Page 90 of Demons in My Bed

Slade got off of me finally. He stood beside the bed, staring down at me. “Who? The Exiled?” he scoffed. “For what? They don’t know I have you.”

“They’ll figure it out…”

At this point, they were probably my only hope of getting out of here. Asrael wouldn’t know what happened to me or would even connect Scorpio to me. Why would he? I’d have to tolerate The Exiled a little longer, just long enough to get the fuck away from Slade.

“And what? You think they’re going to be upset that I took you away from them?”

“They’re obsessed with me, Slade. You didn’t account for anyone else becoming as obsessed with me as you are.”

He cocked his head to the side and reached into his pocket, producing a phone. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve had years to think about everything, Palmer. Take a look at this.” He turned the phone around and showed me the screen.

It was me, the night of the party at Haunt. I remembered the guy who’d bumped into me as he walked by, nearly knocking me over. Someone had taken a picture of us at the perfect moment. To anyone looking at this photo out of context, it would appear that I was involved with this man. I was bent back slightly and his hands were on my hips, keeping me upright.

“What the fuck is that?”

“Not what, babe—who. Don’t you recognize him? That’s Frank! The rat! And you’re in his arms, staring up at him moments before he kissed you!”

“He never kissed me!”

Slade shrugged. “The Exiled don’t know that. I think I’ll just”—he tapped his thumbs over the screen—“send this off to Rhodes and let them decide for themselves if you’re trustworthy or not.”

“NO!” I screamed, scrambling off the bed and launching myself at him. I needed to get that phone before he sent that fucking picture. He batted me out of the way like I was a gnat, and I hit the ground with a cry of pain.

“Too late, babe. It’s done. So if you had any grand ideas of them coming to your rescue, you can fucking forget about it. Now, as I said, you can have some of my blood whenever you’re ready to ask me nicely. But either way, I will be back for you in a little bit. So take a fucking shower and get yourself together.” He turned and walked away.

I couldn’t stop the sob that tore from my throat.Oh my gods…I couldn’t go through this again. I couldn’t be his victim again.

“You’ll love me again, you’ll see.”

The door slammed shut, and I broke apart into a million pieces. Maybe if I let myself break, it wouldn’t hurt so badly when he did it again.