“The Pasha,” Lex murmured. “What was his name?”
“Melek Ahmed,” I said with a Turkish accent.
The men lifted their brows.
I shrugged.
“I'll look into him,” Lex said. “What about Ace? Do you remember his name in that life?”
“No. It's strange. I can see him so clearly, but I can't remember his name. I think it began with A.”
“That is odd.” Lex got up. “I'm going to research Melek Ahmed. Let me know if you remember anything else.”
“Check on that guy she's buried with too,” Cyrus said.
Lex made a face at Cyrus.
Cyrus winced. “Oh. Sorry, Salina.”
“It's fine. Eddie was sweet, but I never loved him. He was my way to a better life, that's all.”
“That epitaph was pretty intense.”
“I didn't say that I didn't care about him or that I didn't make him feel loved. I saw that as my job. He took care of me, and I took care of him.” I frowned, remembering the crypt. “I'm surprised that he brought my body back here to bury, though.”
“Why? Where were you when you died?” Lex paused in the doorway.
“Virginia. I made it a condition of our marriage.”
“A condition?”
“Yes. I wanted to leave New Orleans. I told him I'd marry him if he took me somewhere else.”
The men looked at each other, something unspoken passing between them.
At last, Cyrus said, “That's a hell of a trek to make with a body back then.”
“Well, now that I think about it, we only left because of me. Eddie had business here. It would have been easier for him to move back.”
“And he didn't want to be far from you.”
Jake grunted as if this was understandable.
I looked at him in surprise.
“It's human,” he said.
“To want to be buried with your wife, you mean?”
He nodded.
“But he had to have . . .” I trailed off, remembering the crypt with only two names on it. “Shit. He didn't remarry.” My throat closed briefly, surprising me with the rising emotion. I guess I had cared more about Eddie than I realized. I rubbed at my temple, seeing his sweet face again, remembering how kind he was. “He would have made a good father. And he was a young man when I died. Damn. Why didn't he remarry?”
“Love,” Jake said.
I met his stare and couldn't look away. These men were already mine. I knew that as much as they “knew” I was already theirs. Well, I was probably a bit more confident than they were. But love wasn't guaranteed, not in my mind. This was about magic and a deal with a god. And I had agreed to it. Wanted it. Hell, I'd been eager for this. But that was before I met Ace. Before my body started making me feel the emotions in my soul. Before I knew I could have love.
Sounds silly, I know. Especially after seeing that epitaph. I had been loved. I had probably been loved by many people and just didn't remember. But I kept meeting awful men before the good ones. It was a cycle my soul repeated—return fresh to a new life, meet a guy, fall in love, get betrayed, move on, meet another guy who may or may not have been good, and then never appreciate them because I was already soured by the first asshole. Then I died, and it started again.
