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“When I was almost sixteen, he came at me, and I fought him off with a broken bottle. Nicked an artery.”All that blood.“He was dead in a matter of minutes.”

Eli’s growl is growing louder and louder.

I stare at my hands. “Ikilleda man. I wasn’t even an adult. I thought my life was over before it had begun, all because I finally fought off the person abusing me.” My voice drops. “He was such a powerful seer. Had I done things the legal way, I just … I don’t know if it would’ve ended well for me.”

I take a deep breath.

“So I called on a man infamous for his deals …”

That’s all I manage to get in before Eli pulls me into a hug, holding me close. “I’m so sorry, Callie. So fucking sorry.”

I shudder a little as the memory runs its course through me and I nod against him.

“You should’ve told me this. All of this,” he admonishes me quietly.

“I’m bad at sharing,” I admit.

He holds me for close to a minute, and I appreciate the comfort.

Eventually, I step out of his arms, wiping away a tear that’s managed to sneak out from the corner of one of my eyes.

“What you have to understand,” I say, “is that the Bargainersavedme. He cleaned up the mess, enrolled me in Peel Academy, hid my crime.”

Telling Eli this is a gamble. The shifter is one of the good guys. He could drag me away, dig up that old case, and let the system do its work.

I’m sort of banking on the fact that Eli’s sense of justice—packjustice—will align with my actions; people who do bad things to innocent shifters just sort of disappear.

“The Bargainer didn’t charge me then,” I continue. “I know you think he did, but he has his own code of ethics. Because I was a minor at the time, he wouldn’t allow me to do business with him like that.”

Now knowing what I did about fairies, true favors were kind of a big deal. The fae lived to take advantage of a situation.

Eli seems to understand this too. The werewolf raises his eyebrows.

“It was only later that I called him again. And again. And again. I came up with all sorts of favors just so that he could stick around for a while.” Because I was intrigued by him. Because I was infatuated by him. Because I wanted a friend who wasn’t scared off by my darkness—and Des wasn’t.

“He should’ve never made those deals with you,” Eli growls.

I play with my bracelet, rolling the beads round and round my wrist. “No, he probably shouldn’t have,” I agree. “But we’ve all given into our baser natures a time or two, haven’t we?” I say.

Eli grunts, looking out over the Bargainer’s property.

He rubs his face. “I wish you would’ve told me all these things long ago.”

Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve. It does no use getting upset about it now.

“Did I ever have a chance?” Eli asks.

I glance over at the shifter. “I don’t know. But I do know that you deserve someone who can give you far more than I can.”

Stepping in close, Eli rests his palm against the side of my face. “That sonuvabitch is a lucky man.”

The words are barely out of his mouth when behind us, the front doors slam open.

I turn just in time to see Des striding out from his home, his wings visible. His stormy eyes flick to Eli, who’s still standing close to me, and I see a flash of possessiveness in them.

Reflexively, I step away from the shifter.

It’s broad daylight out here, which isn’t exactly Des’s favorite time of day. He was supposed to be in the Otherworld for several more hours. Clearly, something changed.