Page 53 of An Espresso Machine’s Guide to Love & Mischief

“No, you don’t. How can you accuse me of only caring about money when I’ve lived without money, or food, or a body, for over a year.” Never mind that I’m in Toronto to get my business back, that’s more of a matter of principle and he doesn’t know about it anyway.

“Probably deserve to be trapped,” he mutters.

I desperately want to steam him. Fucking hell. I should have saved my water to use on this dingleberry. “You deserve to have a piano dropped on your head like that top-hat guy in Prague who—”

“Enough with the lies, enough with… with… you,” he says the word as though it’s a curse.

I can feel hatred oozing off him, and the worst part is—it hurts. I really thought we had a moment—maybe even several moments—talking about severed toes and sharing stories. Was he just playing me so he could get information? Well, it didn’t work. The only thing I told him was how I died… and my last name.

“I’m not Rumpelstiltskin,” I hiss. “If you wanted to know my name, you could have just asked.”

“I don’t care about your name. It’s as disgusting as you are, Del Ray!”

That stings, but I cover it up with anger. “Screw you, I’m hot,” I say. “And Trevor isn’t exactly an elegant, beautiful name either, you know.”

“Shut—”

I cut him off. I don’t need more insults. “Besides, you’re the one who kidnapped me! If you don’t want me around, take me home. Or call my friend—”

“Oh, your friend, of course.” He scoffs. “I should have guessed it from the start when I saw you by that building with that pony.”

“You leave Neph out of this,” I hiss. Nobody insults my bestie—especially when she’s been hauling my ass around the city all day. It also reminds me of Fletcher, and my heart hurts just a little bit more. “Why would you even bring her up?”

“You know very well, princess,” he says with disdain.

“Janet, are you here?” I cry to the cook. “Trevor has lost his fucking mind.”

Janet doesn’t answer. Either she’s gone or she doesn’t care—or whatever’s happening to Trevor got her, too.

“You’re not turning anyone against me. I’m not going through that again.”

“Make sense already! Fuck, you’re gibbering like the monkeys in that temple near Jaipur after they saw I had a banana in my bag. Just noise noise noise.”

Trevor’s face reddens with rage, and a vein in his temple throbs. “If you don’t shut the fuck up,” he says between clenched teeth, “I’m going to unplug your power source entirely and never plug you back in.”

If I could tremble, I would. If he were to unplug me, I wouldn’t be able to stop him from doing… well, anything. I’d just… die. All over again. Darkness and nothingness forever.

No one will ever know what happened to me. Neph would never think to look for me on a random island with a creepy name—and no one will ever rescue me and plug me back in.

But I’m not going to show this piece of shit Trevor I’m afraid. “You wouldn’t dare.”

He laughs, a bitter, cruel sound. “What are you going to do to stop me?”

The only thing I can do: Shout! “You keep your filthy hands off me. I will not be threatened, you hear me?”

“Goodbye, Hamilton Beach.” He leans over me and his hand grabs my cord.

Why did he suddenly turn on me? What did I ever do to him? I don’t understand. “No, please,” I cry, my voice turning small and scared. “Don’t do this. I can’t—”

He yanks on my cord, and everything fades to nothing as my power goes out.

Chapter 25

Asgard

I race along the water’s edge in raccoon form. It’s a lot more inconspicuous than a six-foot, dark-skinned man running at full speed—and almost twice as fast.

The hot midday sun beats down on my fur. The cool lake water calls to my shifter side, but I stick to the mission: rescue my fated mate before the kidnappers take her apart bolt by bolt.