Inferno by Sherrilyn Kenyon Page B

apologize for that? And don’t forget, I was the one who saved you from getting caught when you were snooping around the coach’s office. And … it was I who helped you gather the items you needed to keep you out of jail or the morgue.”
    Nick couldn’t meet her gaze as the truth slapped him hard. She had done all of those things for him. And just like him, she could have gone to jail or been killed had anyone caught her. Like it or not, he did owe her for taking those chances.
    Casey walked her fingers up his chest to his chin, then she buried her hand in his hair and whispered in his ear. “Introduce me, Nick. I promise I won’t bite or embarrass you.”
    It was hard to think clearly with chills all over his body and with her standing so close to him, breathing in his ear. Honestly, there was only one thing on his mind, and it wasn’t introducing her to his mother.
    “You could never embarrass me. My God, woman, have you seen my wardrobe? Dignity waved bye-bye to me a long time ago.”
    She laughed as she fingered his ear. “Ah … Nick. You are so funny and intelligent. The world is lucky to have you in it.”
    For the first time, he felt a degree of pride. It was so nice to be with someone who saw only the good in him. His mother, with her well-meaning intentions of trying to make him a better man, dogged the crap out of him all the time. Kody had been kind to him, but she’d never hesitated to be brutally honest, either, and he didn’t even want to think about Caleb’s and Ambrose’s dire warnings about him becoming a monster who would one day devour the world. While they would compliment him from time to time, it was nothing like what Casey did.
    She alone hadn’t assumed his breakup with Kody had been caused by his actions. In her eyes, he was good and decent, and nothing else.
    How refreshing.
    “Okay.” Taking her hand, he led her to the door and punched the keycode in. He opened the heavy iron door and let her enter first. “We’re the first condo on the second floor.”
    He followed her up the stairs, digging his keys out of his pocket so that he could unlock the door when they reached it.
    Casey stood back while he opened the door. He went in and dropped his backpack by the couch.
    “Hey, Ma?”
    “In my room, Boo,” she called from down the hallway. “I’ll be out in a second.”
    He shut the door while Casey looked around their place, and he tried to imagine it through her eyes. Her dad was a surgeon and they lived in a really humongous house that made his whole building look small. Her bedroom was probably bigger than their living room and kitchen combined. “I know it’s not much, but—”
    “Nick,” she chided. “It’s beautiful. I love the bright colors. Your mom has good taste, and whatever she’s cooking smells incredible.”
    He dropped his keys on the table by the door. “It’s catfish gumbo. She always makes it on Thursday nights so that we can eat on it all day Friday.”
    She scowled. “Why’s that?”
    He pointed first to the crucifix next to the door, then to the shrine of Mary and Jesus in the corner of their living room that came complete with saint candles and a small St. Michael font of Holy Water. “Catholic. We can’t have meat on Fridays, only fish.”
    “I thought the Church stopped doing that?”
    “Church might have, but not my mom. She’s really old-fashioned that way. Heck, she still won’t even enter the church without something covering her head. And if you’re not Catholic, please don’t tell her. It’ll break her heart.”
    Casey laughed. “Okay then. Thanks for the warning.”
    His mom came down the hall and slowed as she caught sight of Casey. Tiny and blond, his mother looked a lot younger than her thirty years. Most people assumed her to be his older sister until he called her Mom, then they were stunned.
    She barely reached the middle of his chest these days and even Casey was several inches taller. Still, his mother was absolutely