Page 65 of Secret of the Vampire

I think we’re going to need to get our own place.

Epilogue

Angel Moss

Iwrapped one arm around the djinn’s waist, propping him up against me. Luckily, I was tall enough and strong enough that his weight didn’t send me to the ground. Thank the gods for Krav Maga.

His sorcery fluttered around me, broken and weak. I don’t think he was capable of drawing it back.

It gave me hope.

“Don’t even think it, witch,” Marcus breathed. “I’ll be back to normal by the time we reach the city.” He grunted as he tripped over something on the ground, his arm tightening around the back of my neck and his fingers digging painfully into my shoulder even through my thick coat. “I was caught by surprise. Otherwise, they would all be dead right now.”

I caught a glimmer of water on the ground and redirected us to skirt the edge of the swamp. The urge to toss him in and leave him there to feed the gators wouldn’t go away, but somehow, I restrained myself.

“Do not forget our deal, witch.”

“Stay the fuck out of my head, djinn,” I grumbled. I would keep my end of the stupid agreement I’d made. I had to. I had no other choice. But I didn’t have to like it.

“Just get me back to the city,” he told me. “And, for now, your part in all this will be over. At least until I need you again.”

I stepped over a fallen tree branch, and my boot sank down into the muck. Yanking it out, I moved us further away from the water. Clouds had suddenly filled the night sky, and I couldn’t see for shit. “I didn’t agree for this to be an on-call arrangement. That wasn’t our deal. I told you your niece and nephew were alive and living here. I gave you a hideout where no one would find you—”

“Not so hidden anymore.”

“—and I’m helping your ass not get killed by some crazy ass monk and his bird. So, I do believe I’ve gone above and beyond our original agreement. This was a one-time thing, Marcus.”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

He changed his mind.

Tears burned the inside of my eyelids, but I blinked them away. I was an idiot to get involved with all of this. But getting all teary wouldn’t change anything. What I needed to do was think.

No. First, I needed to get this bastard the hell away from me and out of my head. I tried to keep him out, but every once in a while my shields would slip and he’d be waiting. He didn’t trust me. And I didn’t blame him. He shouldn’t trust me at all, because as soon as I found a way to get out of this situation I’d put myself in, I would turn on him faster than a viper.

I saw my car up ahead and quickened our pace. Dumping him into the backseat, I jogged around the front of the car and got into the driver’s seat. Pushing the ignition button, I left the headlights off for now, praying to any god who would listen that I wouldn’t drive us right into the swamp. Luckily, there was plenty of brush here lining the dirt road that led to the house.

By the time we got to the city, Marcus was sitting up in the backseat, his phone in his hand.

“Where should I drop you?” I asked him.

“The airport,” he told me.

I glanced in the rearview mirror, taking note of his of ragtag appearance. “You don’t think you’ll raise a few suspicions walking in there looking like that?”

He looked up from his phone, then swung his arms out to the side as he eyed his clothes. “You’re absolutely right.” With a wave of his hand, he was dressed in a white dress shirt, a black jacket, and—I would assume—clean, pressed dress slacks. His dark hair was combed back from his face, and there wasn’t a speck of grime on him. “That should do it.” Then he went back to his phone.

“Who are you talking to?” I asked, hoping my voice didn’t betray my anxiety. There was only one reason he should be on his phone right now, and that reason had damned well better be alive and well when I got back to my apartment.

“I’m making arrangements for my flight back to my mountain.”

I kept my eyes on the road, but I had to consciously loosen my grip on the steering wheel before he noticed. “Don’t you just mind-fuck everyone into doing what you want?”

“To a point,” he said, without explaining further.

A few minutes passed by. I turned onto I-10 and headed to the airport. “What about our deal?” I asked him. “You can’t just leave him as he is.”

I refused to look at him. Wouldn’t allow him to see the pleading in my eyes. He was silent for so long I thought he was going to ignore my question.

Finally, he sighed. “He will be released after I get onto the plane and it’s in the air.” Marcus leaned forward until his mouth was right behind my ear, and I had to repress the urge to shiver with repulsion when I felt his hot breath on my neck. “However,” he said quietly. “There is a very strong thread between us now. I can easily find him anywhere and do whatever I please to him. So I would strongly suggest that you don’t get any ideas after I leave. You are still held to your end of the deal. And if I call you, you will answer.Thatis the new deal.”

“You’re a motherfucker,” I told him through my teeth.

He chuckled, and leaned back in his seat again. “So I’ve been told.”