“Is it working?”
“Yes.”
“You’re grumpy. Did somebody have a fight with her beloved tonight?” He rolled his eyes. “You two are way too intense, even apart from each other. Together, it’s like...ugh. Spare me the drama.”
I crossed my arms, refusing to rise to the demon’s bait. “It’s great how you can ignore death and mayhem so well.”
“It’s a gift.”
I shifted my gaze to look directly at him. “One acquired before or after Bishop killed you?”
That wiped the grin off his face immediately. “You really know how to bring down a fun evening. Is that your special talent? Other than the mind reading and zapping?”
“You could tell me the truth about what happened.”
His smile returned, only it was colder this time. It gave me the chills. “I could. But if there’s one thing you should know about me, Samantha, it’s that you should rarely trust anything I say.”
Only at rare moments like this did I think I was chipping past the demon’s thick armor and seeing the real James beneath it all. I found that oddly encouraging. “You called me Samantha.”
He cocked his head. “It’s your name, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. But I usually get gray-girl or sweetness.”
“Two adorable nicknames.”
“Two sarcastic slurs.”
“Potato, po-tah-to.”
And just like that, his mask of smart-ass indifference was back up. I gripped the edge of my vinyl-covered seat as the bus turned a corner. My dagger pressed against my right leg, which only served to remind me of the night Bishop visited me in my bedroom, kneeling in front of me to help strap the sheath around my bare thigh.
“I honestly have no idea what to think about you, Kraven,” I said, turning my gaze to the city streets speeding past us.
His grin widened. “Are you saying you think about me? Like...in the shower, maybe?”
I shot him a look. “You wish.”
“Where’s a genie when a guy needs one?”
I kept looking at him, trying to see past that mischievous sparkle in his eyes to the real Kraven underneath. “I’m sorry that happened to you. Really. I know how much you cared about him.”
His expression froze and something raw and pained slid behind his amber-colored eyes. “Forget it. I have.”
“Sure you have.”
I’d succeeded in making the demon stop talking to me just when I wanted him to talk. But even I knew when to stop pushing.
The bus came to a stop and I got off, favoring my ankle. I wasn’t an expert, but I didn’t think I’d hurt it as badly as I’d initially thought. It already felt better than earlier.
It surprised me that Kraven continued to follow me. I thought I’d more than outstayed my welcome with him tonight.
“Ready to talk?” I asked without turning around to look him in the face.
“You know, maybe you should focus on the problems you have right now rather than look to others’ problems as a distraction. It won’t fix what’s broken.”
He knew me a little too well. “Let me ask you a couple questions.”
He caught up to me so we walked side by side. His expression was so serious that for a moment I could really see the resemblance between him and his brother in the line of their jaw, the shape of their eyes, and along their cheekbones. It wasn’t always so obvious. “Why? Is it because you’re madly in love with him and you want to find the answers to save him, body and soul?”
His words were like a punch to my gut, hearing them spilled so carelessly out in the open. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Or maybe you want to save me.” His elusive smile returned. “Maybe ever since our little experiments started you can’t get me off your mind and you’re dying to kiss me again. You’re all—Bishop’s kind of cute for an emo angel boy, but that brother of his? Way hotter.”
I glared at him. “Who’s Kara?”
“Pass.” He kept his eyes on the sidewalk in front of us. “Next?”
“I think she must have done some spell to make him go crazy.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “Crazy. That’s a good word.”
“Was she a girlfriend?” I persisted, undeterred. “Yours or Bishop’s? What happened to her?”
“Next question,” he hissed out from between his teeth. “Or I’m leaving.”
I deflated. I didn’t doubt he’d just walk away. I’d tread on dangerous territory. But what wouldn’t be dangerous territory when it came to him and Bishop?
“Is Kraven your last name?”
“Yes.” He gave me an unpleasant grin. “See? That one wasn’t so tough.”
“You said once that you and Bishop had different fathers, which is why you have different coloring. Who was your father?”
He was silent for a few heavy moments. “A man who had a great deal of money, but wasn’t interested in claiming a bastard as his son. I took his last name anyway just to piss him off.” His lips curved to one side and there was a dim red glow to his eyes now, betraying his fluctuating emotions. “Believe me? Or do you think I’m lying? Do you think this is some sort of interesting puzzle? That solving it will help everything make sense? You’d be wrong.”
He was right about one thing. Focusing on his past helped me forget my own present, if only for a few minutes. “I’m not wrong.”