Eden (16 page)

“
Go away,
Jared.”

“
It’s Claire.”

“
I don’t want to talk to
you, either.”

Claire, being Claire, walked in
anyway. She sat on the bed next to me, crossing her arms. She sat
silent for the longest time, and finally took a breath.

“
I get it, you know. They
don’t tell me nonessential information, either. It’s
crap.”

“
It’s demeaning is what it
is.” I frowned in her general direction. “I’m his wife. I
understand I’ve been the token human that doesn’t understand the
rules of the universe, but for the love of all things holy. I know
enough by now. He should trust me.”

“
It’s not that he doesn’t
trust you. He tries to keep your life as normal as possible. He
knows how important that is to you.”

“
It’s a moot point these
days, wouldn’t you agree?”

“
I would, but I don’t love
you like he does.”

My mouth pulled to the side. She was
fighting dirty. Jared loved me, and at times let that fact cloud
his judgment. It was impossible to stay angry at him for it. Jared
keeping Grant a secret from me defied logic. It simply didn’t make
sense.

“
He should have a good
reason for keeping things from me, and he doesn’t have
one.”

“
It’s a very human reason,
actually.”

“
Enlighten me.”

“
Grant’s been in love with
you for ages. Why do you think Jack was constantly pushing him in
your direction?”

“
That doesn’t make sense,
either. Jack didn’t want me with Jared because of the prophecy. He
definitely wouldn’t want me with an Arch.”

Claire raised an eyebrow, and the same
side of her mouth turned up. “What do teenage girls do when their
parents tell them not to do something?” Claire said. “If Jack told
you to stay away from Grant, you would have run straight for
him.”

“
Ick,” I said. “No one’s
that stubborn.”

“
You are.”

I sighed. “Why didn’t Jack use the
same logic with Jared?”

“
He didn’t have to. He
forced Jared to stay out of sight. That solved the problem. Grant
didn’t take orders from Jack.”

“
Oh, yes, he did. I saw it
on many occasions.”

“
You saw what they wanted
you to see.”

“
Still doesn’t explain why
he kept it from me,” I huffed.

“
Jared might seem divinely
perfect, but he’s human, too, Nina. He can make decisions based on
the fear of losing you to someone else just like any other insecure
boyfriend. It hasn’t been the first time.”

“
He’s not my boyfriend any
more.”

“
Once he waited to tell
you, it was something he’d kept from you. It was already too late,
wasn’t it?”

“
I suppose you’re
right.”

“
Of course I am,” Claire
said, pulling me to my feet. She slapped my backside. “Now go kiss
and make up with your husband who is more than likely kicking
himself right now.”

I walked to the door, hesitated, and
then finally pulled it open. Jared stood in the hallway, his hands
in his pockets.

I crossed my arms. “You look like you
lost your best friend.”

“
Did I?” he asked,
miserable.

My shoulders fell.

“
I’m sorry,” he said. “I
swear that’s everything. You know everything else.”

“
I think I’ve heard that
before,” I said, walking to him until I was just inches
away.

Jared touched each side of my stomach
and looked down, his eyes dark with worry and guilt. I wrapped my
arms around his neck and touched my cheek to his. We stood silently
for a long while in that embrace. Holding him felt just as good if
not better than the first time. The electricity was still there,
and I had the same desperate need to be closer to him. He smelled
just as amazing, and his skin was still as soft. Too many months
had passed since we took a moment to ourselves just to hold each
other. I tried to be present in that moment and be aware of
everything possible. We would leave in eight days, facing the fight
of our lives. I didn’t know when this moment would happen
again.

His hand slipped to my lower back, and
he pulled me closer. I lifted my chin, and his lips touched mine. I
dug my fingers into the skin of his arms, and then deeper into the
muscle. His tongue slipped into my mouth, but then he pulled
away.

“
Ahem,” Ryan
said.

I turned to see the source of the
interruption standing next to Claire at the top of the
stairs.

“
Figures,” Jared
grumbled.

We returned downstairs together,
joining Bex and Lillian in the foyer. I hugged my mother-in-law
goodbye, smiling when her enthusiastic hug became a bit too
tight.

“
I love you,” she said,
kissing my hair. She looked to Jared. “Be good to each other.”
Jared nodded, and she waved goodbye.

I walked into the dining room, and
Jared, Claire, and Ryan followed.

Ryan and Claire began clearing the
table. Ryan smiled and elbowed her. “Your mom loves me.”

“
She loves everyone,”
Claire sneered. “You’re not special.”

“
You don’t love everyone.
I’d say that makes me pretty special…since you do.”

Claire glanced at Jared and me,
clearly embarrassed. “You wish!”

“
Just say it,” Ryan
said.

“
Stop telling me what to
do,” Claire snapped back.

He crossed his arms. “It’s because I’m
human, isn’t it?”

Claire’s eyes narrowed.
“Seriously? It
is
possible that I just don’t like you.”

“
Me?” Ryan said, pointing
to his chest. “Nah,” he said, dismissing her suggestion. “You’re a
strong woman. I get it. Not many can handle it that their girl
could kick their ass. Even fewer soldiers, and even
fewer
Special Forces
guys. But I get it, and I can keep up with you more than anyone
else could. I’ve had training…and we’ve pretty much been told by
the Creator of the Universe that we have to spend all of our time
together. How much proof do you need?”

Claire turned and swiped her leg under
Ryan’s feet, throwing him to the ground, flat on his back. “First
of all, you can’t keep up with me. Second of all—”

Ryan kicked forward, and then leapt to
his feet. Claire crouched in a defensive position. Ryan smiled at
her reaction. “I can keep up with you.”

“
I doubt that.”

“
Try me. If I can’t, I’ll
leave you alone.”

Claire looked at Ryan from under her
brow. Her ice-blue eyes turned murderous, but under them was a
mischievous smile.

I frowned. “This is a terrible
idea.”

“
Too late now,” Claire
said.

She bent her knee and shoved her boot
into Ryan’s stomach. He flew across the room and flattened against
the wall, falling to the ground. He stumbled to his feet and sucked
in a few times, the air knocked out of him.

I cringed. “At least she’s not wearing
stilettos.”

Ryan shot an annoyed look my way, and
then coughed a few times. He stood on wobbly knees and lifted his
hands, palm-out to Claire. “You should know by now that I don’t
give up.”

Claire grinned with devilish intent.
“I’m going to enjoy this.”

“
Not as much as me,” Jared
said. I glared at him, and he shrugged. “What?”

Claire attacked, and Ryan turned. With
a different adversary, he would have turned at the precise time to
avoid a landed punch, but Claire was faster than the supernaturally
fast—and she preferred kicking.

Claire spun around, her heel making
contact with Ryan’s backside. He was shoved forward a few steps,
and then turned and punched. His hand met the drywall, and it
cracked in several pieces around his fist.

“
He better know how to fix
that,” I grumbled.

Claire leaned forward and elbowed the
back of his head. Ryan spun around, wrapping his arms around her
waist at the same time. He charged forward, and they both crashed
into the table.

“
C’mon!” I yelled, seeing
my mother’s imported English dining table in pieces.

Immediately on her feet, Claire
grabbed two fistfuls of Ryan’s shirt and tossed him into the
foyer.

“
I love it when you play
rough!” Ryan yelled from the other room.

Claire wiped her bloodied lip and
licked the crimson liquid from her fingers. “You haven’t seen rough
yet.” She disappeared through the doorway, and I winced when Ryan
cried out.

“
That’s fighting dirty!”
he yelled, crying out again.

“
We’d better get in there
and supervise,” Jared said, pulling me into the next
room.

Claire held Ryan upside down by his
ankle, feigning sympathy as he swiped at her to no avail. He
scanned the room and then arched his back, lifting a solid wood
statue from the floor, hammering Claire’s knee just after getting
his hands on it.

She was knocked to the ground, and
Ryan fell on his head with a crack. When he stood, a thin line of
red streamed from his hairline. “It was worth it,” he said, running
at Claire.

She flipped backward, and then drew
her side arm.

“
Not funny,” Jared
warned.

The gun fired, and Ryan jerked,
covering his head with one hand, his crotch with the other. The
bullet lodged into the wall—right through the center of Cynthia’s
prized original Renoir.

“
I think…I think I’m going
to pass out,” I said, feeling woozy. Jared obliged when I hooked my
arm around his.

“
Should I stop them?”
Jared said.

“
They won’t stop until
they’re finished being CHILDISH!” I said. “Take it
outside!”

Ryan pointed at Claire. “You…you just
shot at me!”

Claire rolled her eyes. “You’re such a
baby. That wasn’t even close.”

“
The bullet blew
air
by my
eyeball
!” he said,
dramatically pointing to his eye.

“
Fine,” she said in a
huff. “I’ll put it away so you don’t pee your pants, big Special
Forces man.”

Ryan relaxed and stood up straight,
and then charged her again. Claire rolled her eyes and grabbed him
by the throat, stopping him in his tracks. “All you do is run at
me. I’m bored.”

Ryan took a swipe at her, making
strange hacking noises.

I walked over to them, glaring at
Ryan, and then at Claire. “He’s turning blue.”

Claire raised her other fist like she
was going to punch him, but then turned it over, casually picking
at her nails.

“
Claire,” Jared
growled.

She looked at Ryan and narrowed her
eyes. “Tap out.”

Ryan struggled to make a noise. “No,”
he choked. His eyes fluttered as he lost consciousness.

I frowned. “Okay, that’s enough.
Jared, please make her stop.”

Jared took a step, and Claire pointed
at him. “Jared Gabriel, don’t you dare.”

“
Claire—” he began, but
she held her hand palm-out to her brother.

I glanced at Ryan and then back at
her. “It’s not funny anymore.”

“
I don’t know,” she said.
“It’s kinda funny.”

I grabbed Claire’s wrist with one hand
and wrapped my arm around Ryan with the other. It was futile, but I
hoped Claire would snap out of her rage and realize what she was
doing. As if it were nothing, they separated.

“
Thank you,” I said,
helping Ryan to the floor. “Ry,” I said, patting his cheek. “Deep
breaths.” I looked up at Claire to send her a look of disapproval,
but her expression took me off guard. “What?”

“
I didn’t let go,” she
said, stunned.

Jared’s eyes darted between the three
of us. “What do you mean you didn’t let go?”

Claire’s eyes widened. “She pulled me
off him.”

“
This isn’t the time for
jokes,” I said. “You went too far.”

Claire shook her head. “How did you do
that?”

She was serious. I had pulled Ryan
from her grip without effort. I had barely tensed, thinking Claire
had simply decided to let go. “I…I don’t…know,” I said. I waited
for Jared to offer an answer, but he stood speechless.

Ryan stirred. “Did I win?”

Claire frowned. “Of course not,
stupid. ‘Did I win’,” she said, mocking Ryan’s deep voice. She
rolled her eyes, and then her face brightened. “Stand up,
Nina.”

“
Why?”

“
Just do it.”

I stood, and Claire took a defensive
crouch. In the next moment, Jared was between us. “You have lost
your mind!”

“
Just one time!” Claire
begged. “I bet it won’t even hurt her!”