Free Death Knows My Name (Memory Keepers) by Casse Narome Page A

life had a name. The name wasn’t the one that I had suspected. The name wasn’t Eric. It was that of this man, Valience. I cringed as a shiver ran through my body.
    I have no idea how long I sat against the cold wall. I didn’t feel the brick pressing against my skin, its jagged squares digging in. I kept my eyes shut squeezing them tight enough to forget all that I had been shown—Dante dying with no one to help him. The love that we’d shared severed on that long ago, but never forgotten, night.
    Footsteps approached, but I didn’t bother to move or acknowledge them in any way.
    The steps stopped, and I sensed a familiar presence. Eric. Calming. I knew it was him without having to look. I scrambled, all knees and hands. I didn’t trust my feet to stop running from what I had seen if given a chance. I was afraid of how much I needed to feel Eric’s arms. To inhale his scent. To be near him to make me feel safe again. To let myself see that he was okay.
    While I sat there in paralyzed horror, my mind’s eye twisted to replace Dante dying alone on the ground to Eric. It terrified me. I realized I never wanted Eric to be hurt. If he fell because of me . . . No . I wouldn’t let him.
    “When the time comes,” I said while I buried my face in his chest. “Just say the name. Don’t worry about who it is or what they mean to me.”
    He stiffened, easing me from him gently. “What are you talking about?” He scanned the alley around us before his eyes met mine again. “What happened?”
    “Why didn’t you tell me that it wasn’t you? That you hadn’t called Dante. I hated you. All this time I blamed you, and you weren’t the one!”
    Eric stood and backed away. The loneliness overwhelmed me. He couldn’t seem to meet my eyes anymore.
    “Because it should have been me. Dante shouldn’t have had to suffer as he did.” Eric came back to me and helped me to my feet. “I will take you home.” He was so closed off, it hurt. After being alone for years and not letting anyone in for so long, I should be used to the void. But these last few days, I had let Eric into a part of my life that I didn’t know I still had. To have him remove himself emotionally stung.
    “Hold on to me tightly and don’t let go.” His hand went to the back of my head and guided it until I snuggled my cheek on his shoulder but still he held his distance. “And, Mayne,” he whispered, “don’t look. Trust me.”
    I squeezed my eyes shut. Something in his warning told me that I didn’t want to see whatever he was afraid of me seeing. And, I did trust him. I trusted him very much. That fact scared me, but a part of me thrilled inside. I wasn’t by myself anymore, or rather, I no longer wanted to be. I knew I only wanted Eric. Only now, I couldn’t have him. 
    A second later, the air around me went hot. Not a sunny day hot or even a sexy hot. This was a stifling, life-stealing white-hot. The air tugged at me, like an icy hot hand grabbed at my waist and was trying to grab my body. Eric’s grip tightened as my throat filled with a scream.
    Don’t say a word .
    Eric’s voice filled my head, and I struggled to swallow the terror threatening to spill from my mouth. I buried my face deeper into Eric. I inhaled his scent. Instant calm rolled through me. Here, in this place, wherever it was, every single nerve tingled. I was on edge and heightened. He smelled like safety. My arms wound around his back and beneath his shirt as I held him to me tighter. His smell, and, oh god, his touch, affected me immensely. Everyone’s touch since Dante’s death had only been phantoms. Their hands were only ghosting Dante’s. But Eric’s, his felt different to my new senses. His hands blazed a new trail. Bold, confident, and hot. Too hot. I struggled for every breath I took. I was scorching, and not just from the air but from Eric’s touch. The air crackled like fire. I wanted to feel his lips on my skin. I wiggled my body as I pressed firmly