“Ican’t,” I say, my voice cracking.
“Do you…not want me?” I can hear the effort it takes for him to keep his voice level. “If that’s the case, just tell me. I’ll leave you alone, I promise. I’ll never bring it up again.”
Lie to him,a voice whispers inside me. Probably my common sense. But I can’t bear to. “I do want you, Donovan. The way youfelt in the elevator—I felt the same. Except for the part where I thought you were a total dick. But the pinning and the ravaging, check and check.”
He sucks in a sharp breath. “You’re killing me. Thenwhy?”
“Trust me on this one.” I stumble backward from him, sinking down onto the gazebo’s built-in bench. The wind gusts, bringing with it the scents of cotton candy and popcorn, but this time I don’t feel nostalgic for the few good moments of my childhood. This time, all I smell is loss. “Believe me when I tell you you’re better off without me, Donovan. Please.”
“Shouldn’t that be my choice?”
Gah. In desperation, I fumble in my purse and pull out the piece of paper with the symbol scrawled on it. Maybe if I show it to him and he reveals his true colors—assuming that there are any true colors to reveal—then all of this will get a hell of a lot easier. “Do you recognize this?” I say, holding it up.
He bends closer to take a look, his expression pure puzzlement. “No. Should I? What does this have to do with us?”
If there’s one thing my upbringing instilled in me, it’s the ability to tell when someone’s lying. Donovan is telling the truth. Which doesn’t mean he’s not connected to my parents’ deaths, but it does take one variable off the table. “Forget it,” I say, stuffing it back into my purse.
“I’m not even going to ask.” His stern mouth curves up at the corners in an unexpectedly fond smile. “Just—Rune, tell me the real reason you don’t think we should be together. Because nothing you’re saying so far makes any sense.”
I throw up my hands. When in doubt, go with the truth. “Donovan, I’m cursed. Being close to me will only bring you pain, all right?”
He shakes his head in disbelief, just like I knew he would. “That’s not true. You’ve had a bad couple of days, that’s all.”
“No,” I say slowly, willing him to understand. “I’mcursed.I can see the future. You’re right, we’re meant to be together. But the only way our relationship ends is in your death.”
Donovan gives a low, uneasy laugh. “What are you talking about?”
Better for him to think I’m unhinged than to keep going down this road. “I know you won’t believe me. No one ever does—hence, the curse. But when I passed out in the car and on my porch, it was because I had a premonition. And in the office, on the desk, I had another one. We’re destined to be married. And the day of our wedding, if we go through with it, you’ll die.”
“Jesus.” His jaw works. “You could’ve just said you didn’t want to be with me, Rune. There’s no need to resort to…whatever this is.”
“This,” I tell him, my voice even but dangerous, “is the truth.”
“Uh huh. And you expect me to believe that you’re some kind of…of prophet?”
“No! I already told you, I expect the exact opposite. No one ever believes me. No onecan.But you wanted to know why we need to stay away from each other, and that’s the answer. Because loving me will freaking kill you. Okay?”
We stare at each other, neither of us willing to yield. And then, from the path behind the gazebo comes the worst possible voice at the worst possible time, saying the least possible thing.
“I believe you, Rune,” Officer Asshat says.
Chapter
Twenty-Four
What?
Before I can react, Donovan spins, his hands clenched into fists. “What the hell do you want?”
“Now, is that any way to talk to your brother?” Officer Cooper strolls into view, in full uniform, his gaze darting between us. The last time I saw the two of them side-by-side, I’d just gotten knocked out in a car wreck. This time, I have no such excuse. Now that I know to look for it, the family resemblance is clear: same shape to their blue eyes, though Cooper’s are lighter than Donovan’s; same slash of their high cheekbones; something similar about the angle of their jaws. But Cooper’s hair is a light, sun-streaked brown, and there’s a cruel tilt to his smile that I’ve never seen on Donovan’s face, even at his most annoyed with me.
“Half-brother,” Donovan mutters. He glares at Cooper. “I repeat: What do you want? We were having a conversation. Nothing to police here.”
“Tomato, tahmahto,” Cooper retorts, his smile widening. “I happened to be walking by. I overheard your conversation. And I just wanted to tell Rune: I believe her.”
Donovan turns the glare on me, and I swear I feel the blood in my veins turning to ice. “Of course you do,” he snaps. “It figures the two of you are in on this together.”
He sounds furious, but beneath the anger, I detect an unmistakable note of hurt. And why wouldn’t he feel that way? Last night, he told me exactly what Cooper did to him years ago. If he thinks I’m colluding with his brother to mock him all over again, no wonder he’s pissed off.
