Page 43 of The Hellkeeper

Her jaw clenches. Her face and ears turn red, and she looks like she wants to lunge at me.

“You think you’re special?” She leans in so close I can smell her expensive perfume. “Do you know that man killed for me?”

What?

Mymonster killed forher?

“Damien brought me the head of the man who hurt me,” she breathes, her voice dripping with satisfaction. “He’s the kind of man who will do anything for the woman he loves. AndIam that woman, no matter how much he strays.”

I feel the blow land somewhere deep in my ribs. I want to be the only one who makes Damien that crazy. The only one who twists him up until he’s on his knees for me. The only one he would kill for. I don’t want this to be true. I don’t want to believe she meant something to him. That she was once the woman who made him unravel. That the side of him I thought was only mine had belonged to someone else first.

“And yet, here you are. Fighting for scraps.”

Linda goes rigid.

I turn to the cashier, who is actively pretending she hasn’t been eavesdropping on our altercation.

“I’ll take all of these.”

The card Damien gave me slides through the machine without hesitation. Linda’s eyes burn into the side of my face, but I don’t acknowledge her.

I meet her gaze one last time. “Enjoy your memories, Linda. It seems like that’s all you have left.”

I walk out, my heart pounding, fingers tight around the bags. Because no matter what I said, or how confident I tried to appear, I still felt like crying.

My heels slam against the pavement. I’m fueled by pure rage. I don’t think I’ve ever been this angry. Ever. Linda’s words replay in my head like a broken record.

He killed for me.

Damien brought me the head of the man who hurt me.

Of course he did. Of course Damien was once unhinged like that for someone else too. I hate how it burns.

The soft purr of an engine glides beside me. A sleek black Porsche keeps pace with me like it has all the time in the world. Like I don’t exist outside of it. I already know who it is without even having to look.

The window rolls down. “Get in.”

His voice. Deep. Velvety. It still pulls me in, despite how badly I want to kill him right now.

I keep walking. “No.”

Damien takes off his sunglasses, revealing the piercing blue eyes I refuse to meet.

“I see my little flower wants to be disobedient.”

He parks.

Oh, hell no.

I start running, but the bastard is faster. One second I’m storming away, and the next, I’m airborne.

“Damien!” I shriek as he throws me over his shoulder.

“Mm.” His grip tightens around my thighs as he strides back to the car. “That little attitude of yours is fucking adorable.”

He tosses the bags into the backseat before shoving me inside.

“You can’t manhandle me.”

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