LITMIR.BIZ

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remember my brother, right?”

      “Of course. Nash. It’s been a while.” She crossed her legs and smiled, as if we hadn’t come to discuss her immortal soul and impending suicide. Addison was much more poised than I would have been in her position, and I have to admit I was a little jealous of her composure. But then, maybe that was one of the advantages of being an actress.

      That, and massive fame and fortune.

      Her gaze slid my way, and she made actual eye contact. “And you’re Kaylee, right?”

      I nodded and gave her a genuine smile. People hardly ever remembered my name after only one introduction. I was pretty forgettable. At least, when I wasn’t screaming.

      Tod cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention, and I turned to see him watching Addison intently from the chair opposite hers. One impeccably solid foot tapped the thick carpet. “Addy, you can’t kill yourself,” he said, and it took the rest of us a second to absorb his abrupt launch into a conversation no one else seemed prepared for.

      Addison recovered first. “Hadn’t planned to.” She shrugged and smiled, then launched into a question of her own. “So, how are you alive now, when you were dead two years ago? Did your mom freak out, or what?” Unbridled curiosity illuminated her flawless features better than any stage lights could have.

      “It’s complicated.” Tod tugged briefly on the blond fuzz at the end of his chin. “I’ll tell you all about it later, but right now I just need to know you’re not going to kill yourself.” The gravity in his voice surprised me, and I’d never seen Tod look so frightened. So genuinely concerned for someone else. “Please,” he said, and that last word wrung a bruising pang of sympathy from my heart, though I wasn’t sure which of them I felt worse for: the soulless pop star with five days to live, or the reaper who would lose her again.

      Addison’s brows furrowed. “I said I won’t. I love my life.” She spread her arms to take in the entire room, as if to ask who wouldn’t love her life.

      Tod exhaled slowly, his features weighted by doubt and worry. He didn’t believe her. How could he, considering Libby’s inside information?

      “Maybe she’s not planning it yet.” I shifted to lean against Nash’s chest. His arm wound around me, his fingers spread across my ribs, and my pulse raced in response. “Maybe whatever drives her to it hasn’t happened yet.”

      Tod nodded, and his gaze went distant. “Yeah.” He turned back to Addison. “Is there anything wrong, Addy? You’re probably under a lot of stress. Is your mother pushing you into this? Are you on something? There were rumors a couple of months ago. ….”

      “No.” Addison cut him off, her smile wilting like a cut flower. “Nothing’s wrong, Tod. Nothing serious, anyway. There’s pressure, but that’s true no matter who you are or what you do.”

      Isn’t that the truth. …

      “And am I on something …?” Her brows formed a hard line, and she clenched the arms of her chair, bracelet pressed into the upholstery. “I can’t believe you’d even ask me that, with my mom still strung out on those damn pain pills.”

      Tod sighed and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. I’d never seen him look so tense. So worried. “Is it bad again?”

      Addy twisted her bracelet. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

      “You sure?” Tod asked, obviously thinking the same thing I was. A strung-out parent could be a lot of stress. Especially for someone like Addison Page, for whom privacy was only a vague concept.

      “As sure as I am that you’re sitting there.” Addy forced an awkward laugh at her own joke, and the reaper rolled his eyes. “Nothing’s wrong, Tod. Other than Eden collapsing onstage. We’re going to see her in a couple of minutes.” She paused and glanced at the hands now twisted together in her lap. “You guys want to come? I don’t think they’ll let you in to see her, but I could use the company.”

      “Addison …” I began, but then hesitated. I’d never been the bearer of such bad news before, but someone had to tell her. “Eden died onstage.”

      Addison shook her head in echo of her earlier denial. “How do you know …?” She stopped as something occurred to her, and glanced at both of the guys. “Does this have anything to do with me … killing myself?”

      I deferred to Tod, unsure about that one.

      “We don’t know,” he said finally. “But, Addy, I need you to promise me….”

      Suddenly the doorknob turned behind us, and was followed by a wooden thunk when someone walked into the door, obviously expecting it to open. “Addy?” a woman’s nasal voice called. “What are you doing? Open the door.”

      Addison stood so quickly my head spun, rubbing her palms nervously on the sides of her jeans. “Just a minute, Mom,” she called. “I’m … in the bathroom.”

      I stood and pulled Nash off of the couch, my pulse racing now. No human mother—even one strung out on painkillers—would understand what we’d come to tell Addy. But Tod could go invisible, and Nash and I could pretend to be fans.

      If Addison hadn’t already panicked and lied …

      She glanced at the door in dread, but before she could say anything else, Tod grabbed her hand. “Addy, promise me that no matter what happens, you won’t kill yourself. Promise me.”

      “I …” Addison’s gaze flicked from his face, lined in desperation, to the door, which her mother was now pounding on.

      “Addison Renee Page, let me in right now! My nose is bleeding!”

      “Are you okay in there?” her bodyguard called, and the knob twisted again.

      Nash tugged me toward the wall, either to give the ex-couple more space or to put us out of the line of fire when the door gave way.

      “Promise me!” Tod hissed, loud enough that I knew he’d gone inaudible to everyone outside the room. “You do not want to die without your soul. Trust me on this.”

      Addy’s breaths came rapidly. Her jugular vein stood out in her neck, jiggling wildly in fear and confusion. Her voice was an uneven whisper. “How do you guys know about that?”

      “The same way we know Eden’s dead.” Tod pulled her close, speaking almost directly into her ear, his voice low and gravelly with fear. “Addison, if you die while that hellion has your soul, he’ll give you form in the Netherworld and will own you forever. Forever, Addy. He’ll feed on your pain. He’ll slice you open and let you bleed. He’ll wear your intestines around his neck and peel your skin off inch by inch while you scream.”

      Tears formed in Addison’s eyes, and her hands began to shake as she tried to push Tod away. But he wasn’t done. “He’ll twist your sanity with your own memories. He’ll exploit your every fear, and every twinge of guilt you’ve ever felt. Then he’ll heal you—inside and out—and start all over again.”

      Tod held her at arm’s length so he could see her, and I jumped in, hissing softly as I tried to pull him away from her while Nash tried to hold me back. “Tod, stop it! You’re scaring her!” And me.

      But he meant to. He was scaring her to keep her alive. Though surely he knew such an effort was pointless. He’d taught me that you can’t cheat death. Not without paying the price …

      “Addison!” Ms. Page shouted from outside the door, and a fresh jolt of alarm shot up my spine and raced down my limbs. “Open up or I’ll have Roger break down the door.” But this time we barely heard her.

      “You’re serious?” Addison’s terrified gaze was glued to Tod, her hands shaking worse than ever.

      He nodded. “You have to get out of it, Addy. Get your soul back. There’s an out-clause in

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