All The Pretty Ghosts (The Never Series Book 1) Jamie Campbell (best life changing books .TXT) 📖

really am. If I could take it back and change it, I would. I really would.”

“Did you tell him to kill me?”

“No, of course not. Why would you think that?” I shrugged. “I would never do that to you.”

For some stupid reason, I believed him.

“Why did you come here?” I asked, taking a seat beside him on the bathtub. It wasn’t the most comfortable place in the house but it was guaranteed to be the quietest.

“I needed to make sure you were okay. You were really upset when you ran off like that,” Jet replied. I’d never seen him so sincere before. There was more, too. Concern? It had to be a trick he was using on me, some plan to foster his ulterior motive.

“I almost died. Was I supposed to stick around so Taz could finish the job?”

“No, of course not.” He paused and I didn’t know what to say so I let the silence settle over us. “I thought you might trust me enough to protect you, though.”

“Because I’m your property?”

“Because I’m your friend.”

I snorted. “You’re not my friend. A friend wouldn’t kidnap someone, hold them hostage, and play mind games with them. I don’t need to know people like that, there’s enough thugs in the city to fill that position in my life.”

“I had hoped we’d moved past all that. I apologized for it.”

“Actions speak louder than words,” I said quietly.

“I just saved your life,” Jet pointed out.

“Saved me from your people,” I shot back. Of course I was grateful for Jet getting me out of the fire. If he hadn’t been in that room, there was no doubt in my mind I would have died a few hours ago.

But it didn’t change the fact I wouldn’t have been in the position if his gang hadn’t placed me there. Taz could have let me go at any point. He didn’t. Which meant Jet was just as much to blame being the leader of them.

When Jet spoke next, he surprised me. “I will apologize for the rest of my life if that’s what it takes for you to believe how sorry I am.”

I eyed him suspiciously, trying to work out if he was joking or teasing me. The look in his eyes was honest but I had been mistaken before. I barely trusted my own judgment anymore. I needed to be cautious, especially with what I said to him. “Thank you for getting me out of there.”

He nodded slowly and the silence settled again. I was all out of questions and suddenly gripped by fatigue. I wanted to be able to sleep and not worry about everything that had occurred in the last twenty-four hours.

Jet broke the silence, apparently not done with his questions. “Who is Oliver?”

My head snapped up at the mention of his name. So did Oliver’s at the door. His lips remained tightly closed, not joining in our conversation. “He’s none of your business.”

“He seemed pretty important to you when you were screaming out his name in the fire.”

“He’s a friend,” I stated. It was the only piece of information he was ever going to get out of me about him. Oliver was mine, I wasn’t going to share him with the likes of Jet.

Jet took a deep breath, almost like he was preparing himself for something. I hoped it wasn’t a fight. “I guess everyone’s entitled to their secrets, princess.”

For just a moment, I thought Jet was showing me his true self and the façade he kept up for everyone else was just a show. In that one sentence, I knew I was wrong.

I put up all my defenses again, determined to never let him break through them. “You’d know all about secrets, wouldn’t you? You’re the master at keeping them.”

“And what secrets would that be?”

“Why the adults you keep hidden away are still alive.”

“I told you, that isn’t my secret.” I was getting really tired of hearing the same thing escape his mouth over and over again. Jet was the master of speaking in riddles and it drove me crazy. Once again, he was just playing the game he enjoyed so much.

“So tell me your secret then,” I started. “Tell me whose secret it is that you’re holding onto so desperately tight.”

Jet’s eyes grazed my skin as he studied every inch of my face. I refused to look away or show him any signs of how uncomfortable I was. I would pick him up and throw him out before that happened.

I raised an eyebrow in question, silently asking him if he dared being honest with me for once in his life. Jet owed me nothing, I knew this. But he could still be a decent human being and share the information he held.

It wasn’t like I was asking for myself. If I was saving all the dead people, I may as well save all the living ones too.

Finally, Jet replied. “The secret belongs to someone a thousand times more powerful than you and I. If I told you, he wouldn’t let you live.”

“You really think I’m scared of the bogey man? I see ghosts, death itself every single day. Nothing scares me anymore.”

“This one would scare you, princess. He would make your insides turn to mush and your toes curl.”

All the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. It wasn’t the threat so much as the way Jet said it. For the second time that afternoon, I actually believed him.

And it terrified me.

Jet continued while my mind started to whirl. “You should leave the city. Either that or stay here and never leave this house.”

I thought about my earlier promise to Oliver and the one he had given me in return. It was no longer an option for me to stay