Phantom (Endlessly Book 3) by C.V. Hunt Page A

thought.
    “Well, I guess that makes us both fucking liars then, huh?”
    I’d let down my guard and she’d read my thoughts. I pushed the soda out of the way, grabbed the bottle of rum, and drank it straight. If she was going to lie to me, then I was going to lie to her.
    “So what do you think about what happened today?” I asked.
    “Just great,” she hissed.
    “Not about them , about the phone call Jack got.”
    “Oh … I don’t know. I forgot about that part.” She looked at me glassy eyed.
    “Yeah,” I sighed, “everyone keeps forgetting about that part.”
    I took a couple of healthy swigs of the rum and coughed. Ashley laughed at me. My face felt warm from the alcohol.
    “You can’t keep up with me.” She taunted and drank from her bottle.
    “Oh yeah?”
    “Yeah, you might get a hangover.”
    “Oh shit, here we go. I knew this was going to be a fun night.” I was already feeling good, but I wanted to get blasted. I didn’t want to care.
    I tipped my bottle again as she continued to drink from hers. She watched me as we both chugged trying to finish first. I sat my empty bottle down on the coffee table. She was finishing the last of hers, spilling most of it on her sweatshirt. She gasped for air.
    “No fair! I had a bigger bottle.” She looked down at her shirt. “Now I’m all wet.”
    “That’s what she said.” I laughed.
    “You’re so disgusting, Jason.”
    “Am I?”
    She sat her empty bottle on the coffee table. Now that she was buzzing, I knew she would talk.
    “The phone call.” I reminded her. The warmth from the liquor spread from my stomach up to my ears. “Who do you think it was, and what do you think they’re doin’?”
    “Someone knew,” she said, leaning back. She turned her face up to me as her pitch-black eyes gazed in my direction. “It had to be someone who’s been here. They had to know about Sarah and Jack. Told him to ‘tell her’.”
    “Tell her what?”
    “I think that’s obvious. Jack needed to tell S-Sarah that he loved her.” Her fangs flashed in the light as she grimaced.
    I felt the pain in my chest when she made the face. I knew it was a touchy subject, but she saw into Jack’s mind. She would have all the details and might recognize the voice in his memory.
    “But who would have known about them being soul mates? And this place?”
    “Don’t know. Don’t care. Good Samaritan I guess. Some kind of soul matchmaker crap,” she snapped.
    “A good Samaritan. That’s all you got out of his thoughts? You didn’t recognize the voice at all?”
    She leaned toward me, her eyes half closed, as the vodka did its job. “Who cares, Jason?” She laughed. “They’re happy…” She waved her hand weakly toward the game room. “…and I’m miserable. I really don’t give a shit who sent Jack. I don’t see the place bein’ raided, or fallin’ in on our heads.” She pointed to her head, dropped her arm, closed her eyes, and smiled. She whispered: “I wish it would fall on my head.”
    I leaned toward her. “You don’t have to be miserable, you know.”
    Her face seemed too close. Suddenly she felt happy and I felt it with her. With her eyes closed, her smile grew. It was nice to know I could make her happy. I was all too aware of the pull in my chest. I didn’t know where it was coming from and didn’t care. I assumed it was from in front of me, but you know what they say about assumptions. I don’t know what came over me, but I would blame it on the alcohol. I grabbed her cool face and pulled her mouth to mine as I pushed her onto her back. My free hand grabbed her thigh and pulled it around my waist. She resisted my kiss as I playfully bit her lower lip. Her whole body vibrated with angry thoughts, then the vibration died, the alcohol would keep her touch from becoming lethal. A growl rose in her chest as I ran my hand down the velvety skin of her neck.
    Ash grabbed the front of my shirt roughly and snarled at me. She shoved me away