Page 32 of Cursed by Death (Ruby Jane #1)

“ R uby Jane Maredo,” the woman purred in a husky voice. “We’ve been expecting you and waiting to escort you inside.”

That did not bode well for me. It meant my father knew I’d be showing up here eventually and I’d really like to know how he knew that. Were there cameras out here in the parking lot? I did not like that he was expecting me, or that he’d sent his little lackeys out to escort me inside.

“Unfortunately, the hunters aren’t exactly welcome here, so I hope you’ll understand why I’m going to ask that they remain here.”

I couldn’t help it, I laughed at the absurdity of the whole thing.

The woman lost her friendly but bland look as she pursed her lips, looking annoyed. I didn't think she was used to being laughed at and I didn’t think she enjoyed it all that much.

Bummer for her. I could care less.

“Listen, lady,” I said in a falsely friendly voice. “I don’t really give a fuck what Johnathon Maredo wants. The hunters are coming with me and Daddy Dearest can just get over it. You can get over it, too, because we’re going inside now. I’m not about to stand out in the parking lot and waste any more of my time talking to you. So, either lead the way or get the fuck out of it.”

She sneered at me and her pretty face morphed into something ugly right before my eyes. The skin around her face tightened and I knew the vampire was fighting for control. “You’ve got a smart mouth, little girl. I don’t like your attitude. You’re lucky my master said no harm was to come to you or I’d rip you apart limb by limb.”

Little girl? Okay. I’d let that one go because who the hell knew how old the bitch was but I did not like her and I wasn’t going to let much else go with her.

I shrugged carelessly. “You could try. I’d be interested to see what you lose in the process.”

“Ruby,” Bane hissed in warning at me under his breath.

I didn’t need him to tell me when to shut my mouth, that’s not why I had asked them to come here. Besides, the woman was right, I definitely had a smart mouth, I wasn’t even going to lie.

Some people appreciated it, some people did not. Not everyone had good taste.

“Enough of this,” the shorter man said in a quiet but commanding voice that wiped any trace of hostility off of the woman’s face. She looked contrite and it had me reassessing the demon because the vampire was afraid of him for some reason. “The Princess of Demons and Wolves can bring whomever she wants with her. Now, let us take our party inside. He’s waiting. Ruby Jane, please follow me.”

I hated these titles everyone was using with me now. I didn’t want any of them. I just wanted to be Ruby Jane.

He turned around and started walking back towards where he’d come from without even a glance backwards. I followed behind him without hesitation.

I was tired of this night already. I was going to meet with my father whom I haven’t seen in years. A man who was a murderer and I probably should be afraid, but I wasn’t. I had no idea what I was going to say to him. I had never thought I would see him again, I hadn’t wanted to ever see him again.

And, yet, here I was, willingly walking into his home to have a surprise meeting with him.

The twins fell in step behind me, taking my back. I assumed the woman and the other demon were behind the twins.

We took the same way down to the underground that I had when I’d come here before.

Since the hunters weren’t welcomed here I figured the twins were seeing it for the first time. It was exactly like it had been when I was here before.

What I hadn’t accounted for was people knowing who Roan and Bane were. A hush fell over the people as we walked through them. I hadn’t thought about what it would mean to bring them here with me.

What I hadn’t thought about but probably should have was that most of the shifters had been at Rally’s house that day for his challenge. I hadn’t thought about so many of them being down here and them recognizing me immediately. I could tell they recognized me from the way they stared at me.

Rally would be hearing about this as soon as my back was to these people and I had a feeling he was not going to be pleased with me.

I kept my focus on putting one foot in front of the other and moving straight ahead. I couldn’t worry about anyone but myself at the moment.

We left the large open space and entered a hallway that was painted all black. The walls, the ceiling, the floor. It was all black. It made it look and feel like the hallway went on forever.

Or maybe it would take us to an elevator that took us down to hell.

Eventually the hallway ended into a seating area that looked a lot like a waiting room. There was a woman sitting behind a dainty little desk with a computer and a keyboard sitting on top of it.

It was a whole lot more civilized than what I had been expecting.

The woman had bright pink hair and she might have been considered pretty if half of her face wasn’t a charred, ruined mess of burns.

There were two men sitting in the chairs in front of Pinky’s desk. I couldn’t tell what flavor of supernatural they were just by looking at them, they looked like normal men to me. Her long pink fingernails clacked against her keyboard as the woman clicked around, typing away.

She looked up from her screen, spotted me, and scowled a bit. “Ruby Jane. Next time you need to make an appointment before you show up. You’ve upset my whole schedule for the evening.”

I just blinked at her, at a loss for words.

How the hell did all of these people know exactly who I was just on sight? It was all just a little unnerving.

The woman, the vampire who’d walked in with us, spoke from behind me. “Ruby has informed me that she does not give a fuck about how we do things here. Don’t waste your breath, Betty.”

It was safe to say I wasn’t making friends down here tonight.

Betty shot a dirty look behind me, I assumed at the vampire. Her scars made her face look harsher when she wasn’t smiling. “I’m sure she probably doesn’t give a fuck about you or how you feel, Karlie. When you’re a bitch no one wants to play nice with you.”

She looked at me and the half of her face that wasn’t ruined softened a bit. “When you leave here you make sure you stop by my desk and see me okay, hun. I’ll give you my card so you’ll know who to call before you visit next time.”

It was promising that Betty thought we’d be walking out of here. I took that as a good sign.

“Thank you, Betty,” I said politely. “I’ll be sure to do that.” My mother had raised me to be polite and from time to time it showed.

Betty smiled at me and I knew she’d been real pretty at one time in her life. “Go ahead and go on in, hun. You can take your entourage with you.”

“Thank you, Betty,” I said and this time I smiled at her sweetly.

She blinked at me slowly. “You’re the spitting image of your mama. Beautiful.”

That made me pause and wiped the smile right off of my face. “You knew my mother?”

She looked at me sadly. “Of course, hun. She never brought you down here because she was a private person. But I used to drop things off at the condo for your father all the time. You were such a good baby, a beautiful baby, and a true miracle to your mother. She really loved you.”

I spoke around the bitter bile in my throat, my voice coming out sounding tight and strained. “And he really loved her.”

I didn’t want to be talking about my mother now or ever. And I didn’t think it was fair that my father got to be around people who knew her and remembered her when I’d had every part of her taken away from me right after she died.

I had pictures of her growing up but those hadn’t belonged to me until I’d turned eighteen. I kept them boxed away and put up because they hurt too much to look at.

I walked through the door the demon I’d followed down here was holding open for me, patiently waiting. His eyes were soft on me and they held a warmth they’d lacked in the parking lot. I didn’t understand why they were warm now or what I had done to earn such a look from him.

The room I walked into was an office that was large enough to have a couch and a whole sitting area. There was also a very large desk that had not one thing on it.

The man that was sitting behind the desk was larger than life and just as I had remembered him. He hadn’t aged and the years looked like they hadn’t touched him at all.

Johnathon Maredo sat behind his desk with his hands steepled in front of him and resting atop his desk. He was the picture of a calm, respected businessman in his dark suit and tie. He had short black hair and vibrant blue eyes. I knew if he stood up he’d tower over me at six foot five. He had broad shoulders and a wide chest, but he wasn’t heavy set, just a large man. I imagined he had to have his suits tailor made just to fit him.

It was a good thing he was filthy rich and could afford the expensive suits.

He took everyone in in one look before those brown eyes came back to me. “Take a seat, Ruby Jane. I would like it if the two hunters you brought with you could wait out in the waiting room with Betty. If that’s not too much to ask for.”

I actually didn’t think it was too much to ask for but I wasn’t so sure that convincing Roan and Bane to wait outside was going to be an issue.

They didn’t disappoint.