He’s jealous. What a promising start. “It will be as you say.”
“Damn right it will.”
Smiling would have been an inappropriate response, yes? “So where are we going?”
“Somewhere I can charge my cell phone and call my friend Lucien. He’ll be able to flash me home.”
A flicker of panic... “What about me?”
“You shouldn’t have any trouble tracking us.”
...doused by shattering relief. “Of course I won’t. I’m the Red Queen.”
“Yeah, yeah. Super powerful. You will be on your best behavior.”
“Aren’t I always?”
“I’m serious, Keys.”
“Yes, you’re seriously insulting me, and you might want to reconsider.”
“You will not harm my friends.”
“I vowed I wouldn’t.”
“I know, but—”
“Do not finish that sentence,” she snapped. “I might decide your tasks aren’t worth my valuable time.”
A pause. A snapped statement of his own: “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t sound sorry.”
He sighed, the anger seeming to drain from him. “I am. I really am.”
Too easy. It would have been better if he’d fought her on this. At least a little. Because with those five words, he’d just made it clear her abilities were what he wanted most from her, perhaps the only reason he tolerated her.
Win his heart? Did she really stand a chance?
“Just...no matter how this goes down,” he said, “please don’t destroy my home.”
Did he have any faith in her? The ground shook. “Do you want me to leave you?”
“No.” He whirled on her, eyes glittering with menace. “Princess, I’m trying to protect you from a war with my friends. That’s all.”
No, he was trying to save himself from having to pick sides.
Like I did?
Hardly the same! “I thought you said they’d go crazy for me.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “They will. They should. But...”
But. Always but.
“Forget the Lords. I want more than protection from you.” Once, she had welcomed his willingness to act as her shield, had even viewed it as a sign of his affection. Today? She saw it for what it might actually be. A way to safeguard his investment.
He softened, but only slightly. “Believe me. I know. You’ve made that abundantly clear.”
Oh, no, he didn’t. “Did you just reprimand me for doing what you secretly wanted but didn’t have the courage to ask for? If so, I will gut you.”
His shoulders drooped with defeat. “It wasn’t a reprimand. It’s the reason I’ve had a hard-on for four damn days.”
Oh.
Oh!
Oh? Seriously? That’s all I’ve got?
“Contrary to what you might think,” he continued, the menace returning, “I don’t enjoy making you sick and wondering whether or not you’re going to pull through.”
“Do you think I enjoy burning up with fever, coughing up my lungs and vomiting out my insides?” Her anger returned just as swiftly, racing to a higher level. Once again, the ground began to shake. Calm. Steady. Innocents around. “Unlike you, I consider the chance to be with you worth the price.”
“No, you consider your pleasure more important than my guilt.”
Harsh words.
But also fair. Because they were true. She’d never thought in those terms before—her wants versus his emotions. But maybe she should have.
She tried to tell herself: at least he cares about my well-being. But it wasn’t much of a consolation prize.
“Fine,” she said. “You can’t handle it. Noted. Our deal is off.”
“Now hold on,” he barked.
“I’ll still help you,” she spat, and his relief was palpable. Cared for her well-being? Please. The truth was suddenly abundantly clear. To him she was—and would always be—a workhorse. Nothing more. “You’ll owe me favors. Nonsexual. To be named at a later date.”
His inhalations came faster, shallower. “Fine,” he snapped.
“Fine,” she snapped back. “Now go call your friend before I forget that we’re partners and lose my temper.”
“We wouldn’t want that, would we?” A sneer in his tone. “Princess has to get her way or everyone suffers.”
Before she’d complained about his calm in the face of her temper. How foolish. “You know I struggle with control issues. Temper is my default.”
“What I know is that you use your emotions as an excuse. You could control yourself, you simply choose not to. And how the hell can you stand there and chastise me for calling you out about your temper when it’s currently reaching dangerous levels?”
Stupid men with excellent points were a nuisance. “Well, I also choose not to be around you a second longer. How about that?”
Before she did something she couldn’t undo, she flashed to an underground home she’d procured secretly after moving in with Hades. Every girl needed a sanctuary. And I need one now more than ever. Despite everything Torin had said about still wanting to work with her, the entire argument had felt like a brush-off, and she had lived through one too many of those already.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CAMEO CURSED, punched a wall, kicked a nightstand, overturned a dresser, tossed the drawers across the room...but, no, her temper didn’t lessen. She and Lazarus had fought their way free of the alligator-zombie hybrids—or whatever they were—and made it to a doorway without sustaining any injuries, only to end up in a suckier dimension. Or realm. Whatever!