N9ne: The Tale of Kevin Clearwater (King, #9)(66)

“Nine, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”

“I thought I could protect you.” He laughs as if the idea itself is ridiculous.

“You still never told me why you’re trying to protect me,” I say, trying to understand why now of all times he’s chosen to bring this up. “What’s changed just now? Why are you so upset?”

“Because I can’t lose you again!” he roars, turning his face up toward the night sky and holding his arms out with clenched fists as if cursing the stars.

I can’t lose you again! I repeat his words in my mind.

I stand to face him. “What do you mean by again?”

His back is to me. He’s looking out over the water. He speaks, but doesn’t answer my question. “There are men after you who won’t hesitate to hurt you. I can’t let that happen. I won’t.”

“But what did you mean when you said you can’t lose me again?” My heart is beating so erratically it’s sputtering out of control in my chest. My palms sweat. My throat is dry.

He stares out over the water silently with his back to me.

“Tell me! When did you lose me before?” I shout, standing directly behind him.

“Come on. I’ll show you.” He grabs my hand and we silently make our way back through the fairgrounds to his truck.

The ride is silent. Whatever we shared on the beach is still there, but instead of crackling heat, it’s a cloudy fog, lingering around us.

We’re crossing the causeway, and I’m just about to ask where the Hell he’s taking me when he parks the truck in the bike lane and gets out, leaving the engine running.

I follow him over to the railing. A sense of déjà vu washes over me brought on by the salty night air. The breeze at my neck. The memories of the last time I was here. I’m shaking by the time I approach him.

Nine begins to speak. “The second I saw you walk into Pike’s Pawn shop I felt…” He shakes his head and blows out a long breath. “No, I feel this overwhelming need to protect you. At first, I didn’t know why. I thought it might be because I’m insanely attracted to you. I wrote it off as lust, but deep down, I knew it was more. Even in the alley, I wanted to kiss you more than I’ve ever wanted anything before.” He slowly turns around to face me. His gaze hardens. He clenches his fists. “More than I wanted to kill those men for hurting you. I couldn’t save you that first night, but you saved me.”

“That night?” He’s offering no clarity, just more questions, just more confusion.

“That night I couldn’t save you was the night we met. The last time we were up here together.” His eyes seek mine. “Four years ago.”

Four years ago, I wasn’t with Nine. I was with…

It’s impossible. It can’t be.

I can hear the blood racing in my ears as the truth begins to unravel in my mind. “Why are we here right now?” I need to hear him say it. That I’m wrong. That he can’t possibly be who I think he is right now. “On this bridge? Standing in this very spot?” I’m yelling now. Frustrated. Confused. “Why, damnit!”

For a moment, I think he’s going to yell back, but his words are gentle. “Deep in the earth, my love is lying, and I must weep alone.”

“That’s…Edgar Allan Poe,” I whisper.

“The one and only. And now, I understand why you like to quote him so much. Because your name is Lenore, from his poem, The Raven.” His hazel eyes light up the night as they search my face, looking for something. Waiting for me to understand.

Suddenly, it’s not just Nine I see standing there. It’s the boy from the bridge. The one I’ve thought about every single day for four years, and he’s standing here right in front of me.

And I’m in love with him.

“It can’t be you.” But, I already know the truth.

He reaches for the bottom of his shirt and pulls it over his head.

“Why are you…” I stop and pause, not because of his chiseled abs or the v-muscles that travel down into his low jeans or even his expansive and muscular chest, but because I realize what he’s trying to show me. Proof. Proof in the form of a large, black bird tattoo inked across his chest that gleams with sweat under the bridge light above. The bird’s wings are spread, its feathers reaching all the way to the top of his shoulders. The rubies in its eyes made to look as if they’re sparkling. It’s not just a black bird. It’s a raven.

My raven.

“It’s the one from my mother’s pendant. The one I lost before I…” Suddenly, I can’t breathe. I start rambling. The truth is right in front of me, but I’m having a hard time grasping it because it keeps slipping through my fingers. “I mean, lots of people have bird tattoos.”

Nine reaches inside his pocket. “But do lots of people have bird tattoos that look exactly like this?” He holds out his hand, releasing the pendant while holding onto the chain.

The raven swings from side to side before my eyes like a hypnotist’s charm. It’s ruby red eyes glint as they reflect the light from the bridge overhead.

Nine grabs my wrist and turns it so that my palm is open and flat. He drops my necklace into my hand. I quickly close my fingers around it as if it’s going to fly off into the humid night air.