What did he have against Luke?
“Everybody out,” I said, then changed my mind. “Except you two.” I pointed at Michelle and Gabby.
“Why?” Emmitt asked casting a glare at Luke.
The shaggy man stepped forward enough to rest his hand on Gabby’s back. Good. She was taken. I fought not to scowl at Luke again. It explained why shaggy man didn’t like him.
“Because I need to talk to them. In private.”
“This isn’t the place to do it then,” Gabby said. “Too many sharp ears here.”
She was right. I looked thoughtfully at the walls of the room. They would only block so much from werewolf or Urbat ears. I nodded in agreement. She turned and walked out the door. The others followed with Emmitt giving Luke one last look of promised retribution. Luke stayed and eyed me. I wanted to stand straight but knew it would hurt too much, so I didn’t bother.
“Do you want me to carry you?” he asked quietly.
I snorted. “No, you can save your heroics for Little One.” Idiot. I shuffled past him and heard Nana Wini follow.
The whole group wandered down a set of stairs, turned several corners and entered a small room. Luke and Nana Wini followed. Everyone stood in the room, waiting around a table that filled the center of the room. I shook my head before Emmitt could close the door.
“Private means the three of us.” Instead of looking at him, I looked at Gabby and Michelle. “There are things we need to talk about. Things no one else would believe,” I added. Gabby looked a little wary but turned to meet her man’s eyes. Shaggy-man’s lips turned down in a slight frown. Emmitt didn’t look any happier.
“For Pete’s sake! What do you think’s going to happen in here?”
“She’s right,” Michelle said with a small smile at Emmitt. “We’ll be fine in here. You should check on the boys.”
Emmitt leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips before turning to leave. Her eyes never left him as he walked out the door. The other woman turned to look at the shaggy man. Neither spoke. They just looked at each other. Finally, he sighed, touched her cheek lightly, and exited.
The three of us turned our eyes on the remaining two.
Nana Wini met Michelle’s eyes. “She has new stitches and should try not to pull them.”
“She’s right here,” I mumbled, sitting on one of the chairs.
Nana smiled at me and left.
“I’m not leaving,” Luke said softly.
Out in the hall I heard, “If he’s not leaving...”
“Just shut the door already,” I snapped. Luke closed the door on a growl in the hall, his smirk annoying me. He leaned against it, ensuring our privacy.
“I’m Bethi,” I said ignoring him.
“I’m Michelle,” Michelle said. “How did you know my name?”
Gabby remained quiet. “You’re not curious how I knew your name too?” I asked.
She glanced at Luke. “I assumed he told you.”
I shook my head. “No. It would be a nice answer though. A normal answer.” Gabby’s eyes dropped to the table. She knew what I was working up to. Good. “Are you ready for the truth? The truth about your abilities, and why we are the way we are?” Both of their eyes rounded. Michelle slowly sank into a chair. Gabby still stood. “Well, to be honest, I don’t know all the details, but I’m pretty sure I know more than you.”
“I remember,” I said meeting their eyes. “That’s my lovely ability. We’ve existed before and will exist again…and again.” The thought of having to keep enduring this made me want to cry. I settled for taking a slow calming breath. “Each life we’ve lived before, I will eventually remember. Each death. Each emotion,” I had to stop again. Maybe it was the pain of the stitches weighing on me, but everything just seemed so hopeless again.
“I can see what will happen with the stock market. Well, I used to, anyway,” Michelle admitted.
I nodded. “I know. I saw you. You were curled up in a ball,” I tipped my head back looking up at the ceiling as the memory of her pain washed over me. “It felt like your head had already exploded exposing every nerve ending within you to even more pain.” I met her shocked gaze. “I saw a man pick up your little brother by his arm and carry him into the house. The other one was just a baby.”
Gabby’s gaze flicked to Michelle. I could still see the distrust there.
