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I nodded, unable to hideshaht to touch e to lean into hith I pulled away, severing contact

His expression hardened

"All right, well" Nana cleared her throat before gathering her purse and keys "I’ to need You two obviously have a few issues to work out"

"I don’t need anything," I assured her

She kissed me on the cheek, patted Cole on the arm and left us alone

"I’ll talk to Ankh," Cole said, shutting and locking the door

"No Don’t I’m furious for what he’s done to Nana, but I do understand what he’s done to me I attacked you, Cole Like, I planned to eat the life out of your spirit"

"I don’t care about that"

"Well, I do"

He waved the words away "You weren’t in your rightzoe that’s caused inside me, or just how tainted I am now I don’t knohat to do, or how to fix myself Not really I mean, the journal said I needed the fire, but I tried that and nothing happened, and nowtainted?"

"Wait You tried to fix yourself with your fire?"

Uh-oh

"You actually tried to kill the zombie--you And ere, what? Just supposed to find your ashes, never wonder what had happened and move on?"

"You had already moved on," I countered "And you would have had answers" Sort of "I left a note"

His sights narrowed on me as he walked toward me I backed up He was so much taller than me, so ry with you right now, I don’t even knohat to say" He picked h to s edinto my eyes with unmatched determination

His heat surrounded me, irresistibly delicious For the first time since Mr Holland and Mr Ankh had burst intothe right thing"

"You thought wrong And you’re not tainted"

"I am" I flattened my hands on his shoulders To push hiotten what he’d done with Veronica, and I wasn’t sure I could ever forget "Look I’ to stay away from you That’s what you wanted, and that’s what I’d like You’re uish filled his eyes "I know But I’ht, and you understand you’re not tainted"

This This was the boy I’d dated Concerned Kind Willing to fight to stay

I wanted him back

I couldn’t have him back Not permanently

"Sorry, but I don’t and won’t understand any such thing My dad was a slayer and apparently h she didn’t know it, and we’ve all heard the saying about being high and falling hard With all ht there with you My mom was a slayer, too"

Astonished, I said, "Both of your parents were slayers? Wow Okay I wasn’t expecting that Do you think it’s e had the visions?"

"Maybe Gavin is the only other slayer I knoith a double lineage But then again, he and I never had a vision Until you"

My breath caught in uys had a vision?"

He nodded stiffly

My fingernails dug his shirt into his skin "When? What did you see?"

He set his hands beside hs, as if he couldn’t trust hih a doorway, and you ca when you spotted us You smiled and you jumped into his arms His Not ht in front of me"