Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
He’s trying to provoke my brothers, but his words land as a compliment for me somehow.
“When someone said they thought they saw you, we, uh, wanted to come see for ourselves,” Leo finishes.
“I’m glad you did,” I say automatically. “Because there’s been some weird demon activity in Charlotte and I need to know if you’ve heard about it.”
Leo blinks and looks from me to Antonio, surprised I’m just getting right to business. Really, what other choice do I have? Nothing they say is going to change how I feel and undo the betrayal.
“In Charlotte? No.”
“What kind of demon activity?” Antonio asks.
“Possession. Bodies being used and dumped. All homeless people.”
Gia lets out a sigh. “Can we not talk about business? I want to know why Wren got married.”
“I do, too,” Antonio quips, leaning back and crossing his arms.
Xavier reaches out and takes my hand, bringing it to his lips. “When you know you know.”
I roll my eyes but laugh, fully aware everyone at the table—including Xavier—knows that there is some truth to us having feelings for each other. Or at least there is on my end.
“Where the Order sees danger in what they don’t understand,” Xavier starts. “I see power. You just said how strong Wren is. With her on my side, we can be unstoppable. Make sure you tell Mom and Dad thanks for backing out of the original deal at the last minute.” He kisses the back of my hand and looks at me when he talks. “Anyone who has met Wren and doesn’t see how exquisite she is in every way is a fool.”
“Awww, okay, that’s kind of sweet,” Gia says, thankfully not picking up on everything that’s not said. My heart starts to beat a little faster and tension is filling the air. The waitress comes back with waters and gives Leo, Antonio, and Gia a menu to look over. She remembers Leo, of course, and has always been a little flirty with him, not realizing he bats for the other team.
“Anyway, have you heard anything?” I ask, picking another chip and dipping it in salsa.
“No,” Antonio replies. “You’re sure?”
“Yep. I have the M.E. reports and everything. There were thirteen demon deaths ruled as overdoses in the last week.”
“That many would have gotten noticed by the Order,” Leo starts, brows furrowing.
“Yeah, for sure.” I curl my teeth over my lips, debating on bringing up that I saw Vivian and Marco at the nightclub. Were they in the city because of the succubus? Or were they there to look into the demon deaths and catch wind of the other demons too?
Only Mabel knows what really happened in the club, and she kept it from Theo for a reason. Maybe I should keep it quiet too…for now.
“Hang on.” He pulls out his phone and fires off a text. “I’ll let you know if I hear back.”
“Thanks,” I tell him and he puts his phone down, face up so he can wait for a text. Awkward silence fills the table, and if it weren’t for the music and the chatter of people around us, you could hear a pin drop.
“So, kill anything interesting lately?” I ask.
“Who are you asking, me or him?” Antonio deadpans and Xavier laughs.
“I like him,” he tells me. “I believe she was asking you.”
“We handled a few scrapper demons in Houston not too long ago,” Antonio tells me. “You would have enjoyed it.”
“They are fun to kill,” I agree. “They’re called scrapper demons because they often follow along behind a bigger, more powerful demon and eat the leftovers,” I explain, not sure if Xavier knew. The waitress comes back and takes the rest of the orders and we go back to sitting in silence again. A few rapid-fire texts from Larissa pop up on Leo’s phone. When he ignores them, she calls. And when he silences her call, she calls Antonio.
“You should answer,” I say. “She’ll keep calling until you do.”
Antonio gives me a look and then gets up to answer the phone, going toward the front of the restaurant so he can go outside and talk in peace.
“Let me see your ring.” Gia holds out her hand. “Holy shit.”
“Don’t swear,” Leo and I tell her at the same time.
Gia eyes Xavier. “You have good taste. What’s the clarity on this thing?”
“I would only put a flawless diamond on my wife’s hand,” he replies.
“Do you, like, bite her?”
“That’s enough questions,” Leo tells Gia.
She rolls her eyes at him. “I’ve never seen a vampire before in real life! Only on TV.”
“Am I living up to your expectations?” Xavier asks her and I find myself smiling at him.
“I guess. You just seem normal,” she replies with a shrug. “Like a person almost.”
“I’m not a person,” he tells her, echoing what he has just told me. “Not anymore. I was killed a long time ago.”