Page 84 of Vipers and Vendettas

‘You know me,’ I say with a flippancy I don’t feel in the slightest.

But he buys it because it’s me and he’s so sure of what I am. He scoffs at me and turns away. ‘Take a shower. I have some work to do. The others will be back later after they’ve made sure they’ve killed the entire coven. Try to escape while I’m gone, or don’t. I don’t give fuck what you do.’

I watch him as he leaves the bathroom, and the door shuts behind him. I take off my clothes methodically, feeling adrift. I get under the water and wash away McCathrie and his vamps.

Only once the water runs clear do I let my legs give out, and I sink down under the spray. I clutch my tummy, my breathing coming fast and shallow.

‘We’re alive,’ I whisper to Jellybean with a sob. ‘We’re alive.’

I cover my face as I let out everything I couldn’t allow myself to feel while I was in McCathrie’s house.

My body quakes as I try to stay quiet despite the noise of the shower, whispering to Jellybean that she’s okay and we’re going to be fine.

But I’m not sure if I believe it. Tamadrielle must know where I am now, or he’ll figure it out soon. What then? I start to cry harder into my hands. What am I going to do? How can I keep Jellybean safe?

The water goes off, and I’m suddenly enveloped in strong arms. At first I think it’s Krase or Axel, but I freeze as I realize it’s Daemon.

‘I’m sorry,’ he murmurs into my hair. ‘I’m sorry. I forget that you keep your cards so close to your chest. I should have known that you wouldn’t be okay after being there. I know what it’s like, and I shouldn’t have assumed ... I didn’t mean what I said. It’s my fault you were even there. I should have destroyed those fuckers as soon as I could, but I waited, and you … Did they hurt you, Jules?’

He draws back when I don’t say anything. His eyes are searching, and I think mine are too.

I shake my head. ‘But I had to tell them who I am. I’m pretty sure they contacted …’

‘Tamadrielle?’

I’m not even surprised he knows the name.

‘If you knew who I belong to, why didn’t you turn me in? Collect the reward?’ I ask.

Knowing how much he despises me, I have no idea why he even came for me tonight.

‘I thought about it,’ he admits. ‘After the night at the club when you met Pierre, I was going to. I got his number. I almost dialed it.’

‘Why didn’t you do it?’

‘Because I’d seen what he’d already done to you, and the thought of giving you to him to be tortured and maimed turned my fucking stomach,’ he growls. ‘I couldn’t have lived with doing that. I don’t know what this thing is between us all, but it’s not usual. I didn’t want what happened before to happen again. I blamed you for what happened to me after you left the first time.’ He puts his forehead to mine but doesn’t touch me.

‘I treated you like shit, and I’m so sorry, Jules. It was my own fault. All of it. I just had my head too far up my ass to see it. I hurt you, and I’m sorry for that too. And I want you to know that the on-call contract doesn’t mean anything to me. I won’t … I’ll go elsewhere, okay? You’re not under any obligation to …’

I put my hand to my lips, suddenly very aware that we’re standing in the shower. I’m naked, and he’s fully clothed.

‘I don’t want to talk about that right now,’ I say with a shiver. ‘I’ll let you take a shower.’

I step away from him and grab a towel off the nearby rail, not looking at him as he loses his clothes and turns on the water again.

I sit down on the couch in the office, shivering a little but glad I don’t smell like dead vampire anymore.

I hear the water turn off, and Daemon appears in the room a minute later with a towel around his waist. We regard each other for a few seconds. I look away first.

‘Are you okay?’ I ask.

He nods. ‘Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?’

He goes to his closet and takes out a black suit identical to his soiled one.

I frown, remembering how he froze in the basement, and I curl up under my towel on the couch. I don’t watch as he dresses. I just look at the floor, wishing I had some clothes to change into, too.

‘I can’t go into conjure circles,’ I say quietly, forcing out words I’ve rarely said aloud to anyone. ‘Sometimes white rooms too, like clinical ones, you know?’