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“I was out trying to find some information; you know that.”
I held up one hand. “Stop lying.”
Evan pulled back as though I’d hit him. If I’d had the energy, I would have.
“You and the succubus. Tell me.”
Evan paled. He paced before me.
“Tell me the truth this time,” I said wearily.
He paused for so long I wondered if he’d flat-out refuse to answer me.
I closed my eyes to block out his prowling. Even after he’d betrayed me, I wanted him. I was drawn to this bad boy like a moth to a flame.
“It’s a long story,” he said finally.
I snorted. “With you, it always is.”
Chapter6
EVAN
How do I begin to explain the worst decision I ever made to my best friend? Sure, Maddy was a best friend with benefits now, but she’d always been there for me, even back when we were kids. Now what I had to tell her was so vile that I feared losing her forever.
With Maddy lying on the couch, shaken and pale, now wasn’t the best time to explain. But there was never going to be a good time. I didn’t want her to think that I would hurt her or anyone else in Sleepy Briar purposely.
“Last night wasn’t the first time I met the succubus. Back in high school, I met a young woman out on the edge of the sea ice. She said she was lost. She wasn’t from Sleepy Briar. I learned, too late, the succubus trolls the shoreline for sailors or hunters to glamour.”
I paused, looking over at Maddy. Her eyes were closed, with the back of her hand resting over her eyes. She might have been asleep, but I knew she wasn’t. It pained me to think she couldn’t stand the sight of me.
“You know how badly I wanted to get out of Sleepy Briar for college. But I didn’t have the money for a college in California; even with a scholarship that place is crazy expensive.” I paused. What I was about to say couldn’t be taken back. “I made a deal with the succubus.”
I glanced at Maddy, but all I got was her profile.
“She loaned me the money I needed, and I didn’t reveal her location.” Paranormals were loath to organize around anything, given all the difficult histories among the species. But a succubus was something else. No species was immune to her powers. If and when a succubus settled near a community, the paranormals banded together and drove her out.
No one in Sleepy Briar had known where she lived until it was too late.
“I’m going to hate the answer,” Maddy said, “but how did you know where she lived?
I swallowed. My mouth was dry. “For a while, I met her there.”
“You fucked her back then while you were fucking me?” Maddy’s voice wavered, but she didn’t look at me.
“No! Never! I swear to you that she and I were over before you and I began.”
“Fucking,” Maddy said. “It’s called fucking. Don’t try to shine it up now.”
“If I could go back, I’d do things differently.”
“That’s a relief.” She pulled her hand away from her face. “You knew she was planning to burn the town down?”
“Of course not. I only found out when Jax told me after I left. I felt terrible.”
“But not terrible enough to tell anyone the truth or give the money back?” Maddy stood up, a bit unsteady on her feet, but she didn’t fall over. She warned me off with a shake of her head.
“That’s why I’m here, to pay her back.”
