“Angel,” he said neutrally, returning his attention to the newspaper. “I trust you didn’t have any problems checking out of the hotel?”
“Funny enough, someone had already paid my bill.” I turned and glared at Elian, who was busy retrieving plates and silverware for our feast. “Any guesses who?”
“Don’t read into it,” he said. “The owner’s a demon. He owed me a favor.”
“Don’t we all,” Jax grumbled.
“What are you doing here, anyway?” I asked Jax. “Come to see me off?” I set the bag on the table and started pulling out the takeout containers. Southern, spicy goodness wafted up, making my stomach grumble. “I think I love you.”
“After one night?” Jax ruffled his newspaper. “Didn’t realize I made such an impression.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I was talking to the jambalaya.”
“She does that,” Elian said. “Talks to her food.”
Jax looked up at me and lifted his brows, like,Are you going to let him get away with that shit?
No, I was not.
“I think we need some ground rules here, Elian,” I said. “Rule number one—don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Point out all my cute little quirks and foibles like you’ve got the inside scoop on all things Haley Barnes. It was a long time ago.”
“But that’s… that’s a thing you still do,” he protested. “You literally just did it.”
I grabbed the biggest container and popped off the lid, then took a seat right next to the demon. “Do you mind if I make out with you a little, just to piss him off?”
Jax leaned over, his breath stirring my hair. “Just so I’m clear… Still talking to the jambalaya?”
“Obviously.” Ignoring the shiver of pleasure that rolled across my shoulders at the demon’s proximity, I snatched a spoon from Elian’s hand and dug in, skipping the courtesy of dishing it into a bowl. Elian had made me wait in the hot sun for an hour without so much as a note taped to the door. Manners were no longer high on my list.
By the time I glanced up from my jambalaya snog-fest, the room had fallen silent, and both guys were watching me as if they’d never seen someone have an orgasmic culinary experience before.
“Want some?” I asked, though it came out more like “wan thub” on account of the red-hot deliciousness filling my mouth. I scooped up another spoonful and lifted it toward Jax, but the demon didn’t bite. Just glared at me in that unnervingly hot way of his.
“Jax ishere,” Elian finally said, “because he’s coming with us.”
“As is Hudson,” Jax said. “Our other… associate.”
Coming with us? Other associate?
“I’m not following,” I said to Elian. “Why would you drag more people into this?”
Elian and Jax exchanged a loaded glance. They seemed to be having an argument without words.
Apparently, Elian lost.
Through a tight jaw, he sighed and said, “I wasn’t the only one to escape Midnight, Haley. Jax and Hudson were with me. We survived the streets together, and when the time came to leave, we made it out together.”
“So now you’re goingbacktogether? I don’t think so, Musketeers.” I shoved the spoon into my mouth, but the spicy food wasn’t enough to rival the hot guilt bubbling inside me. “Elian, I can’t do this without you. We both know that. But I can’t ask your friends to—”
“We’re not friends,” Jax said, at the same time Elian said, “It’s already done.”
I turned to Jax, my eyes misting. “Don’t be crazy. You don’t even know me. Why would you agree to this?”
“I have my reasons.” He grabbed the spoon from my hand and dipped it into the container, then lifted it to my lips. With another smirk, he said, “Eat, angel. Or you’ll be fighting Hudson for the scraps.”
