He shrugs. “That’s it. Cards on the table.”
“She’ll take it,” Ria pipes up the moment he stops talking, not giving me a chance to say a word.
“Yeah, she will,” Temperance nods in agreement.
“I will fucking not,” I nearly yell, flinging my arms in the air. “I thought we came here because you were renting, not selling. I won’t accept a house from Ghost. Not another one!”
Ria is in front of me in the blink of an eye.
“Are you crazy?” she huffs, looking completely bewildered. “You want to refuse a whole-ass house? Fully furnished and ready to move in? Did you learnanyof the lessons I taught you?”
“Mindfuck, the deal is done,” Temperance says, waving him off. “She likes the house. She’ll take it. Go draw the papers. Do whatever shit needs doing.”
Then she steps in next to Ria, pinning me in place with that steel gaze of hers.
Mindfuck doesn’t hesitate. He bolts out the door without so much as a glance back. Everything happens so fast I feel a little dizzy.
“You’ll never buy a house with bookstore money,” Temperance says, voice final. “Ghost burned down your cabin. It’s only fair he compensates you for it.”
Ria nods along. “I support women’s rights and wrongs, and you — a woman — have a right to this beautiful house. Also, think of your kitty,” she adds. “He’s the whole reason you’ve been looking for a new home. He needs a safe, poison-free place to park his furry butt. And you have one right here.”
She blinks innocently at me, like I don’t know the whole reason she actually likes this house is that it’s literally a ten-minute walk from her apartment.
“You can stop now,” I mutter, rolling my eyes. “My will is weak. It cannot resist an attack from the both of you.”
It’s been over a week since the snake cult was dealt with. Meanwhile, I’ve been searching like crazy for a place to rent. I don’t know why I ever thought Ghost would just sit back and do nothing.
It’s like my brain refuses to accept the absolutely unhinged level of bullheadedness he’s capable of.
He’s been gone, though. Left the very next day after we got confirmation about the cult. Two days after our little arson adventure.
But he still found a way to get his notes to me. Every morning, a new one waits on the counter at my bookstore. Clearly, some biker minion of his has been breaking in every night on his behalf. I should be more annoyed by this, but I’m not. Not even a little.
I’ve also developed a bad — very,verybad — habit of compulsively checking the tracker app he installed on my phone. My heart squeezes painfully every time I spot that dot moving in or around Willow Harbor. And when it doesn’t move at all, it’s worse.
It’s hard to admit how much I fucking miss him. How much I’ve started worrying about him. I think it just hit me now — every time he leaves, Death walks at his side. It could take him at any moment. That tracker dot could just stop moving forever one day.
The dot is here. The fucking dot is here. Across the street, ten feet to the left.
Why the hell can’t I stop looking at my phone?!
Stop it, Adora. Stop it. It’s not your business that he’s here. Stalking you like a creeper. Not. Your. Business.
The chime of the bell above the door snaps me out of the ridiculous spiral I was hurtling toward.
Temperance walks in, looking both stunning and tired as fuck at the same time. She plops a brown paper bag on the counter and releases a yawn big enough to swallow my entire bookstore.
“Got lunch,” she mumbles, eyes half-lidded.
“Thank you,” I say carefully, dragging the bag closer. “What happened to you? Why do you look so tired?”
She frowns. Takes a deep breath. Her eyes narrow. Then the dam breaks.
“Sex. Lots of all-night, hot, sweaty trips to Poundtown.” Her arms flail. “I can’t keep my damn hands off Bones. He just blinks and I instantly get panty palpitations. I’m ready to go!” She leans forward, genuinely baffled. “It’s like my vagina took over my brain, Adora. I liked sex before, sure. I enjoyed it. A lot. But this is getting ridiculous. I have work the next day, and my stupid vagina doesn’t care!”
I clear my throat, a little startled. Fuck, I wish I had her problem.
“Well,” I start gently, “I’m sure things will calm down after a while.”
