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“The nun can’t get you now,” he mocked.
Asshole.Forcing my muscles to unclench, I sniffed. “Valak could totally take you.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Not sure if you’re paying attention, but it’s a demon. We’d be outclassed and outmatched.”
A pause. “We?”
I frowned. “I wouldn’t let you battle it alone. We have each other’s back at all times, remember?”
A long moment of silence passed, and then he gave my hand a little squeeze. “Yeah,” he replied, his tone slightly deeper. “Yeah, I remember.”
∞∞∞
Exiting my office building two days later, I shoved my purse strap a little further up my shoulder. I usually left work at five o’ clock on the dot—or as near to it as possible. Today, however, I’d been delayed a full twenty minutes due to a micromanaging client dragging out a phone call so they could nitpick and question my decisions.
Funsies.
I’d dealt with such clients before. While they wanted someone else to take over, they struggled with not managing every aspect. That dissatisfaction often translated into them finding faults and changing their mind on this or that to regain a sense of control.
Like those before him, this particular client had eventually conceded that all was going well. He’d basically just wanted to have his say—and he’d wasted my time in the process. Lovely.
Happy to finally be heading home, I started to cross the lot as I strode toward my car. I was halfway there when I noticed Grayden hovering close to it.Crap.
I hadn’t seen him since the evening he’d turned up at my home to advocate for Felicity and ask Dax to show her mercy. Right now, he didn’t look good. He was pale and sported dark circles under his eyes. Deep lines were carved into his face. His hair was unkempt and a little frizzy, not gelled down as usual.
I’d heard that one of his friends had passed away unexpectedly during the weekend, so that would account for his appearance. It didn’t explain why he was here, though. Unless … he wanted to talk to somebody else who’d lost someone close to them.
Inwardly, I sighed. Did it make me cruel that I wished he’d approached another person, such as one of his fellow grieving friends? Probably. But I didn’t appreciate that he thought he had the right topopin and out of my life whenever he pleased. He’d been doing it since the day we’d first broken up—sometimes in person, sometimes via phone or email.
I’d thought it would stop once I married Dax. When Grayden recently dropped off my radar, it had seemed as though I was right to think so. But the current situation would suggest otherwise.
As I neared him, my train of thought faltered. Because when I got a good look at his expression, I saw that it wasn’t one of despair and devastation; wasn’t one of loss.
The dude was pissed.
Clutching the handles of my satchel, I slowed to a stop a few feet away from him. “What are you doing here?”
His posture stiff and his neck corded, Grayden fisted his hands. “A pact, Addie?” he practically spat. “You married Dax because of apact?”
Everything in me stilled in shock.What the hell?There was no way he could have found out—none of the people in my circle would ever have blabbed the news to anyone, and I didn’t believe that any from Dax’s circle would have done so either.
And yet, somehow Grayden knew.
Going for clueless, I frowned and asked, “Whatever gave you that idea?”
He hurled a look of utter exasperation at me. “Don’t bother playing dumb. I overheard Jagger and Maverick talking about it.”
Shit.
“I couldn’t understand why you’d marry Dax, it made no sense. But you know what?” Grayden leaned toward me, his eyes diamond hard. “Neither does this. Unless the pact is legally binding, which I very much doubt, you didn’t need to go through with it.”
I sighed. “Grayden—”
“Look, I know how much you want marriage and kids. But this isfarfrom an answer to your problems. Jesus Christ, Addie, you’ve committed to a guy who feels nothing for you.”
A streak of pain lanced my windpipe. Indigestion. It was just indigestion.
