I wasn’t going to ask them. They didn’t need to be thinking about their dead skin. I really shouldn’t be going there in my own head either. It was yucky. Gross. It was like each day, I had to get a little more used to things that might have made me gag just weeks earlier. Blood in general had never been something I’d been all that comfortable around. Now I’d been bit by a bloodsucker, yet it was the least concerning thing I had going on at the moment.
“Time to get changed.” Rowan rocked back on his heels. “Maci, can you give us a minute?” He stroked his thumb down my cheek. “Don’t be hurt. Just a minute. It’s easier if we all just get it done.”
“Oh!” It hadn’t occurred to me, but they’d all have to change in the bathroom if I stayed, because they weren’t going to get fully naked with me in the room. “Of course. Sorry.”
Tanner shook his head. “Don’t be sorry. If we had more time, maybe that would be something that would have happened.”
“In smaller doses.” Griffin laughed. “I was so not going to have sex with her with all of your asses watching.”
I balked at them. This was new. A touch of this kind of talk right before the end. I grinned at them. “What makes you think I’d be into the group thing?”
“Maybe we know your kinks better than you do?” Ace winked at me. “And yes, I just said that. Ugh. Sorry. Being ridiculous.”
I tapped his arm as I passed by him. “It was funny. It’s just not a funny night.”
“It can be.” Caesar grinned. “Seems like the perfect time for the dark kind.”
“Well…let me know if you come up with any jokes.” I went into the hall and leaned against the wall.Okay. I can do this. They were setting the tone for how it would go, and I had to follow suit. It wasn’tmydeath day. Or maybe it was? I hadn’t really let myself consider the idea they could kill me tonight too.
But I supposed they could. Rowan said they wouldn’t because he wouldn’t let them, but he would be dead.
I rubbed my eyes. He said to trust him. What did that mean at this point?
If things went askew, I was getting away. He’d understand. Or at leastthisversion of him would.
They all would.
Minutes seemed to drag, but I didn’t move from my spot. Where would I go? That was the overall question for both now and later. I’d grab Ace’s car and go… That’s where I drew the blank.
No fucking idea.
“Hey.” Caesar leaned against the door. “Come on back in.”
He was wearing a blazer over his jeans and a black T-shirt. I followed him back inside. They were all dressed that way, the same black blazers over the rest of their outfits. White T-shirt on Tanner, red on Rowan. Light blue on Griffin. Ace matched Caesar—black on black.
“You guys look so nice. I didn’t know it was a dress-up thing.” I wished I hadn’t spoken the second I did. That was pretty much the stupidest thing to say ever.
Tanner pulled me into a hug. “Thank you, Maci.”
I took a deep breath, bringing the scent of Tanner into my senses. He was clean, and he always had the aroma of cinnamon on him. I’d no sooner thought that than I got passed to Caesar. It startled me, but I hugged him back.
He kissed the edge of my neck. “Miss me sometimes, but not all of the time. Okay?”
Tears flooded my eyes, but I didn’t get to cry, because it was Ace’s turn to hold me. “I swear it would have been the best date ever, but I liked the few minutes we got.”
“I…” Whatever I would have said, I didn’t get to finish, because Griffin was there.
He stared into my eyes before he smoothed the hair off my forehead. “So we agreed, past lives, right? That means we’ll get to do this again sometime. In some life when I won’t have to die at eighteen. You’ll get to have this life, live to be an old woman, have eight kids or some shit. And then the next go-round, we’ll be on a path that keeps us together. That’s how it works.”
Was it?“Griffin…”
“Sorry, I have to have my hug.” Rowan gave me a strong embrace. “I don’t have enough time to let you answer what Griff just said, or for any of us to digest it really. We have to go now. You need to come, and you need to stand behind me. The whole time. Okay? Until I get in the coffin, you have to stay behind me. Promise me?”
It didn’t seem a hard thing to agree to. “Sure.” I was certainly not looking to be out front.
“Guys… I… This was the best…”
“Don’t,” Rowan whispered in my ear. “Thank you for talking to us. This was not the way I’d pictured the last week of our lives. It was so much better.”