But my feet refuse to cooperate. Our encounter comes flooding back. The way his eyes flashed with a spark of connection before he shoved me away like I’m sure he’s been trained to do. By circumstances, or something more sinister, I can’t guess, but I do know I’m a witness to what just occurred. Even Lucifer himself should get an explanation when he returns to a disaster like this. And where are Laura and Ben? Howcan they sleep through such a hurricane? Maybe they’ve grown accustomed to these visits. Or worse, don’t care.
The suite door clatters again, and footsteps thunder toward me. I turn and catch my breath when Daniel appears in the threshold—disheveled and wrapped in an urgent expression.
“What did they take?” he asks, unconcerned by my presence or the state of his room as he rushes forward. “What was it? Did you see?” He drops beside me and frantically sifts through the broken objects and rumpled clothing.
“It was a necklace of some kind. Gold, I think.”
“No! No, no.” Angry tears burn in his eyes. “Dammit!” He slams a handful of debris into the wall, and it’s then that I notice the bruises on his face.
“Oh my... What happened to you?”
He ignores me and collapses against the base of the bedframe.
“I’m sorry. I tried to stop him,” I say.
Head on his knees, his fingers clench and unclench in tight fists in his hair. It’s like he’s forgotten I’m here.
“I’m so sorry. The necklace, it was important?”
He looks up, and I hate the agony on his face. I don’t know him, but it kills me that something can hurt him so much. “Just leave. Please?”
Leave? Not possible. I move to the door, but only to close it.
“I told you. I don’t believe the others. They’re wrong about you.”
I kneel in front of him, and he shakes his head, withdrawing further. “I can’t do this right now. I can’t handle you. Go!”
“Daniel, please. I get that we don’t know each other, but I want to help.”
I reach for his hand, and he recoils too late. Once again, my limbs go numb. Once again I’m left shaking in the wake of violence I don’t understand. I brace my fists against the floor.
“I saw the room. Is that where those bruises come from?” My blood runs cold. “Oh my god. Is that what happened tonight? Where you just locked down there now?”
He glances up in horror, the sheen in his eyes magnifying the frustration on his face. “What are you talking about?”
“My gift. I see flashes of people’s past and future.”
“Stay out of my head. No one belongs there.”
“Your injuries aren’t from fights, are they?”
His expression hardens further. “That’s none of your business.” He jumps to his feet with renewed venom. “I’m going to get my necklace back.”
No, that fire will get him hurt. I know that much and instinctively follow to block his exit. “Really? At what cost?”
His glare digs into me again, and I can’t help but feel that my soul is an open book to him. I sense myself letting go of the struggle to hide, and suddenly my rebellious hand shocks us both by lifting to investigate the bruise on his cheek. Sparks bolt through me from a vision of a woman with soft, tender eyes. She’s wearing a heart-shaped gold necklace.
Daniel steps back as if struck. His burning gaze sears into me.
“You don’t know me. You have no idea what you’re doing,” he warns.
“I know you’re not who they think you are.”
“I’m exactly who they think I am, just not for the reasons they think.”
Our eyes meet again, and something changes in the charged silence. He’s reading me again which should feel intrusive, trigger my instinct to run. Instead, I’m caught in a current, drawn in by this sense we understand each other on a level no one else ever could. I want him to see inside me. Anything he wants. Above all, I want him to trust me. Need him to for some reason.
That room.
