Borrowed Souls (Soul Charmer #1)(68)

“It could have been a long time ago. The effects never go fully away.”

His attempts to soften the blow weren’t working, but the effort was still appreciated. Zara was a shitty liar—one of her few admirable traits. Her reaction had told Callie all she needed to know. She knew she hadn’t called her mom out on old behavior. This wasn’t akin to a thirty-year-old acid flashback. “It was recent.”

“Are you sure?”

The awe in his voice tripped a wire in Callie, one of those gut responses borne out of years of mistrust. The resulting internal explosion sharpened the barbs Callie threw. “My hands don’t provide a timestamp on magic, Derek. That’s not a skill I’m going to build over time, right?”

His hand stilled on her arm above her elbow. “What?”

“I had a second encounter today. Tess found me. She knows all sorts of shit about me and my life and my deal with the Charmer.”

Her emotional shrapnel was filling the growing void between them. Derek was infuriatingly quiet.

“She informed me this little bit of magical infusion in my fingertips isn’t going away. Ever.” She was tempted to wiggle her fingers at him, but she needed to hold what remained of mind together.

“She’s full of shit.” God, he sounded so sure.

“How do you know?”

“The Charmer wouldn’t give up his magic permanently.”

It always circled back to the Soul Charmer. He’d been a part of her life for less than two weeks, and yet his insidious presence had woven itself into everything she touched: her mom, her lover, and even her goddamn skin. He was everywhere. She was right to fear him and whatever he had planned for the future.

“He’s still got plenty of magic.” Did she sound afraid, or too far gone? She couldn’t tell anymore.

Derek’s lips curled into a vicious sneer. “Yeah, but he actually put part of it in you. You don’t know him like I do. He will want every bit he’s given you back.”

She wanted to believe him. “How can you be sure?”

“The Charmer isn’t much for sharing, and he will want his power back. Always has.”

Callie’s mind yanked the reins hard. “Has he done this before?”

“This? No, but I’ve seen him work with others before. I can’t explain it, but he never let anyone keep his magic.”

Callie could tell he meant the words, but she hadn’t forgotten the glint in the Soul Charmer’s eyes when she’d last visited.

Derek continued. “I am not going to let him control you.” The possessive tinge was inherently sexual. Their mutual nudity didn’t help matters.

“I trust that.” He didn’t want to share her, and perhaps that could save her. There was just one other problem. “Though, I need to know if you knew about my mom.”

“No.” His fierceness rocked the bed. The sheet slipped to her waist, but his gaze remained fixed on Callie’s eyes.

Even the single squeak of a bedspring wouldn’t deter her. “You’ve never seen her in the shop?”

He hesitated. “What’s her name?”

“Zara.”

He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know her. I can’t promise you she never bought from the Charmer. If she was good about paying her debts and returning the goods, I might have never seen her. But I swear, Callie, I would not have kept this from you.”

Biting the inside of her cheek didn’t clarify anything. The pain was barely a distraction. “Do you think he knew?”

“The Charmer?”

She nodded.

“I can’t say, doll.” He tucked a few loose strands of her hair behind her ear. “He might have, but I doubt it’s why he hired you.”

That shouldn’t have calmed her, but it did enough that she didn’t get hung up on his use of the word “hired” instead of “blackmailed.” She rolled on her side to face him. His eyes were lighter now, a rich sky blue. “What was, then?” The need for insight clawed past her insecurities.

“It could have been a lot of things.” Could he tell how badly she needed this? Perhaps, because he continued, “I think he knew you could handle the magic. I told you before, it’s not exactly a common deal. The wrong person with that magic would go manic.”

“And you still think he’s going to take it back?” She almost said “let me go.” Where had that come from? Callie’s barter with the Soul Charmer had clear terms. She worked for him for fourteen days, and that’s it.

“If he doesn’t on his own, I’ll convince him.” Flashes of Derek pinning marks and punching men rushed to the forefront of her mind. His muscles seized. His pecs flexed a hair’s breadth from her face, presenting the gift of a loaded weapon at her disposal. The violent streak still stirred unease in her gut, but the potential safety it promised simultaneously lured her in. A double-edged sword could be mighty shiny.

“Okay,” Callie said, hoping the sense of finality she’d imbued the word with would actually help her let the issue go.

“Okay. Good. Now, can we talk about Tess?” At least he had the good sense to wince.

“We probably should,” she admitted, “but we need to talk about Joey first.”

“Joey?” He angled closer to her, as if hearing another man’s name while lying in bed with her stirred some natural territorial instinct.