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Wilder was already almost to the door by the time I got up from the couch, keeping a wary eye on Santiago. When he realized we were actually leaving for real this time, he rose from the chair with a pained groan and followed us to the front hall.
Before I reached the door, he took me by the arm and pulled me back, so we were just out of sight of Wilder. “I don’t think you’re taking this seriously enough, Genie.”
“How much more seriously do you want me to take it? I mean, if this was just one thing, and the weirdest thing that had happened to me this year, I’d probably be running around ripping my hair out or something. But I’m starting to think bizarre bullshit like this is going to be par for the course from now on.”
Again, that charming grin. He pressed his hand against my face, his thumb rough but not unpleasant as it grazed my cheek. “I’m here to help you, know that.”
“Ha. That thing scared the shit out of you, don’t joke.”
“Do you run from everything that scares you?”
“I’d be participating in a lot of marathons if that was the case.”
“You’re a tough lady, but you don’t need to face these things alone. You’ve got him. You’ve got me. I think between the two of us, and the rest of your pack, you have more help than you realize.”
I wanted to tell him I couldn’t ask my pack to be a part of this, to explain to him that sometimes there was trouble I just couldn’t heap onto other people, but instead I smiled and nodded, brushing his hand off my face.
“Thank you. But hopefully you won’t be hearing from me again about this.”
“If you go see her…”
“What, you want to be my plus one?”
Wilder had drifted back into the room to see what was taking me so long, and I was grateful Santiago was no longer touching me. He was altogether too close for this to look innocent though.
Santiago pursed his lips, like he was debating how to answer my question. “Just be careful. I’m not sure you’re going to like her answers.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“I just tasted
a darkness in you that I’m not sure you even know is there.”
“A darkness?” I darted a glance at Wilder.
“You have the capacity in you to do incredible things, brujita. But one wrong push, and I think you could become an evil unlike anything this world has ever seen.”
Chapter Eleven
As much as I loved Magnolia, I was grateful she wasn’t at my house when Wilder and I arrived about twenty minutes later. We’d barely said a word to each other for the whole drive, and I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a Dodge Dart, but that’s not a lot of space to have filled up with tense silence.
I felt like I needed an actual breath of fresh air when we got out.
We were barely through the front door when Wilder sulked into the bedroom where I could hear drawers and cabinets opening and closing with alarming force.
“You’re going to break my closet doors if you get much more passive aggressive. Also, it’s not really being passive aggressive if you’re smashing shit.”
He returned to the kitchen, his face a stony mask. He was so pissed off I barely recognized him.
“Why do you let him talk to you like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re something he can have. Like it’s okay for him to have pet names, and be familiar. Like you don’t fucking mind it.”
“Are we seriously doing this again?”
“We are, and don’t think you’re going to distract me with sex this time.”
