Shattered Promises 02 - Fractured Souls Read Online Free PDF Page B

walks out. “Goddammit, why do you have to be so frustrating?” he mutters to himself, although it’s loud enough that I can hear it.
    “I have no idea,” I mumble back, then quickly shut the door and whirl around to the bed. “Laylen?”
    He army crawls from underneath the bed, his soft laughter making me uneasy. He stands up straight, brushing some dust off his clothes. “Fuck. That was really awkward.”
    I fidget with the ribbon on my shirt. “Nothing happened.”
    He laughs, rearranging his hair into place. “If you say so.”
    “It didn’t,” I argue, but my cheeks heat. “I swear nothing did.”
    He presses back a smile and strides for the window. “All I know is that those noises are going to haunt me for life.”
    “I’m sorry,” I apologize. “I don’t even know why I did it… why I’m like that towards him.”
    He smiles sadly at me from over his shoulder “Because you two have history together and a connection nothing can compete with.”
    I tilt my head to the side. “We do?”
    His shoulders rise and fall as he shrugs. “Kind of… you’ll have to ask him about it, though.”
    I sift through my memories, knowing I’m probably not going to see anything, but trying anyway. As usual, I see blankness, then a few fading clips, however nothing important appears in my mind’s eye.
    “So now what.” I change the subject.
    He hesitates, staring out the window. “Well, here’s where things get tricky.”
    “Get tricky?” I step up beside him and peer down at the three-story drop to a mostly vacant asphalt parking lot. “Things have been tricky for a very, very long time.”
    “True, but they’re about to get trickier.” He unlatches the window, pushes it open, and sticks his head out, looking down below. “We’re not going to be able to just walk out the front door. Adessa set up these charms so if someone tries to come in or go out, she’ll know. It’s her version of a security system.”
    My jaw drops as he ducks back into the window. “Oh my God. You want us to climb out the window . Are you crazy?”
    “It’s the only way,” he says simply, gripping the windowsill. “All the downstairs windows have charms on them, and although I’m not sure exactly what Adessa’s charms do if they get set off, I’d really rather not find out.”
    I stare at the window with uncertainty. It’s getting late, the sky is getting grey as the sun plummets below the tips of the towering buildings. “Can’t we just tell Adessa what we’re doing?”
    “Walking downstairs means facing Alex,” he remarks, slanting his head to the side to meet my eyes. “Are you ready to deal with that? Tell him what you want and then fight him until he lets you go?”
    “No.”
    “Well, then... ”
    I sigh, shuffle my way to the window, and sit down on the windowsill. “I really do hate heights.”
    He playfully pinches my leg. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”
    “I believe you,” I say truthfully. “But how are we even supposed to get down there? Do you have some kind of like climbing-down-the-wall superpower or something?” My voice turns mocking. “Or are we just going to scale it with some sheets we’ve tied together.”
    “Sheets would tear.” He shakes his head, seeming entertained. “And I’m a Vampire, not Spiderman, so no. I don’t have any climbing down superpowers.” He pauses, blowing out an uneven breath. “You’re going to get on my back, and I’m going to jump out.”
    I start to laugh, but the sound quickly dissolves. “Tell me you’re joking. Please.” I stand up from the windowsill, shaking my head as I back away. “No way.”
    “We won’t get hurt.” He sits down and swings his long legs out the window. “That far of a fall won’t hurt me at all. It’s a Vampire thing.”
    “Yeah, but I’m not a Vampire,” I say. “The fall will hurt me.”
    “That’s why you’ll be on my back, so I can break the fall for you.” He winks at me. Even