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“As I said, this is going to sound crazy, but you have inherited certain . . . gifts. And because of those gifts, Lawrence and his family are a grave danger to you.”

“Oh . . . that’s just fantastic.”

Two strange men, both claiming the other wanted to kill her. Now she really was bringing the police into this.

She stopped the swing, intending to get off, but Kenton pressed on.

“He arrived first, did he not? Pretending to bump into you on the running trail?”

“Well, yes.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me to learn he’d already been watching you.”

Her mind flashed to the image of Lawrence at the bar.

“He warned you against me,” Kenton continued. “Likely said I would do you harm—”

“Kill me, to be precise.”

“And warned you not to tell anyone.”

How did he know all of that?

“I will make no such claims about him.”

Alessandra looked away from him and out into the night. The street, just a few hundred feet in front of them, was quiet. Despite their location on Main Street, it was a Monday. Only a few restaurants stayed open. Something felt off, but nothing looked off.

Her gaze returned to the man who was supposedly attempting to do her in.

“Tell anyone you like. Go to the police. But understand this.” Kenton leaned down to the ground and placed his beer there. “They will not stop him. Nor will they find anything to hold him on. Lawrence Derrickson is both calculating and intelligent. When I understood his intent, I followed him here to protect you. Even now, as we speak, your abilities are beginning to manifest. You will become quite powerful, which means you are a threat to someone like Lawrence.”

She did stand then. This guy was definitely loony tunes, and while she’d felt a gut instinct to trust Lawrence, she didn’t feel that toward this guy. No, her feelings toward him were a whole lot more complicated.

He grabbed her hand so quickly Alessandra did not even see him move. She would have screamed, but there was no need. Before she even realized what was happening, she’d released herself from his grip and raced to the other side of the porch. It was as if . . . as if—

“The strength. The speed. They are part of your unfurling abilities.”

Heart hammering in her chest, Alessandra tried to recount what had just happened. One moment she’d been standing there with him, the next . . .

“Earlier today, in the coffee shop. You sensed I was there, and likely Lawrence too, before you saw us.”

She couldn’t breathe. Lawrence had said the same thing, hadn’t he?

“Also a part of your bloodline—”

“Abilities?” she said, her voice as feeble as her thoughts. “I don’t understand any of this. Who . . . how . . .” There were so many questions rushing through her head, she couldn’t pick one.

Kenton stood but he did not move toward her. The crisp white of his button-down shirt was a stark contrast to his deep black hair. His beauty was hardly human. More godlike. And he stood there, perfectly calm, saying things that belonged in one of her fantasy novels. None of this made any sense.

And yet . . . somehow it did.

“I will show you,” he said. “Prove my words to you.”

She could see his ice-blue eyes from here, the porch lights illuminating the perfection of his face.

“I’m going to walk toward you, touch you—”

Why wasn’t she afraid?