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She shook her head. Squinted at him. “Why didn’t I make the connection before?”
He shrugged. “It’s not like you and I have ever really talked.”
It was her turn to shrug. “Guess not. Do you have a good relationship with Roman and…?”
“Paxton,” he finished for her.
“Paxton.”
“I don’t really have one at all. Roman got me out of Yveswich years ago, so I wouldn’t have to be around my dad anymore. Pax was so young back then, I don’t know if he even remembers me. He’d be twelve now, I think.”
“Have you never gone to visit?”
“Can’t. Roman would murder me.” When Jewels’s brow creased with question, Travis explained, “My dad’s Donovan Slade.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh shit.” There were a lot of people who never made the connection, since their last names were different. There were even a few people in Angelthene who’d never known that Darien and Ivy were Randal’s kids, having never heard of them until they’d changed their surnames and became Devils—became important.
“Roman’s waiting until Paxton’s eighteen and can legally live on his own,” Travis said. “Then, they’ll both leave Yveswich.”
“Roman runs the House of Black, though. He’d leave all of that behind?”
“The only thing Roman cares about is his family. He doesn’t care about all that other stuff.”
The doors to the library creaked open. The others were back.
Sabrine was at the head of the group. She gave them a wolfish grin and held up a necklace identical to the one Loren wore. “Good thing we’ve got a bunch of muscleheads here. We’re going to need to move that bookcase.”
26
Motel 58
STATE OF WITHEREDGE
The yellow bikini was even cuter than Shay had thought.
She turned to look at the curve of her backside in the bathroom mirror, her long hair brushing against the small of her back. Yup, the ruched center in the bottoms made her ass look really good.
“Time to swim, Nugs,” she said with a smile.
Where he lay on the bathroom floor, the Familiar looked up at her with big eyes. It was late, but both of them were itching for a swim after that long, hot drive with that big, cranky Darkslayer.
She grabbed a white towel off the rack, wrapped herself in it, and bent to scoop up Nugget. He was extra warm and limp in this baking heat.
The television was on in the room, but Roman was nowhere to be found.
Good riddance.
“Do you think he left us?” she asked Nugget. She wouldn’t be surprised; his grouchiness had doubled after their store visit a couple of hours ago. She had no idea what the hell was wrong with him, aside from the whole blackmailing thing, but it made her want to smack him.
She parted the curtain on the window and looked out at the dirt parking lot. Under the moonlight, his car gleamed like bone.
She let the curtain fall. “Nope, still here,” she declared.
Before leaving the room, she grabbed her key in case Roman decided to lock her out and walked barefoot to the pool.
There was no one else out here, the pool lit by the warm glow of a few string lights. She set down Nugget and threw her towel on a pool chair—
“Might want to look before you dive,” said a gravelly voice from the shadows of the building.
