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“Why do you care? I bet you’re disappointed to see me,” she croaked through a snotty nose.
“I admit, I thought you’d get away. Part of me wanted you to succeed,” I replied.
Even as I said the words, I only half meant them. I wanted to be around her, to get to know her better, but I knew it wasn’t safe. I didn’t know her well, but the woman in front of me wasn’t Diana. She was a husk of the woman that annoyed the Lucifer forsaken shit out of me daily. I didn’t like her in this state. It was unnatural.
“I don’t want to be here. I hate you all so much.” She used the clean part of the handkerchief to dab at the tears around her eyes. “I want to leave and never look back.”
“What happened to the obnoxious, insufferable bitch from the Bronx—”
“—Brooklyn,” she corrected me.
“Yeah, whatever, Brooklyn, that irritated the fuck out of me from day one? Thatbadass bitch? You sound fucking pathetic right now,” I snarked.
Glaring at me, she sat up and threw her blanket off, revealing leggings-clad legs and a new hoodie. Bash must have changed her before putting her to bed. Her legs were pretzeled and her curly hair looked like rats had an orgy in it. She was a mess who was in need of a deep conditioning treatment and an eye mask.
“Well excuse me, you fucking furry, horned troll wanna-be. Did you just get someone’s name burned in you?! Did you just realize your entire life is controlled by a bunch of fuckwits? Did the guys you trusted enough to fuck you sillylieto you? No? I didn’t think so. If you have any ideas on how to help me escape, please let me know.”
There she was.Help her escape. Take her to JFK airport.
“How about I help you escape? The wards are down right now until tomorrow. Bash just warded this room so you couldn’t get out, and I put basic wards on the house that can be manipulated easily. I can fade you to JFK airport. You can start all over again, and I’ll give you cash to make it happen.”
“Why would you do that for me?” she asked incredulously. She had every right to be suspicious of me after what happened.
“Look, I don’t hate youas a person, even though you’re annoying as fuck. I felt forced to go through with this plan because Bash claimed you. I feel like they all claimed you in a way. They’re fucking obsessed with you and don’t even give a fuck about me anymore.” I ran my hands through my long blond hair, trying hard not to look her in the eye as I stood there talking about my…feelings. “I know you don’t believe me, but I didn’t mean to almost murder you. I wanted to teach you a lesson, but it went too far. That wasn’t me.”
“If you weren’t so hateful toward me, I would have liked you just as much as them and you wouldn’t feel left out. You’re a handsome man, Malcolm. Your personality is hot garbage, though.”Ha, if only she knew how much of a rotting mess I really was inside.“Whether or not you tried to murder me is irrelevant now. Do you think it’s safe to run away? Will they find me?”
“I’m not sure. Who’s to say what’s safe? You could stay here, and I may accidentally murder you. You could get the best magical training and still die when you finally fight Satan with us. Or you could run to a rare corner of the globe and Ares could find you and drag you right back here.Wecan’t tell the future.”
She took her time, mulling over her options. She kept looking at me, searching for a missing piece of the puzzle.
“Who’s going to take care of Oscar? Why are you being so nice to me… What’s the catch?” She crossed her arms defensively.
“I hate to tell you, Princess Di, but he’s Desmond’s cat now. He probably won’t even miss you. I’m helping you as an apology and to get my life back. There’s no catch.” I gave her a thumbs up that felt as tacky as it looked.
“Ihatethat nickname. She left us too soon, and I’m still not over it. You guys better not kick my baby boy out. He’s too sweet for outdoor life. Can you fade me to my room so I can pack, and then we’ll leave in fifteen minutes?”
“You weren’t even alive when she passed, what do you meantoo soon?” I uncuffed her and handed her a bag from Bash’s closet. “Take this, they wouldn’t have bought you a suitcase. I’ll be in your room to help as soon as I get the cash from my room.”
I faded her to her suite, leaving immediately for mine. Materializing in front of my door, I let myself in and walked straight to the Monet painting on my bedroom wall. I swung it away from the door, revealing a safe underneath. I pocketed $20K in cash for her. That should be enough to buy her ticket, get her started somewhere, and procure fake identification.
Take the dagger with you.
I eyed the dagger I kept in there. It was an old antique from the Renaissance era. I put it in my boot, smoothing my jeans over it so it stayed hidden.It’s always better to have protection and not need it, than need it and not have it.When I faded back to her room, I had a moment of doubt. Why was I so hellbent on taking her to the airport? It would be more dangerous for her to be alone than stay here. Why would I need a dagger for protection? I shook the thoughts off. We were running out of time, and eventually the guys would realize I was taking too long.
Before Diana came, the guys used this room to fuck random people we’d meet at the clubs and other establishments we managed. I had never been in the guest suite before, preferring to fuck randos outside of the mansion. The memory wiping process and getting them back to their place was just too much work for me. The poppy flowers and bright bursts of red, orange, and yellow throughout the room suited her. She moved around her closet and drawers like a tornado, frantically throwing clothes into her suitcase and trashing the room in the process. I opened a drawer to help and found her underwear. I held up something that was little more than a swatch of fabric and dental floss.
“Why even wear underwear at this point? What is this?” Lucifer’s glory, what were women wearing these days?
She grabbed it from me and threw it into her bag of chaos. Nothing inside was folded and everything was squashed down to fit more in. No wonder she and Ares hit it off so well–they were both a mess.
“It’s a g-string. I wear it with tight pants and jeans. Get with the times, old man,” she mocked. “Stop touching my underthings. If you really want to get rid of me quicker, go in the bathroom and get my toothbrush. Then pick some jeans out of the closet that will match with everything else in the bag. Make sure you don’t break your back though, okay?”
I rolled my eyes and sighed, opting to hold my tongue. I was so close to getting rid of her. After I retrieved her toothbrush and folded and packed a black pair of jeans, we were ready to go. She was smart enough to pack lightly. I held her suitcase in one hand and grabbed her hand with my other one.
Her blue-gray eyes teared up. Her bottom lip quivered slightly as her gaze trailed around the room.
“Are you ready to leave?” I asked. Her hand felt small and cashmere-soft in my own. For a split second, I wished I held it under different circumstances.
