Page 5 of Nightmares and Numerology

“I was trying to help.”

“I didn’t ask for your help or anyone else’s for that matter,” Angelo said tightly. “Get the fuck out. I’ll contact another lawyer. You’re done here.”

Vin’s eyes slid back to me. “She’s technically the client. Only she can let me go.”

“Get lost,” I said firmly.

Vin stood, his gait unsteady and clearly pained. I couldn’t summon much pity for him, though. He’d assaulted me for petty reasons. He edged past Angelo as if expecting to be hit again. Angelo looked like he was considering it but ultimately kept his arm around me instead of swinging at Vin’s back. There was a beat of silence after Vin had gone, as if we both expected him to return.

“Are you alright?” Angelo finally asked me. He hesitated before reaching up to touch my chin. “No, of course you aren’t. You’re bleeding. Did he hit you? Because it isn’t too late for me to kill him.”

I should have scolded him for the death threat, but I was too shaken to do anything but scrub my chin with the sleeve of my blazer. Wanda would probably shriek if she knew I was smearing blood onto one of her stunning creations.

“It’s not my blood. I... uh... I bit part of his hand off. I didn’t mean to. I think it was something about the demon energy that Indigo absorbed. But… it was bad. I mean, it looked like he was mauled by a dog.”

“Koloths are intensely magical. You wanted to hurt him, so the power made it happen.”

“I didn’twantto,” I mumbled. “Ihadto. He had a hand over my mouth. I couldn’t even scream.”

Angelo’s expression darkened. “Did he...?”

I shook my head. “No, he didn’t even kiss me. I think he was pissed, not horny. He didn’t give me that look until he was hurt and looking to heal.”

Angelo relaxed a little. “Good… because it would upset Aunt Melarue if I gutted him.”

The words were said in a light, teasing tone, but I could feel the fury still bubbling beneath the surface. He meant them. If Vin had done more than he attempted, Angelo would have gonethrough with it, my protest be damned.

“Don’t,” I said weakly.

He smiled then, his bad mood evaporating as he cupped my chin, pressing a chaste kiss to my mouth before chuckling.

“My little pacifist. You’re the worst possible person to get caught in a clandestine war.”

I sighed. “Don’t I know it?”

Angelo took my hand. “Come on. I’ll make some calls, and we’ll find Vin’s replacement over ice cream.”

I leaned up on tiptoe and pecked his cheek. “How do you always know what to say?”

He smirked. “I’m just that good.”

Chapter Three

Lydia

“So,” I said, pausing long enough to spoon a mouthful of pistachio ice cream into my mouth. It wasn’t my favorite flavor, but it was the only brand of vegan ice cream Stanley produced regularly, so I had to make do. “When were you going to tell me about this pheromones thing?”

Angelo shrugged, lifting the plastic spoon to his lips with exaggerated slowness. With any other man, I might have found the suggestive lick eye-roll-worthy. But Angelo’s little display actually made me jealous of the utensil. Many things had gone unseen, untouched, and definitely unlicked in my life for years. It was embarrassing to realize that I was watching him eat a strawberry sundae with sprinkles with the same enthusiasm men had when ogling topless women in magazines.

“Soon. I only noticed it myself a week ago when I saw you two at a client meeting for the first time. I trust Vin about as far as I can kick him, but he’s not generally one to mix business with feeding. He’s more professional than that. I was pretty sure he wouldn’t come onto you until you were officially single.”

I scowled down at the small plastic cup. My ice cream was quickly turning into a green soupy mess. The poor jelly beans were sinking like stones, lost from sight the moment they tumbled in.

“Yeah, because that assessment worked out so well for me in the courthouse.” I looked up at him then. “If you hadn’t come in when you did, I think he would have done worse.”

Angelo’s eyes changed. It wasn’t much or for long, but I caught the promise of a second beating within their depths. For just an instant, I could see and feel him for what he was. Beneath the mask, he wasn’t human. He might think like me on occasion, but he’d never been what I was. And he never would be. We werefrom two separate worlds, and his was a hell of a lot harsher than mine.

“I think I left a few inches of him unbruised. I could remedy that if you like.”

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