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I sank to the floor, glad she wasn’t shaking the bars anymore. How many things could happen? What did I do to get locked up?
If anything, time dragged slower. I wondered if the demon could somehow do that—unravel time itself, so it would take longer, as an additional torture.I wouldn’t put it past them.
I blinked,coming back into consciousness.Where am I now?I struggled—a bag covered my head, obscuring my view. I couldn’t use my hands to yank it away, so I tried to shake my head free of the fabric covering it. I grunted in frustration because it was getting old. She knew I couldn’t stand it when she popped me inand out of consciousness, and I fucking hated her for doing it to me.
“Easy.” Nathan’s voice. I stilled, waiting to hear what else he had to say. “We can’t let you see where we’re going. We told you this, but obviously you didn’t hear it. Relax, Addalee. I promise, you’re okay.”
I relaxed a bit, licking my lips. “Nathan, I’ve lost huge amounts of time. The last thing I remember before I totally lost time, I danced in Cruise’s basement.”
“That long ago?” Cruise’s voice sounded a bit gruff. “Two weeks ago, Addalee. We lost you two weeks ago. We turned our back on you for a minute, and you walked out the door. After that, we’re not sure what happened. We know you stole a guy’s car and knocked the shit out of him. You broke his nose.” Relief flooded me, and I exhaled deeply.That was the blood. Okay. I didn’t kill the man in the trucker’s hat.I simply broke his nose.He deserved that much, at least. “When the police stopped you, you went nuts. You literally broke a whole row of cars. It was quite the scene.”
So far, no one was dead, which was helpful. I nodded, not entirely displeased with the turn of events. “Who is in this car with me? Right now, I mean. I can’t see you.”
“Danvers, Nathan, and me,” Cruise supplied. “Although Ryker is so often on video call with us, he might as well be here most of the time, too. The place where we’re taking you…I’m not going to lie, it’s not fun there. I wanted to avoid it, but I think at this point, we have no choice.”
“You’re taking mewhere?” Before he could answer, another question popped in my head. “What did I do before I got to that highway? I was hardly dressed, and I don’t remember anything that happened before that. I don’t even know where that was.”
Danvers took my hand. “Near where I grew up, actually. As for what you did, I think you were looking for the hunters. They had a stronghold nearby for a while.”
Looking for the hunters?It didn’t make sense. I should have been avoiding them at all costs, but my demon waslookingfor them? “I don’t understand her. I thought that I did for a long time, but I really don’t. Do any of you know what the hell she’s doing?”
“I think…” Nathan sighed. “I think there’s some kind of plan you’ve disrupted—three times, now. The first time you disrupted the plan was when you took out Danvers’s demon. He was a big deal, right? They’ve made movies based on things he’s done.”
Danvers shifted in his seat next to me, so I reached out to squeeze his thigh. It had to have been hell to live with his demon.
“You have no idea,” Danvers agreed.
“Right. I bet I don’t.” Nathan shifted next to me. I caught a whiff of his scent through the hood. The three of us had to be in the back seat of whatever vehicle they used. Was Danvers driving us around, our very own chauffeur? Or was someone else up front, some passenger I couldn’t see?They would’ve told me, right?Paranoia roared through me, likely fueled by my demon’s intervention. Even as I thought about the demon, she laughed, confirming my suspicions.
“After that, you cleared Ben, who had his demon trapped. No way do they want to risk you doing that to every possessed person you meet, but then I think you disrupted their plans in a way they never could’ve seen coming. I think the third thing is that you have hung on so long. I don’t think anyone expected you to manage it. You’ve only started becoming desperate recently, and now they’re trying to stop you from your path. Only they won’t.” He leaned toward me, his voice intimate as he added. “Hear me very clearly, you, the one who doesn’t belong in there—this is done. You can leave now because you chose to do so,but otherwise, we’ll find a way to make you leave. You should be ashamed at how miserable you’ve been making her.”
I wished he was right, and she’d just decide to leave after all. Fat chance of it, though.
We drove in silence for a while longer until I felt compelled to speak. “You guys don’t have to do this. You must have lives of your own to lead. Danvers, you just got a new job. Cruise, you’re probably missing work to mess with me. Nathan, do you have a job? I mean, besides helping at the tent cities.”
“Most of my time is taken up with my work in the tent cities if I’m being honest. I’m not trying to brag, but I was born with a lot of family money. Since I had the luxury of deciding what to do with my life, I chose to help with the homeless situation and assist with the fight against the demons. Where we’re going? My family actually owns the place. I’m privileged, and I know it, to be able to do what I do.”
I leaned my covered head on his shoulder. “You don’t need to justify yourself. You’re amazing.”
“Thank you.”
Danvers nudged me. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t raised with money, either.”
Compared to me, he actually was. So was Ryker, but we didn’t need to have a pissing contest over who had the saddest sob story. Not when I was suddenly so tired. I yawned, tried to shake it off, then thought to ask, “Are you guys giving me something that’s making me tired?”
“Yes,” Cruise answered without the slightest hesitation. “And don’t you worry about my job. I have a lot of vacation time, and it’s about damn time I’m using it, according to my boss. Danvers will still have his job when this is all said and done. Ryker’s family loves you. They all want you better.”
Not all of his family, but Cruise wouldn’t know our history. His mother hated me. That was the last thing I thought before Idrifted off—how much Ryker’s mother hated me. How long had it been since I last slept? Weeks?Is that possible?
I didn’t know.
Distantly, I felt myself being lifted. Someone removed the bag from my head, and I sighed in relief as cool air touched my face.
“Is this her?” asked a woman’s low voice. “You should have brought her to us as soon as you found her.”
I snuggled down, enjoying both the softness of wherever they put me and the warmth of the man—it had to be Nathan who held me. He always smelled a little like ginger, and the spicy sweet scent of him wafted over me. “I could bring you half a dozen people a day right now. I can’t just kidnap people and bring them here. Addalee was living her life. I couldn’t interfere until it became clear we were losing her.”
Losing me?I lifted my head, but he pushed it back down. Blinking, I finally managed to focus my eyes. The first thing I noticed was Nathan needed a shave. Almost a full beard’s growth decorated his chin, amusing me beyond belief. I never saw him any way other than freshly shaved before.
