Page 73 of The Devil's Weakness

“Hmm,” he responds, pretending to ponder my thoughts. “Never noticed.”

The smile he sends me is far too charming for the likes of him. I don’t buy it.

I walk past him, out of the bathroom, and into my bedroom. When I try to close the door behind me, I’m met with pushback.

“I’d like some privacy, please,” I inform him. “Why don’t you go rifle through some of my personal belongings. I know you have a knack for that. Or better yet, you can leave.”

The look of mock hurt on his face tugs at the corners of my mouth, but I’m able to turn away from him before he sees me smile. Then I close and lock my door. I can’t have him thinking this behavior is acceptable. If we’re going to do this, there are a few rules he needs to learn aboutmyway of life too.

Not that we’re doing this.

The feeling of smiling is short-lived, however. When I turn around, I’m met with a room full of feathers and a pillow that looks like it’s been torn to shreds by the flying monkeys fromThe Wizard of Oz.

Hardly surprised that Blade left his mark on my room when he was in here the other night, I step over the mess as if it’s not there. I’ll deal with it later.

Pulling open my underwear drawer, I inspect the contents. If there was one thing Blade may have been right about through all of this, it’s that I need to diversify my selection of underwear. I grab a pair of navy- blue and periwinkle lace panties and slide them up my legs.

It’s no purple thong, but they still make me feel sexy. I can’t deny how wearing that sliver of purple silk made me feel when it was forced upon me back at the motel. And the way Blade looked at me once it was on…

Danger.

My conscience finally feels like it's working in my favor again. I can’t let any desirable flashbacks into my mind right now. I need to get into town as soon as possible. I pick out the rest of my clothing, and finish getting dressed.

When I open my bedroom door, Blade is standing just outside of it, staring into Michael’s room. “You owe me a pillow; you know that, right?” I snap at him, but he doesn’t turn around.

I walk over to him slowly, wondering what he’s up to.

“What’s wrong?” I ask him.

“Nothing, just… watching.” He shakes his head.

I follow his grimace until I catch sight of Michael. He’s passed out on the floor with a needle sticking out of his arm. The same feeling of dread that I feel every time I find him like this courses through me. Carefully, I walk over to him and squat next to his body, placing two fingers under his nostrils. I let go of the breath I always hold on to when this happens, when I feel warm air on my skin.

“He’s still breathing.”For now.

Standing up, I leave Michael’s room and close his door behind me. Remembering the conversation I had with Steve earlier this morning about Michael getting kicked out of the Devil’s Lair, I need to know if Blade knows anything about that.

“Hey, the other night, when you snuck the food down to me,” I rest my back against the counter in the kitchen and cross my legs at the ankle while Blade leans over the peninsula.

“Yeah?” he lifts an eyebrow in question.

“Well, apparently Michael went to The Devil’s Lair that night. Did you know he was there?”

“Yeah, I saw him,” he admits, shocking me with his honesty.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I question.

“He was in bad shape. It only would have worried you, and you wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it, anyway. I don’t know what all he was on, but he could barely stand. It was lucky I got to him before anyone else.”

While I’m both shocked and grateful that Blade helped my brother, I wonder why he passed him off like he did. Maybe it had to do with his past? His parents? I don’t ask him why, though, because that would take away from what he did.

“Thank you for seeing that he was taken care of,” I tell him.

“You’re welcome.” He nods, deep in thought.

I want to ask him what he’s thinking about, but before I can, he speaks up.

“On the way over here, remember I talked to you about discretion? And that there would be things I wouldn’t be able to talk to you about?”

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