I just stared at him, shivering so hard my vision blurred. “They tried to drown me, actually.”
Jace pressed a hand to his heart. “And to think, I was going to complain about how slow the seat warmers were in my Jeep. You win, buddy.”
I was too tired to try to punch him.
His smirk faltered at my silence, replaced by something that looked a lot like alarm. “Oh shit. You’re not just being dramatic. You actually almost died.”
I sighed and nodded, and his gaze swept over me again, like he was trying to decide whether to offer me a blanket or an exorcism. “Okay, okay, hang on. I’ve got you.”
He walked toward me and bent his knees, arms open, grimacing like this was the hardest thing he’d ever done.
I frowned. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“I’m gonna carry you to the car,” he said, dead serious. “Just…maybe point that animal between your legs somewhere else. Even without that missing inch, it looks foreboding.”
I gaped at him. “Please don’t,” I managed to choke out, my teeth clacking around the words.
He froze mid-squat, shoulders sagging in relief. “Oh, thank fuck. I might never have recovered from that. But I want you to make a mental note in your best friendship hierarchy that I was prepared to do it.”
“Noted,” I grunted.
I stumbled forward a few steps before realizing I was still trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey. “Wait,” I called hoarsely. “Untie me first.”
Jace stopped, blinking like he’d only just noticed my wrists bound behind me. “Oh. Right. Good thing I’ve got all that survival training.”
I gave him a flat look. “One day watchingNaked and Afraiddoesn’t count, genius.”
“Excuse you,” he said, rummaging in his pocket for his keys. “I also watched the episode where the guy made fire with his shoelaces. I’m practically an expert. You’re lucky to have me.”
He crouched behind me, grumbling under his breath as he worked the knot. The rope had dried stiff against my skin, biting deeper every time he tugged.
“Fuck,” he muttered. “They really went fullFifty Shadeson you, huh?”
“Just untie it.”
“Yeah, yeah, hold still—There.” The final pull burned like fire, and then the tension released. I dragged my arms forward, groaning as the muscles screamed, pins and needles flooding up to my shoulders.
Jace straightened, surveying me with a look somewhere between impressed and horrified. “You, my friend, look like every cautionary tale the university uses to warn athletes about extracurricular activities.”
I winced as I rotated my arms, trying to get the blood flowing again. “And you look like the guy who’s about to drive me home before I freeze to death.”
“On it.”
Jace jogged ahead to the Jeep, fumbling with his keys and muttering something about hazard pay. The dome light flicked on as he yanked the passenger door open, gesturing grandly like a chauffeur greeting royalty.
“Your chariot awaits, Ice Man.”
“Shut up,” I muttered, climbing in. The leather seat was blissfully warm, but the second I sat down, every frozen nerve in my body screamed in protest.
Jace cranked the heat, and warm air blasted from the vents like he was trying to dry me out before mildew set in.
“Okay, first of all, you’re paying to clean my Jeep because I like to have sex in here, and you currently smell like swamp rot and bad decisions. Second, are you sure you aren’t dying, because I take hauntings seriously and want to be prepared.”
“If I do die, tell people it was heroic. Not…whatever this is,” I muttered, teeth chattering.
“I’ll consider your request,” Jace said magnanimously.
I looked around the cab, desperate for anything resembling fabric. “You don’t have a sweatshirt or something?”
