Page 69 of Malice

“I thought I did.” I let out a breath. “Maybe I was still half asleep.”

“Or maybe the demon is reminding you that you’re on the clock.” He closes my fingers into a fist and puts both hands around mine, kissing my hand before turning on one of the bedside lamps. He brings my hand close to his face. “I don’t see anything, but that doesn’t mean you imagined it, Wren.”

“I know.” I sigh. “I think it’s just the demon reminding me that I’m running out of time.”

“You’re not. We are going to figure this out.”

“Yes,” I agree, not wanting to voice my doubts.

Sighing, I lay back down. Xavier drops his towel and gets in bed with me, his naked body still warm from the shower. The heat will only cling to him for so long, and it’s both comforting and odd to have a warm body next to me.

Unable to fall back asleep, I get up and change into workout clothes. It shouldn’t be hard to get Antonio to agree to go for a run with me, and we really should get back to training like we used to do.

“You made quite the impression, brother,” Theo says when Xavier and I go downstairs. He’s sitting in the front living room, clearly positioned there so he could see us as soon as we came down.

“As did you,” he adds, his eyes landing on me.

“Me? What did I do?”

“Well, according to the tabloids, you’re having an affair.”

I laugh, waiting for him to laugh, too. “With who?” I ask, unable to help the humor in my voice. Accusing me of an affair is the most absurd thing I can think of.

Theo holds up his phone, showing a picture of me standing next to Antonio at last night’s event. We’re in the back of the hall, and my hand is on Antonio’s arm. He scrolls down and shows a video of us sneaking out onto the patio. I’m holding an overflowing plate of food and two drinks.

“This is ridiculous,” I say, shaking my head. “That’s my brother.”

“Nobody knows you have a brother,” Theo throws back.

“Well, nobody knows I don’t,” I say, as if it’s obvious. “So we’ll just tell them.”

“You’re missing the point.” Theo looks at Xavier, expecting backup. “What were you two doing sneaking away like that anyway?”

“Eating food,” I say simply. “Vampires don’t eat, and I wanted to feed Antonio.”

“The goal wasn’t to bring media attention to an Order member,” Theo says.

“Then he should’ve stayed home,” I counter. “I’m sorry, I’m just stuck on the fact that people think I’m sleeping with my brother. No one’s going to take this seriously.” I glance at Xavier. A rumor that his wife is having an affair won’t look good for him, but it’s not out of the question. He’s a highly desirable celebrity in some ways, and now that he’s received an endorsement for mayor, of course people are going to try to dig up dirt on him.

“This blows the Order’s lies right out of the water,” Xavier says, calm as ever. “Clips of Antonio show him alive and well.” He tips his head. “Or undead and well.”

“There goes using his death to our advantage,” Theo says, and I agree. Though I’m not entirely sure what advantage that really gave us beyond surprise. I imagine seeing their “dead” son dressed in a Gucci suit, parading around an event where seats cost five thousand dollars, is the last thing Vivian and Marco would have ever expected.

“Call Dimitri,” Xavier tells Theo. “Have him make the appropriate documents we need for Antonio. The public loves a family affair.” He grins and cups my chin. “Having the support of my wife’s older brother just cements my position.”

“You know this is going to piss the Order off so much,” I say, smiling.

“After your run,” Xavier tells me, “have Mabel take some photos of you with Antonio. I’ll have Victoria run PR on it. Get this taken care of.” He looks at Theo. “This is part of the game, brother. Accusing my wife of having an affair with her own brother is weak. I expected more of my opponents, so we need to be prepared. It would only take moderate work to connect Antonio to Larissa, who is currently sitting behind bars for attempted murder.”

“What’s going to happen when they find out she’s a witch?” Theo asks.

“They won’t,” Xavier says. “There’s no evidence of magic, so let them accuse her and sound crazy.”

His eyes meet mine briefly, acknowledging that he remembers me telling him the cops have body cam footage of me fighting demons with magic. He doesn’t bring it up, and I know he won’t unless it’s absolutely necessary.

I eat breakfast, and then head upstairs. Antonio is still asleep in his room.

“Rise and shine, buttercup,” I say, flicking on the light. He groans and pulls the blanket over his head. “How late were you and Devon playing video games?”