about the entire thing she would just finish what she had started years before.
He was so fucking stupid for even considering this, and it wouldn't matter anyway because he'd already called her in. The collectors knew he had a woman who could light fires with a thought. No one wanted someone like that on the loose.
Jack opened up a file full of pictures. His father, Sean, was there, holding up a fish he'd caught on his honeymoon, and Jack's mother was at his side, an equally big smile on her face.
Aidan and Liam weren’t born yet. Jack got to their pictures next, with the most recent one having been taken the day before they were killed.
It gave him chills to look at this picture, how they were all smiling, not knowing what was coming. He missed the smiles on their faces. It had been taken right after he'd told them his plans of attending school with the love of his life. Sometimes he was glad he'd gotten one last picture, though. Something with all of them together.
He'd given them his decision. He wasn't going to be a hunter, and they'd been genuinely happy for him.
They'd always supported his passion for art, though Sean's support came with a lot of reluctance. The man hadn't been happy about one of his sons choosing a profession where a paycheck was hard to come by.
Jack hadn't drawn more than a doodle since the fire.
He opened the last folder. He usually avoided looking at this particular photo. It was a picture of him and Cindy. Her hair was as wild as ever, and her arms were around his neck as she smiled into the camera he held above their heads. They were in bed in this photo, and though it wasn't immediately obvious, they'd both been naked. They'd just finished having sex. There was a pink glow still on their faces.
It all looked so damned normal. Jack suddenly found it hard to breathe as he stared, particularly at the smiles on their faces. He sighed.
He only looked at this picture to get his bearings straight. He needed that right now. This smiling woman didn't exist. Jack had once thought she was something that she wasn't, and when he told her about his family profession, confessing his secret just as she had confessed hers, she'd clearly panicked and become consumed with self-preservation.
The worst part about all of it was that even if she was lying, which he knew she was, it was still his fault his family had burned alive. She'd told him she was a pyro, and a few days later, he told her he was from a family of hunters. He'd been so stupid. He thought sharing something like that would make her feel better, and prove he trusted her.
What the hell had he expected a pyro to do? Did he honestly think she'd be okay with the fact that her boyfriend had confessed to having the means to put her away for life if he wanted to? Christ, his father had always said not to trust anyone with powers. Wars were started by people like that and hundreds of thousands of men and women were killed or murdered each year by paranormals.
Despite all that, Jack had placed his trust her, and once he did, everything had gone to shit, and that hurt so bad that he couldn't even sleep most nights.
That was all on him. It didn't matter if he handed her over to the collectors, it wasn't going to bring his father or brothers back. He was still going to be alone.
Jack got up walked away from the tablet. He couldn't look at it anymore. He was still hungry after his lunch had been ruined, and he was going to have to see about tending to Cindy eventually, which wasn't just an excuse to see her again.
Chapter Seven
Cindy realized she shouldn't have drunk the entire bottle of water so quickly because now she really had to pee. Jack had been gone for several hours already, so she was hungry again, too. Body functions had to come first, and she wasn't about to wet herself because Jack had thoughtlessly left her down here. It was like being torn between the idea of humiliating herself, or risking Jack's wrath.
The risk of his
He was so fucking stupid for even considering this, and it wouldn't matter anyway because he'd already called her in. The collectors knew he had a woman who could light fires with a thought. No one wanted someone like that on the loose.
Jack opened up a file full of pictures. His father, Sean, was there, holding up a fish he'd caught on his honeymoon, and Jack's mother was at his side, an equally big smile on her face.
Aidan and Liam weren’t born yet. Jack got to their pictures next, with the most recent one having been taken the day before they were killed.
It gave him chills to look at this picture, how they were all smiling, not knowing what was coming. He missed the smiles on their faces. It had been taken right after he'd told them his plans of attending school with the love of his life. Sometimes he was glad he'd gotten one last picture, though. Something with all of them together.
He'd given them his decision. He wasn't going to be a hunter, and they'd been genuinely happy for him.
They'd always supported his passion for art, though Sean's support came with a lot of reluctance. The man hadn't been happy about one of his sons choosing a profession where a paycheck was hard to come by.
Jack hadn't drawn more than a doodle since the fire.
He opened the last folder. He usually avoided looking at this particular photo. It was a picture of him and Cindy. Her hair was as wild as ever, and her arms were around his neck as she smiled into the camera he held above their heads. They were in bed in this photo, and though it wasn't immediately obvious, they'd both been naked. They'd just finished having sex. There was a pink glow still on their faces.
It all looked so damned normal. Jack suddenly found it hard to breathe as he stared, particularly at the smiles on their faces. He sighed.
He only looked at this picture to get his bearings straight. He needed that right now. This smiling woman didn't exist. Jack had once thought she was something that she wasn't, and when he told her about his family profession, confessing his secret just as she had confessed hers, she'd clearly panicked and become consumed with self-preservation.
The worst part about all of it was that even if she was lying, which he knew she was, it was still his fault his family had burned alive. She'd told him she was a pyro, and a few days later, he told her he was from a family of hunters. He'd been so stupid. He thought sharing something like that would make her feel better, and prove he trusted her.
What the hell had he expected a pyro to do? Did he honestly think she'd be okay with the fact that her boyfriend had confessed to having the means to put her away for life if he wanted to? Christ, his father had always said not to trust anyone with powers. Wars were started by people like that and hundreds of thousands of men and women were killed or murdered each year by paranormals.
Despite all that, Jack had placed his trust her, and once he did, everything had gone to shit, and that hurt so bad that he couldn't even sleep most nights.
That was all on him. It didn't matter if he handed her over to the collectors, it wasn't going to bring his father or brothers back. He was still going to be alone.
Jack got up walked away from the tablet. He couldn't look at it anymore. He was still hungry after his lunch had been ruined, and he was going to have to see about tending to Cindy eventually, which wasn't just an excuse to see her again.
Chapter Seven
Cindy realized she shouldn't have drunk the entire bottle of water so quickly because now she really had to pee. Jack had been gone for several hours already, so she was hungry again, too. Body functions had to come first, and she wasn't about to wet herself because Jack had thoughtlessly left her down here. It was like being torn between the idea of humiliating herself, or risking Jack's wrath.
The risk of his
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