The Truth Behind Those Eyes

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Relaxing on Josh's chest, his hand toying gently with her hair, Nikki was beyond bliss. She wanted to lock the doors, forget the rest of the world and lay with him forever. This overwhelming satisfaction and contentment was a new experience for her, one she decided she could get used to. But as she allowed herself to believe that things could work out, an isolated thought swirled around in her mind. She didn't know where came from but something deep inside her told her it was true.

You will kill him. Her heart lurched in her chest.

"What are you thinking?" Josh asked quietly.

"What?" she froze, wondering how he knew anything was wrong.

"Where did that come from?" He tightened his grip. "You suddenly felt so terrified and shocked. Why?"

"What? How? How can you?" Nikki stuttered as she was bombarded with a thousand questions.

Josh locked his arms tight around her, fastening her in place. "The necklace," he reminded her. "It connects us. On the night I died they took something from me and somehow put it into that." He took the necklace between his thumb and forefinger and stroked it before laying it back against her skin. "It helps me feel you and since the kiss in the alley I've found that I'm able to, well, tune in to your emotions."

Nikki was about to laugh at the absurd notion of Josh being able to feel her emotions when she felt him shaking his head.

"It's never been like this for me before. I've never had such a strong link to anyone, but Sam assured me it's a good thing."

With the tone of his voice, Nikki knew he wasn't trying to tease her. He meant every word. She fingered the silver around her neck and tried to suppress the panic. What did this new piece of the puzzle mean? Shifting his body, Josh moved to look at her but she avoided his stare.

"What's going on? What are you afraid of?"

Nikki wanted to tell him the truth, that she was losing control of her own thoughts and she was sure she was going to hurt him but something stopped her.

"I was just thinking about the demons," she lied.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, you're perfectly safe here, we have plenty of defenses in place. They won't slip by without us knowing." She heard the smile in his voice and tried to ignore the guilt in her stomach.

"Where are we anyway?" she asked hoping to deflect the conversation away from her emotions.

"We're at Mikey's." Josh answered simply. Nikki knew he didn't want to get into the details of the location so she didn't press him.

"Who's Roxy?"

"She's Jake's guardian. They live here too. And Mikey is Will's guardian. Will spends his time between here and Sam's, they've been trying to improve his ability."

"Improve?" He had sparked her curiosity.

"Yeah. Will can hear a demons thoughts just by touching it. Doesn't seem like much but when you've got a Blood Hound pack, touching one can tell you how the rest are gonna attack. Helps us bring them down without so many casualties."

"So why has Sam been helping? Mikey's as experienced isn't he?"

"Yeah, it's not so much the Guardian as the location. Sam's place is known for passing demons."

"What? And you took me there willingly?" She said it before she could think, instantly regretting it the second the words left her mouth. "Shit, I didn't mean that, I'm sorry Josh."

He sighed, "No, you're right, but at the time I didn't see any other option. Sam's the only one who can block the dream demons so I was stuck."

"You did the right thing, I wasn't thinking, ignore me."