as a brother,
but she felt a small prayer on the edge of her lips. A prayer to
keep her heart.

“So tell me again, why am I following you to the
edge of a cliff?” Subtlety wasn't her style.

He stopped abruptly and she slammed into him, but
this time gravity took over and he was scrambling down the slope,
fast.
No.
This couldn't be happening. Lifting up her dress,
she ran down the slope. She could see every jutted rock on the
ground, every tangle of brush, and the rushing cliff waiting to
meet them.

“Shit. Shit. Shit,” Jake cursed, trying not to fall
on his ass, scrambling to get a hold of a branch, an outstretch
limb that to Gabby seemed to move away from him.

Fuck it.
She lunged at him at an angle, so
instead of dropping past the edge of the cliff, they skidded
sideways to a narrow clearing and fell in a tangled heap. They
rolled once and came to a stop with him on top of her, cradling her
head, his arms under her waist, drawing her close.

His chest was against hers, and she could feel the
pounding of his heart. He was human. He had to be.

“You saved my life,” he whispered.

For a brief moment everything grew quiet. The sounds
of the forest receded. Nothing mattered but him. And then he leaned
in and kissed her.

A bolt of energy coursed through her. She opened her
mouth to him, feeling the heat of him, his tongue rimming her lips.
Unable to deny him, she dug her hands in his hair, pressing him
harder. She wanted him, needed to feed off of his heat, his energy,
his passion. He pulled away and trailed his finger along the hollow
of her neck, his eyes taking in all of her, breathing her in.
Steady vibrations coursed through her, from the tips of her fingers
to the pit of her stomach.

His finger slid along her chin, her face, and into
her hair. Her breathing calmed, and she felt her insides tense. His
dark hair fell in loose curls around his perfect face, his green
eyes seemed to sparkle in the waning light, and his perfect body
pressed her into the ground.

“You better get off me before I suffocate,” she
said, though her lack of breathing didn't have anything to do with
his weight. He stood up and took her hand, helping her on her feet.
She smoothed out her dress which was now a mess.

“Thanks,” he said.

“For what?”

“Saving my life.”

She almost laughed out loud. It wasn't her job to
save lives, that was Max's job. But she found she couldn't move—
she couldn't speak.

“This is the part where you say you're welcome,” he
added.

“Yeah, um, it didn't really dawn on me that I was
saving your life.” Yeah, that went well. “I mean, yeah, I woulda,
but...” Jumping off the cliff seemed easier than this.

His lips curled into a smile. He so knew he was
getting to her. She was glad when he turned and took a few steps to
the cliff edge. Gabby followed. The view was breathtaking. They
were above the river. The waves crashed against the cliff. The
spray of water hung thick in the air. It felt clean.

“It's beautiful,” Gabby managed.

“I'm jumping it tomorrow.”

A Warning

The expression on Gabby’s face was priceless. Jake
would've taken a snapshot if he’d been quick enough with his
phone.

“What?” she asked.

He scratched his chin, leaned over the cliff, and
examined the landscape. The river lay beyond a seven hundred foot
drop, where the land met the water in a shape of a steep bowl. “I'm
jumping off of it.”

She shook her head. “You're nuts!”

“It's called base jumping. I jump with a chute and
glide the river.”

Still shaking her head, she opened her mouth to say
something, but then closed it.

Not the reaction he expected and it pulled on his
heartstrings. She cared about him. Leaning into her, he planted a
deep kiss on her soft lips. The need to have her dug deep into his
core. Though he didn’t know what that meant. Allowing him to kiss
her, to hold her meant he had her. What more could he want? That
question seared his mind like hot glue, burning and clinging into
his conscious mind. She had allowed him into her life. The kiss was
the first of many, and he had no intention of letting her go.
Ever.

Her eyes glazed, then slowly focused on his as she
pulled away from him. It took her a moment to finally respond to
him. “You're nuts! This is why you brought me here? To be witness
to your insanity!” At risk of exploding into ash, she turned and
stormed up the slope.

A laugh escaped him, unable to stop it. “I wanted
you to see it.” He followed her.

She spun around and he got a whiff of earth and
vanilla. “Why?” she asked, her brow furrowed.

He had to restrain himself from pulling her into his
arms again. That was a good question. He shrugged. Why was he so
challenged with her? He was usually the cool one. He had style. Why
then did he find himself searching for her? It had to be the
hard-to-get thing. He couldn't get her. She seemed like she wanted
to be with him, but then she'd push him away. He knew about the
touch aversion thing. But they seemed to be past that already.

She gave him a sideways glance as if trying to
figure him out, took a deep breath that seemed to calm her, before
she spoke. “You don't understand, Jake.”

He stiffened at the way she said his name, almost
forced.

“Things tend to happen, especially around the date
of my birth.”

“You mean the death.” After Alexi had clued him in
on the death thing, he’d looked it up online at the library.

Something in Gabby’s face slipped, as if her muscles
went lax, and her shoulders hung over. She seemed ready to fold in
on herself.

“Alexi mentioned—” He knew right away that he bombed
by mentioning Alexi's name. She ran up the slope away from him.

“Let me explain!” He struggled to keep up. Even in
boots she was fast.

Before she managed to break out of reach, he lunged
at her, grabbed her ankle, and pulled. A sharp cry before she hit
the ground forced him to focus. Don’t lose it. But he'd face the
consequences later.

She tried to kick him with her free leg, but
anticipating that reaction, he pulled her down again, pinning her
to the ground with his weight, and trapping her arms to her
sides.

“Would you stop and let me explain?” Jake was much
larger and heavier than her, despite her thrashing under him.
Though he knew that all he had to do was give her some slack and
she'd be all over him. But he couldn’t let her go. He needed her to
understand. It was why he had brought her up here.

“Let me go,” she finally whispered, her breathing
contained, and her violet eyes glossy.

“I'm sorry. Gabby, please.” What could he say? Sorry
for looking up your life? Sorry for bringing you here? Sorry for
throwing you on the floor and pinning you so you had to listen?
Listen to what exactly? In reality, he wasn’t sorry. “You know
what, I take it back. I'm not sorry.”

Something changed in her eyes. They grew darker,
almost black. A million tiny needles inched up his flesh. But he
couldn't let her go. She’d take the air with her, leaving him to
suffocate. That or she was going to knock his lights out.

“I want you here because I want you to be part of
this.”
Part of me
, he wanted to add. Everything came out so
wrong, especially with her pinned under him. He shook his head. Her
eyes widened. “I...I don't know what it is. I can't explain it.”
Knowing that she would probably kick his ass, he rolled off of her
fast, stood up, and took a step back.

With her arm crossed over her eyes, he couldn’t see
her face. And the feeling to hightail it out of there or reach out
and comfort her was equally strong enough to leave him utterly
baffled.

“Are you going to help me up?”

The sound of her voice pulled him out of thought.
Leaving her wasn’t an option. Not a real one he could ever
entertain. Stepping forward, he reached out his hand, still not
sure what she planned to do to him.

She stood up, dusted herself off, and shoved him
back hard enough that he fell on his backside. “Just because you're
bigger than me, don't think I can't beat your ass,” she said on the
way up to the street.

He bounced back up and smirked.

Leaning on the barrier near the road, Gabby folded
her arms in front of her, scratches on her knees from the fall
visible just beneath the hem of her dress. She wiped her eyes, a
tear probably, before turning to look at him. “What did she tell
you, before you kissed her?”

He clenched his teeth before letting out a breath.
She’d never let him live that down. It would hover over them like a
veil and it stung. “She told me about a fire that led to some kid
dying on your birthday.”

She looked away from him. “His name was Kyle,” she
whispered, her eyes distant.

Stopping close enough to touch her, he trailed his
fingers along her cheek, gently guiding her to look at him. She
didn't fight him. “What happened?”

“I've known you for two minutes and you expect me to
what? Open up and tell you my dirty little secrets?”

He arched a brow.

She let out a long breath. “I don’t know how the
fire started. I…I didn’t run out with him. I should have, but I
didn’t. And the smoke came so fast that I lost my way. I remember
the floorboards giving and I was sinking when Kyle came back for
me. He lifted me up and tossed me out a window.” Her eyes fell to
the ground. “He didn’t make it out.”

He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the top of
her head. “Nothing’s going to happen this time.”

With the itch he had to jump off the cliff, he hoped
he wasn’t lying. Being around her set him on edge, not to mention
the pain that lurked in his chest, shooting pinpricks along his
flesh every time he was near her. But he couldn’t see himself
without her. The thought left him desperate, almost as if their
lives were intertwined, connected in some way he couldn’t
understand. It hurt and felt good at the same time.