"Someone who isn't a sociopath," she muttered. "I even fucked myself over, didn't I?"
Wynn laughed. She didn't need him to answer. Wynn's gentleness, Gabriel's ultimatum, the radioactive lake. She was edgy again after the hour it took to relax.
"You can look now," he said, lifting his chin.
"I don't want to. I dumped him. He can do what he wants."
"It's never so simple. Do you want to know how many times I walked away from past-Deidre?"
"No. Wynn, I couldn't even dump Logan, and I'd been meaning to for months. I can't hurt anyone and knowing that I used to…" her chin trembled. She shook her head. "Someone told me I had a long line of enemies. How did I make it this far?"
"Sometimes, I think that's why you raised me from the dead-dead," he admitted. "I've eliminated innumerable enemies of yours the past few years. I don't know how you made it before that."
"You killed them?" she asked, startled.
"Only to protect you." His cool smile frightened her. Deidre crossed her arms. How many had she unknowingly killed since being reborn a human?
"My karma is beyond reparable," she said. "Wynn, is it true Gabriel can prevent me from dying now?"
"You cannot die by his hand or the hand of nature," Wynn said carefully. "The tumor is still growing, which means there is still a chance at cognitive deterioration."
"So can I kill myself?"
"From what I know, yes. But, I am not Death," Wynn added. "I cannot be certain what the result might be if you tried to kill yourself or if you died of unnatural causes."
"Unnatural causes," she repeated. "I don't think you mean getting hit by a car, do you?"
"More like demon-induced death."
"Demon-induced!" she laughed. "Oh, god, I think I'm gonna go crazy sometime soon."
"What brings you to the lake?" Rhyn's low growl was unmistakable.
Deidre resisted the urge to shrink back as she turned. He and Gabriel stood nearby, their approach silent. Wynn would've seen them walking over but was unfazed by the two men who terrified her.
"I wanted to go for a walk," Deidre said. She avoided looking at Gabriel, not at all certain what to think after their exchange and seeing him with another woman. He wanted nothing to do with her, and she rejected him. Why did it hurt?
"Not you," Rhyn said.
"Curiosity. Most lakes don't glow green," Wynn said in a casual voice.
All three of them were tense. Their energy made her skin tingle uncomfortably. Deidre moved towards the lake, away from the center of the triangle they formed. She didn't want to be stuck in the middle when one of them snapped. Seeing Gabriel made her insides flutter and the world seem too small to be anywhere but his arms.