“Harsh,” Hex teases, his hand on his chest in feigned agony. “But I already told Vella I was going to take you for a walk because you wanted to discuss a possible wedding gift for Enzo. Since you can’t leave the property, but I can, we need to conspire on what I should bring back.” He winks.
“She bought your bullshit?”
Hex shrugs again. “Doubt it. But I don’t see anyone pointing their rifles at us either.”
“Fair point.” I laugh. “So, why did you bring me out here, Hex? What is it you want?”
We make it halfway down the trail where the trees cover the path before I ask, “Level with me. You knew my brother was still alive and hinted about my meeting Death and embracing him. Is this what you saw? That night at the party, did you know Enzo and I would get married?”
Hex smiles. “No. I don’t see everything. Sometimes I see fragments, other times I hear a voice. Each person is different. Each spirit chooses how it wishes to reveal things to me.”
“How does it work? Is it real?”
Hex turns to me wearing a smug smirk. “You tell me.”
“I mean, the costume could’ve been a coincidence. For all I know, you told Enzo who I was and …” I pause. “Did you tell Enzo about me?”
“Yes and no,” he says. We stop on the path, and Hex turns to face me. “When Enzo came to see me with his sister, the Spirits told him who he would find and what he needed to do. I didn’t know it was you at the time, but when I saw your costume at the Halloween party, and the murderous way he was looking at everyone who even looked at you that night, I put two and two together.”
“The Halloween party?” I think back to that night. Enzo and I had never had an encounter, other than the night I watched him perform a scene with a woman in a glass box. I hadn’t actually met him yet. “He knew then that I was … whatever I’m about to be? He was stalking me then?”
“Oh, I don’t know about stalking, but he damn sure laid his claim. Although I don’t think he knew who you were to him at that point.” Hex slides his finger under the black skull bracelet I got from The Mansion. The one I’ve been wearing since Halloween. “I guess you didn’t know who he was to you either, huh?”
“Hex, you’re not making any sense.” I complain. “What do you mean, who I am to him?”
“You are the devil to his death.” Hex says as if it’s the simplest explanation in the world. “And this,” he tugs my bracelet. “Was his way of laying claim at the club. A collar of sorts.”
“What?”
Hex laughs at my surprise.
He laid his claim before he knew who I was. It’s never been about the family for him. Not until they thought I was a traitor.
But that doesn’t mean he loves me.
But it’s a start. He cares.
“I didn’t see it when I read your fortunes, but after seeing you both on Halloween, and how obsessed Enzo was with you, things sort of clicked into place. I never thought Enzo would settle down or find a woman who could not only match his psycho ass but would embrace it.” He chuckles. “But I think you’re up for the job.”
“I don’t even know if I want the job.” We start walking. My chest twists inside, and my shoulders feel heavy with the weight of the lie.
Yes, you do.
“Let me tell you something few people know about Enzo.” Hex’s tone takes on a serious note. “His mother tells me he doesn’t think he deserves love or knows how to show it.”
“Hex, Enzo’s mother is dead.” Hex tilts his head and cocks his brow, an expression that says I should know better as he crosses his arms.
Smug bastard.
“I have only seen Enzo this possessive with one other person in his life.” Jealousy has me seeing red. My stomach feels sick, and the need to draw blood courses through my veins at the mention of an old lover.
“Giselle.” Hex shakes his head in disbelief. “He’s only ever this way with Giselle.” He chuckles. “You are a vicious little thing, aren’t you?”
I drop my eyes to the ground, embarrassed.
Tipping my chin with his fingers, Hex forces our eyes to meet. “He genuinely cares about you. You know that, don’t you?”
“Caring for someone isn’t the same as loving them.”
