A Job From Hell (39 page)

"Hey." The voice sounded distant, like it was a memory of mine from long ago. The only thing that felt real was the pounding, the nausea, the blood as my teeth sank through my tongue. I whimpered. Even my throat was on fire.

And then something touched my shoulder, and it stopped.

I felt nothing but the chil from the white tiles beneath my palms, the cold bite of autumn wind on my cheeks, and something warm gently rubbing my back. Even the taste of blood in my mouth was gone.

"Easy," Oz said, and pul ed me to my feet with those same strong hands that had so sweetly petted that cat and given me water. He held my shoulders as I gained my balance. "Are you okay?"

No, this couldn't be real. This had never happened before. Nothing ever made the pain stop but running as if the devil himself was on my heels.

"What did you do?" My voice wavered. Fear, I realized. It crawled through my limbs, made any movement other than shaking impossible.

He swal owed. For a split second the smile on his face faltered, and he looked down. "What do you mean?" He asked evenly.

My breath came in short, rapid bursts. He was hiding something. Every cel in my body knew it. And yet the very instinct that recognized it prevented me from cal ing him on it.

His grip on me tightened. I shut my eyes and asked that same question again with different words: "How did you stop the pain?"

End of sample. AFTER EDEN by Katherine Pine is available now on Kindle and in al ebook stores.