Page 26 of To Hell and Back
Even though she wasn’t full yet, Seneca had lost her appetite worrying about her friends. She was also feeling a little anxious waiting for her mate to return. Not that he couldn’t handle himself. Safety wasn’t really an issue for him, but she was pretty damn curious about what he was doing.
She got to her feet, earning the males’ full attention. “Could you tell me where the restroom is?”
“Across the hall to the left,” Gunner answered around a mouthful of food.
Arson gave her a speculative look that made her ask, “Why are you looking at me like that? Are you afraid I’m going to run away or something?”
He sighed. “No, I’m just trying not to think of how many different ways Killian would torture me if something were to happen to you while he left you in my care.”
She snorted out a laugh. “I think I can manage to go to the bathroom by myself without getting lost or injured.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Leaving the private dining room, she followed their directions to the restroom. She hadn’t realized it until she’d left the room, but she desperately needed a few moments to herself. Unlike her old self, she was out of practice being social, and putting on a brave face in front of everyone was utterly exhausting.
Like everything else in the private club, the black and gold bathroom was a well-appointed space with individual rooms instead of stalls. A pleasant scent drifted from a colorful arrangement of fresh flowers sitting on a high table in the small vestibule near the entrance. She paused to study the flowers and noticed a few that she’d never seen before. When she leaned forward to sniff at their alluring fragrance, she immediately felt lightheaded like she had downed half the bottle of champagne instead of only taking a few sips. Quickly stepping back, she shook her head to try to clear it.
Leave it to The Manor to use magical flowers from other realms as decorations.
After she took care of her pressing needs, she made her way over to one of the sinks to wash her hands and frowned when she got a good look at herself in the mirror. She had been expecting to find herself looking like a hot mess since she had arrived at The Manor soaking wet, but she looked the same as she had when she’d left the house.
Actually, she looked better.
Her icy blonde hair had a new glossy sheen to it, and her dewy skin looked like it was airbrushed with makeup to look completely flawless. Her dark lashes seemed even longer than usual, making her gray eyes look even brighter. As she dried her hands with one of the hand towels that had been laid out for guests, she noticed that her clothes were completely dry. That must have been Killian’s doing. It made her smile that he had seen to her comfort without mentioning it.
“I’ll have to thank my new mate later,” she murmured.
“Thank me for what?”
Seneca gasped as her gaze shot back up to the mirror. Killian was standing behind her, his taller frame allowing her to see him clearly. Still impeccably dressed in his black suit, he looked no different than he had a few minutes ago. He certainly didn’t look like he had just gone out and committed murder.
Strangely, she realized it wouldn’t really bother her if he had.
Perhaps dying had screwed with her sense of morality. Or maybe she’d always been that way due to her unique upbringing. Either way, she figured that was probably a good thing considering she was now mated to a reaper.
Smiling at him through the mirror, she said, “I don’t think you are supposed to be in here.”
His eclipse eyes seemed to glow brighter as he took a step closer to her. “I don’t think anyone is going to stop me.”
His deep voice made her want to shiver. Not only was it mesmerizing, it was also addicting. She wanted to close her eyes and savor every word he spoke to her, but she didn’t want to lose the view of his ridiculously handsome face either. Even though they weren’t touching, she felt the heat of his body against her back.
“You’re probably right about that,” she teased with a laugh. Sobering, she met his steady gaze through the mirror. “Did you kill Whitley Dalkis?”
“Not yet,” he answered easily. “But I bet she wishes I had. She is spending some quality time with Anika right now. There are answers about the magical black market we want from her before she meets her end.”
“But she didn’t do anything to me in this life.”
“I still would have killed her for what she did to you in your past life,” he admitted. “However, there were two other people she was holding captive on her estate. We also discovered several bodies buried in her garden, so there is no question she must pay for those crimes.”
Seneca vaguely remembered her captor mentioning there were others like her, but the memory was hazy since she’d been dying at that point. She wasn’t the least bit surprised that other people had been buried in the backyard either. Any guilt she’d been feeling evaporated like smoke.
The crazy witch deserved to die.
“What happened to the captives?” she asked. “Are they okay?”
“Dario took them somewhere safe so they can begin to heal and contact their families.”
Satisfied with the way everything was handled, she couldn’t really ask for more. “What about Clara and Mark? Did you visit them as well?”
