My eyes widened. A Lilin was the offspring of Lilith but nothing like Layla. A Lilin was a demonic creature way forbidden to be topside, because they could strip souls by simply brushing up against a human, creating wraiths like a mogwai feeds after midnight. And now I understood what Sam had meant by saying he hadn’t crossed over as soon as he’d died. His soul would’ve been stripped and he would’ve been...

Oh God.

“I didn’t know,” I whispered. “I don’t know anything about these people—”

“These people are my friends,” he said, and I sucked in a sharp breath. “And why would anyone tell you? You didn’t ask who Stacey lost, even though I mentioned it.”

I jerked back. “I didn’t think you’d want me to ask.”

“Yeah, and I wonder why you thought that.”

My mouth dropped open. “That’s bullshit. I tried to ask you the night we talked on the couch, and you told me there were a lot of things I didn’t know.”

“You were asking about Stacey being at my place before. You weren’t asking about her. You were asking about us. Big difference there.”

A prickly sensation swept across my skin as his pupils shrank back to their normal size. I didn’t know how to respond to that. I felt like I’d belly flopped over a line.

“I didn’t tell you about meeting with her because I didn’t think it would be something you’d want to hear. Maybe I was wrong. No. I was wrong. I should’ve said I was meeting her among the other stuff I needed to do today. Hindsight is twenty-twenty.” He glared at me. “Stacey is my friend, and I haven’t been a very good friend to her of late. That was what today was supposed to be. That’s what the other day was about. Nothing else. Nothing more. No matter what she and I used to do or not do.”

My face started to sting. “You don’t owe me an explanation—”

“Apparently I do. So, here’s what you need to know. Stacey thought she was telling the boy she knew for years that she loved him, but she wasn’t. She never got to tell Sam,” he said, causing me to flinch. “And that boy was in Hell until Layla freed him. Stacey knew that, once we realized what we were dealing with wasn’t Sam. There wasn’t a damn thing she could do, so, yes, hearing that he was there hit her hard.

“And after what happened between us, I cannot believe you’re questioning me,” he continued. “You don’t want anything serious between us, so it shouldn’t matter what the Hell I was doing with her or with anyone. You made your choice.”