It was never a funny story, but I nodded to encourage her anyway.
“The boss is on a rampage and it’s kind of my fault.” She laughed nervously.
I sighed. Today was going to be a long day.
5
EZRA
I stared at the door.
Thedoor.
The light brown one that led down to the basement. I’d seen all the movies before I’d left home. I knew how this kind of thing worked. Samael couldn’t have taken the bodies anywhere else yet—there had been no time—and that curious part of me wanted to see them. Wanted to know what they looked like after he’d finished with them. He didn’t ban me from any areas in the house, so I didn’t need his permission to investigate.
I sighed. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t do it, not without talking to him first. I didn’t understand the whole killing thing, but I did know a thing or two about privacy. This was his home and it was warm with food and a hot shower. I wasn’t going to fuck this up.
A sharp, loud sound ripped through the house, and I jumped on instinct, scampering toward the kitchen drawer for a knife—one with a long sharp blade. It took me a moment to realize it was the doorbell. I’d forgotten what they sounded like. Then,there was knocking, loud thumps on the door that grated on my nerves.
“Yoohoo! Anyone home? I know Samael went to work, but Eleanor told me his boyfriend was home and I wanted to introduce myself.”
Boyfriend?I dropped the knife back into the drawer and closed it, walking curiously to the front door. I still had the sweatpants and shirt on that he’d left me, and I’d yet to shower and leave the house. Samael had only gone to work an hour ago, though, so I didn’t think it was outrageous to still be in the clothes I’d slept in.
I peeked through the peephole in the door and frowned at the middle-aged woman on the other side. She had brown curls and green cat-eye glasses. Her lips were slathered in a deep red lipstick, but it wandered outside the lines of her mouth.
I cringed. Fuck. I didn’t know what Samael’s policy was on answering doors. How the hell did she know I was here?
Opening the door slightly, I peered through the narrow space I’d made. “Who’re you?”
She grinned, flashing her perfect white teeth in a way that reminded me of my mom. “Hi! I’m Annabella Lawrence, one of Samael’s neighbors. Oh, aren’t you the cutest?” She gasped when I opened the door a little more. “What happened to your face, sweetheart? Oh my god, Samael didn’t do this, did he?”
“No!” The urge to defend the man who’d protected me forced me to swing the door open fully. I crossed my arms over my chest, partly because I felt exposed to the cold outdoor air, and also because it annoyed me that she would even suggest him hurting me. “Samael’s a gentleman. He wouldn’t.”
But how the hell did I know that? I didn’t know the guy and he was a serial killer. Although, I had a feeling this Annabelle had no idea about that part of Samael.
She bobbed her head in a nod and slapped her hands together. I took note of the way she was dressed, from her thick wool jacket to her brown business pants. She looked like someone who definitely lived in suburbia, a desperate housewife.
“Of course he wouldn’t. He’s always been so nice to the ladies living around here. When we need our lawns mowed, he’s always the first to volunteer.” She laughed then, flushing red in the cheeks. “Of course, we all competed for his attention. It’s not often you come across a man like him, gentlemanly as a gentleman can come. We should’ve known he was too good to be true. Gay. I would never have guessed.”
Me either. I kept my lips pressed tightly together. Did Samael even know what he was?
“Who told you he was gay?” I asked before I could stop myself. A sliver of me hoped it was true, but he’d told me himself he wasn’t, but then he jerked me off. If that wasn’t mixed signals, I didn’t know what was.
“He did. Well, he told Eleanor you were his boyfriend. Although, I suppose he could be bisexual, too. That’s a thing isn’t it? And pansexual. Lots of different sexuals, isn’t there? I’m learning all about them.” She clapped her hands together. “I’m so excited. I’ve always wanted a gay couple as neighbors.”
“Ah, I think you have the wrong idea.”
She waved at me. “Don’t be silly. Can I come in?” She pushed herself on her tiptoe, staring over my shoulder.
I closed the door nearly all the way again so she couldn’t see inside. “Sorry, I’m really busy right now. I have a lot of things I need to do.”
“I completely understand, sweetheart. Samael never invites us over. We always thought it was because he didn’t want to play favorites with the poor single women of the neighborhood. Do you at least have a name?”
I thought about not giving it to her, but if Samael told Eleanor—whoevershewas—that I was his boyfriend, then I had to play along. “Ezra. My name’s Ezra.”
“Well, you’re a cutie, Ezra. Tell Samael I popped over to say hello, and we should totally have dinner one night. I can cook, of course.”
I nodded as quickly as I could, the uncomfortable feeling rising inside me. “Yeah. I’ll do that. Sorry, I have to go.”
