Page 10 of Exes, Hexes, and Strategy
“What did you do?” Melanie hissed in accusation, before moving to follow her friend.
Rafe wished he knew the answer to that question.
Chapter Six
She’d made a fool of herself, running out of there like that. Nina groaned as she came to a stop in the hallway outside of her classroom door. She reminded herself that Rafe didn’t know. To him, he’d made a perfectly reasonable suggestion, a generous offer even, and she’d acted like he’d suggested something horrifying. To her, however, the thought of him approaching his father about anything regarding her was a horror.
“You will stay away from my son, witch. If I even suspect you’ve said hello to him on the street, I will make you watch while I torture and then drain the life from everyone you love – your coven, your friends, your family. I can make their suffering last a long time before I kill them. Their pain, their deaths will be on you. Do we understand each other?”
Swiping a trembling hand through her unbound hair, Nina attempted to banish the memory and failed. She’d thought he was Rafe, the man sitting in her recliner, in her apartment, waiting for her. She’d lit up with pleasure at seeing him, was about to comment on the snazzy suit and how he’d shaved off his scruff. The teasing words had died on her lips when she’d noticed the hardness in those eyes, the cruel slant of his mouth. Her guest wasn’t Rafe, but Rafe’s father, Vincent DeMarco.
“So, it’s true, then,” he said, standing to approach her, those cold eyes taking her in, judging her, and by the curl of his lip, deeming her unworthy. “Witch,” he’d spat as if the word was profane.
He circled her, his fingers reaching up to stroke a lock of Nina’s hair, the act chilling her blood. “You’ve bewitched him,” he quietly accused, his breath hot on her neck and Nina swallowed hard.
“You’ve ruined him, contaminated him.”
She shook her head, and he fisted her hair, yanking her closer. His other hand encircled her throat. “I should kill you for what you’ve done,” he whispered, the low, calm tone more petrifying than if he’d screamed the threat. “But you’ll fix him first. Do you understand me?”
Leaning his forehead against hers, he closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose. “You will remove this curse you’ve placed on Raphael and never see him again.”
Her teeth were chattering, but she gritted them hard and forced herself to speak. “I haven’t cursed him, I swear.”
The grip around her throat tightened to strangling. Vincent DeMarco’s eyes went red, his fangs elongated, and spittle flew from his mouth as he snarled his final warning – and the consequences should she disobey – before he’d thrown her to the floor.
As if she’d somehow sullied him, he’d flicked his fingers over the front of his suit jacket before he’d adjusted his cuffs. His eyes were back to normal when he looked down at her and informed her, “I’ll be watching, witch. Make no mistake.”
“Are you okay?”
The words, softly uttered by Mel brought Nina back to the present.
“What happened back there?” Mel’s worried frown morphed into a look of suspicion. “Was he a douche? I’ll kick his ass.”
The ferocity behind that statement had Nina’s eyebrows shooting up, but the humorous image it conjured – of Mel chasing after Rafe, attempting to kick him – went a long way in banishing her ghosts. She even managed to laugh as she pointed out, “The only way you could kick Rafe’s ass is if he let you.”
Mel crossed her arms over her chest and harrumphed. “Fine. I’ll get Logan to kick his ass. I bet he’d have no problem taking on a vampire.”
“How’d that go, anyway?”
“He’s playing hard to get,” Mel pouted and then, just as quickly, her expression brightened with a mischievous grin. “But he’ll come around.”
Uncrossing her arms, she propped her fists on her hips. “Now, are you going to tell me what happened?”
Nina blew out a breath. “Rafe offered to have his dad intercede on my behalf for that internship.”
Mel sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth. “Ouch. Yeah. That wouldn’t be good.” There was a moment of silent contemplation before she grumbled, “I still say we hex the bastard.”
“We still have to learn how,” Nina pointed out.
Mel dismissed the reminder with a wave of her hand, and this time, it was Nina who propped her hands on her hips to demand, “And what happened to me being sneaky? Everyone saw me sitting with him. That’s not being sneaky, that’s being blatantly obvious.”
“You think Vincent DeMarco has spiesinsidethe school?” Mel asked, surprised by the suggestion.
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Nina replied sullenly. “It’s not like he doesn’t have the resources.”
Her friend’s eyes narrowed as she looked around the hallway with suspicion before nodding. “You’re right,” she whispered. “We’ll have to be careful, up our sneakiness game. We’re talking sneak-level one-thousand.” Another nod as if she’d decided. “You wait in the broom closet. I’ll lure tall, dark, and brooding here, push him inside so you can ravish him.”
The suggestion had Nina laughing and shaking her head.
