Page 100 of Loving the Tormentor

"Busywhere?"

"Do I have to report my surroundings to you at all times, Peach?"

"You fucking do when the world is collapsing, yeah."

I put the phone to the side, turn on the gas, and throw some butter in the pan. God, I fucking hate cooking.

"Consider me away on an artistic retreat," I answer. "The world isn't collapsing; the Circle is just being threatened. Wouldn't be the first time. In fact, we've tried to threaten them countless times, and nothing ever came of it. Let Hermes play around if they want to so badly. It won't change anything."

"If the Circle loses its anonymity, you know we'll be in just as much trouble as everyone else, right? It doesn't matter that we were forced to initiate. What matters is that when the politicians, the world leaders, the mafia, all those people who work alongside the Circle, get threatened to be exposed, we'll be the ones thrown under the bus. Your dad will be the first to lose his head, and he's going to take all of us down with him."

I crack eggs in the pan and put some bacon in another one, rolling my eyes even though she can't see me.

"Sounds tough. Hopefully, we all die."

"Not everyone is a suicidal pervert like you. Some of us want to live. Seriously, Achilles, you're an asshole."

"Yes. I am. But sadly, I'm an asshole who cares about you. So call me back when there's arealthreat, and I'll look into it then. In the meantime, I'm trying to make some fucking breakfast, write a concerto, and fuck my girl into oblivion, if you don't mind. I was patient when Ella pretended she didn't want Chris back, and I was patient when you pretended you weren't as obsessed with Wren as he was with you. It's my turn to enjoy the ups and downs of having my heart played with, so the Circle will have to fucking wait."

I hang up, but she texts me right away.

Peach: It's 4pm. Bit late for breakfast. Asshole.

I laugh to myself as I flip the bacon in the pan.

"What's the Circle?"

I freeze as Nyx's voice resonates behind me. I'm just not going to get a break from life, am I?

Turning around, I give her a look that says not to test my patience. "Nothing you should worry or ask about."

She takes a step toward me, wearing only my oversized t-shirt. Apparently, the sweatpants weren't to her taste.

"Didn't seem like nothing to Peach. Not this time, and not the first time I heard about it."

"Yeah, well. Peach tends to dramatize. She panics when she's not the toughest person in the room. When was the first time you heard about it?"

"What's the Circle, Achilles?" she ignores my question as she walks closer to me. It's slow and purposeful, like a hunter approaching unpredictable prey.

"Call me crazy," I say as she reaches me, "but I believe you've had enough trouble in your life to not be dragged down the kind of dangers I'm involved with. I'm on a mission to take you away from the town you've been trying to escape your whole life and all the shit it brought you." I wrap an arm around her waist to keep her close. "What kind of progress would it be if I then throw you to the wolves here."

Her delicate eyebrows pull together, and her eyes search my face for something. The truth, probably. There's something so innocent about her that one wouldn't expect from a North Shore girl who's been through so much. It should’ve all been taken away, and yet she preserved it like her most prized possession.

"Is that what sharing about yourself means to you? Putting me in danger?" She snorts mockingly. "Achilles, I know I lookweak to you, but I can promise you aweakgirl on the North Shore has been through situations that made her ten times tougher than the strongest woman from Stoneview or the South Bank. No one protects us over there."

She must see the shock on my face because she rears her head back. She tries to step away too, but I'm holding her too tightly.

"What?" she asks as her eyes widen. "What did I say?"

"What made you believe I think you're weak?"

She blinks up at me, tensing when my free hand wraps around her jaw and keeps her locked in place.

"Y-You," she rushes out. Ah, it must be that smile they all find so scary that's back on my face. "You're always talking about my fears and my anxiety." She gulps, and I can't help the thrill it sends through my veins. "You use them against me."

"And that makes you weak?" I ask plainly. "The reason you are the way you are is because yousurvived. You're not some weak-minded little princess from Stoneview who loses her shit at the first bump in the road. You're a fighter. Hell, you've survived me for the past few weeks. Believe me, that makes you anything but weak. Anyone else would’ve given up by now."

I tighten my grip on her jaw, watching her eyes light up with fear and lust. Fuck, she's irresistible. God woke up one day and decided to create the perfect person for me. Just to fuck with my head. Just to show me even the man who doesn't care if he lives or dies has a weakness that'll make him want to stay on this fucking earth. He made Nyx, put her in my way so she'd give me hope, and has been laughing his ass off ever since.