Page 24

“I don’t give a damn,” she snaps. “And, Phantom, I want Demon out of here before I wake up.”
Without another word, Jez climbs the steps, but it’s not lost on me how her movements slow with each lift of her legs. She’s worn out and still sore. Sleep is exactly what she needs.
And I need her to be out of my sight, so I don’t strangle some sense into her.
Demon sighs behind me, and I turn to face him. “Is she always this difficult?”
He huffs out a laugh. “No. Pretty sure that’s reserved for just us.”
“And her brother.”
“Yeah, him, too.” He walks past me to the couch and sits. “You still leaving?”
Despite what she said, he has no intention of being gone when she wakes up. Even if Soul hadn’t ordered him to be her shadow, he’ll die before he walks away from her.
He and I had plenty of time to talk over the last two days, and I informed him of my decision to return home to grab some of my things so I could stay here longer. I booked a flight, and a quick glance at my cell reminds me that I need to be on the road to the airport in the next ten minutes if I don’t want to miss it.
“Yeah, but I’ll be back.”
He and I also talked about how each of us feels about Jez, not that there was a need for that conversation. It’s clear as crystal that we’re both already half in love with her.
What we didn’t discuss was the heated looks between him and me. I’m totally fine with it, but it’s going to take him some time to come to grips with what he’s feeling in his pants.
“Be careful, man,” he says, surprising me.
“Aw, you care,” I tease.
“About her,” he snaps, though the longing in his eyes when he levels his gaze on mine tells a different story. “And despite her attitude, she’d kill me if something happened to a member of her team.”
“Right,” I mutter as I walk toward the door. “I’m gonna catch an Uber from the next block over. Keep her safe while I’m gone.”
“I plan on it,” he snaps.
“And Demon?”
He glances over his shoulder at me. “Yeah?”
“You better not make any moves on our girl until I get back.”
“Shit.”
The word slips through my clenched teeth when I roll over to turn the alarm off on my phone. Sharp stinging sensations cascade up and down my body, reminding me of the hell I lived through the past week, and my stomach clenches as the smell of coffee and bacon filters into my room.
Phantom must’ve made breakfast.
Narrowing my eyes, I sit up slowly, aware of my injuries. With every twist and turn, pain assaults me. It took every ounce of willpower not to show how much I hurt when the guys helped me leave the clubhouse, but now that I’m home, I’m afraid I won’t be able to mask it much longer.
My feet sink into the plush carpet, and with a grunt, I push off the bed and slowly walk into my en suite. The swelling has diminished somewhat in my left eye, but dark bruises still linemy face. I want to hop in the shower, but I know I need help, and there’s no way in hell I’m asking Phantom.
Maybe I can ask Mel to stop by after work.
After brushing my teeth and washing up as well as I can, I run a brush through my knotted hair. The person staring back at me in the mirror looks as if she went a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson and lost. I grin in spite of myself, knowing I’m alive because of Demon and Phantom.
Speaking of Phantom, I hope he kicked Demon out like I asked him to… demanded is more like it. I don’t need the reminder of the club right now. My focus today is getting in contact with my team and assuring them I’m okay before Phantom can fill their head with bullshit about me being some kinda vigilante.
Well… I guess I am, but they need to hear it from me, not him.
I take it slow as I pull on an oversized shirt that reads‘Well, that’s just tickle my twat fantastic’.The burns on my thighs are aching, so I reapply the burn cream Abyss gave me, and leave my legs bare for now.