bastard in myself.
“Have you made the necessary arrangements?” I asked thinly, keeping my annoyance in check.
“Yes. We need to meet to discuss the terms.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow evening. The Black Horse Inn at eleven.”
I stared across the dark field, a multitude of stars dusted across the clear night sky. If it was any other time, I might’ve sat here and thought it was beautiful, wondering if somewhere out there there was a version of me that didn’t have to kill to get by in the world.
“I’ll be there,” I replied, casting my gaze to the ground.
“Oh, and bring Mercy or the deal is off.”
My blood began to quicken. “Why?”
I only got silence in return. Glancing at the phone, I saw the call had disconnected and if I didn’t need the fucking thing, I would’ve hurled it across the field.
Posh bastard.
Mercy had looked smug when I’d told her I was taking her to Exeter with me.
Smug and proud. I wasn’t sure what kind of emotion that stirred up inside me, but it wasn’t good. I’d realized that in a way I’d been trying to shield her from all of this. Her part in Sykes’ downfall was imminent and unquestionable, but I still wanted to save as much of her soul as I could.
It was plain that she thought I didn’t think her capable. She never said, but I felt it in the way she looked at me.
She couldn’t be more wrong and I couldn’t be more fucked up.
We were driving across the moor in the darkness, thick cloud cover obscuring the universe above. The completeness of the night around us made the road ahead look like a tunnel that never ended. A journey without a light to guide us.
Motherfucking metaphors.
Mercy sighed at irregular intervals, her fingers worrying the zipper on her leather jacket. She’d never discussed her failed attempt on Sykes, but I assumed this was making her nervous. She was falling further down the rabbit hole, tumbling out of control.
She sighed again and I reached across and rested my palm on her thigh.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Why does he want to meet me?” she asked, squirming in the passenger seat.
“Because he’s a nosey bastard,” I replied, my right hand tightening around the steering wheel.
“Oh.”
I stole a glance at her in the darkness. “He doesn’t want to hurt you, Mercy. He’ll try and play you with words, but it’s not in his interests to harm you.”
“So, he’s another manipulative asshole?”
I chose to ignore her barb. “Show him your strength. For you, I’m assuming that will be easy.”
“Oh, so now I can dial up the bitch?”
I heard the smirk in her voice and the ghost of my own smile tugged at my lips. “Not to the point of offense.”
I stole another glance and she looked troubled, her forehead furrowed.
“I think he’s interested in you because of what he went through,” I said. “Nothing more.”
She glanced at me. “Because of Lorelei?”
I snorted, pulling my hand away from her thigh. A wall of emotions began to brick themselves in my mind and I sucked in a deep breath. Was I afraid of the same thing happening to Mercy? The mere fact that I was beginning to fear was unsettling all on its own.
She didn’t press it, casting her gaze back to the road ahead.
Eventually I’d have to face this thing between us and categorize it, but I was far from ready to even understand it.
When we finally arrived in the city and stashed the car, we walked through the quiet streets, making for the pub. We kept our heads down and walked fast, our hands wedged together. This wasn’t Royal Blood or Necromancer territory, so the likelihood of being spotted was low, but it was still a threat nonetheless. They would be hunting and that would include hiring outside men. Bounties, hits, nowhere was totally free of prying eyes. Nowhere except the solitude of the cottage.
That was the one calm place in the shitstorm that was our lives.
Vaughn was waiting for us when we stepped through the front door of the
“Have you made the necessary arrangements?” I asked thinly, keeping my annoyance in check.
“Yes. We need to meet to discuss the terms.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow evening. The Black Horse Inn at eleven.”
I stared across the dark field, a multitude of stars dusted across the clear night sky. If it was any other time, I might’ve sat here and thought it was beautiful, wondering if somewhere out there there was a version of me that didn’t have to kill to get by in the world.
“I’ll be there,” I replied, casting my gaze to the ground.
“Oh, and bring Mercy or the deal is off.”
My blood began to quicken. “Why?”
I only got silence in return. Glancing at the phone, I saw the call had disconnected and if I didn’t need the fucking thing, I would’ve hurled it across the field.
Posh bastard.
Mercy had looked smug when I’d told her I was taking her to Exeter with me.
Smug and proud. I wasn’t sure what kind of emotion that stirred up inside me, but it wasn’t good. I’d realized that in a way I’d been trying to shield her from all of this. Her part in Sykes’ downfall was imminent and unquestionable, but I still wanted to save as much of her soul as I could.
It was plain that she thought I didn’t think her capable. She never said, but I felt it in the way she looked at me.
She couldn’t be more wrong and I couldn’t be more fucked up.
We were driving across the moor in the darkness, thick cloud cover obscuring the universe above. The completeness of the night around us made the road ahead look like a tunnel that never ended. A journey without a light to guide us.
Motherfucking metaphors.
Mercy sighed at irregular intervals, her fingers worrying the zipper on her leather jacket. She’d never discussed her failed attempt on Sykes, but I assumed this was making her nervous. She was falling further down the rabbit hole, tumbling out of control.
She sighed again and I reached across and rested my palm on her thigh.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Why does he want to meet me?” she asked, squirming in the passenger seat.
“Because he’s a nosey bastard,” I replied, my right hand tightening around the steering wheel.
“Oh.”
I stole a glance at her in the darkness. “He doesn’t want to hurt you, Mercy. He’ll try and play you with words, but it’s not in his interests to harm you.”
“So, he’s another manipulative asshole?”
I chose to ignore her barb. “Show him your strength. For you, I’m assuming that will be easy.”
“Oh, so now I can dial up the bitch?”
I heard the smirk in her voice and the ghost of my own smile tugged at my lips. “Not to the point of offense.”
I stole another glance and she looked troubled, her forehead furrowed.
“I think he’s interested in you because of what he went through,” I said. “Nothing more.”
She glanced at me. “Because of Lorelei?”
I snorted, pulling my hand away from her thigh. A wall of emotions began to brick themselves in my mind and I sucked in a deep breath. Was I afraid of the same thing happening to Mercy? The mere fact that I was beginning to fear was unsettling all on its own.
She didn’t press it, casting her gaze back to the road ahead.
Eventually I’d have to face this thing between us and categorize it, but I was far from ready to even understand it.
When we finally arrived in the city and stashed the car, we walked through the quiet streets, making for the pub. We kept our heads down and walked fast, our hands wedged together. This wasn’t Royal Blood or Necromancer territory, so the likelihood of being spotted was low, but it was still a threat nonetheless. They would be hunting and that would include hiring outside men. Bounties, hits, nowhere was totally free of prying eyes. Nowhere except the solitude of the cottage.
That was the one calm place in the shitstorm that was our lives.
Vaughn was waiting for us when we stepped through the front door of the
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