Page 98 of Cruel Revenge
“Not in her territory?”
“I picked my island for a reason. I love your mother beyond life itself, but I have never had a territory with her because I have never felt safe in Africa… and she will never leave it. To discuss this… I’d like to feel safe.”
I didn’t argue. I nodded my head, and he lowered his in thanks.
After a quiet moment, I looked around.
“Since I cleared the building, I have first pick of whatever is inside of it, right?” There were old laws. Old supernaturals loved them. Hasan and Jabari were two of those old supernaturals.
“Yes. You don’t have to share if you don’t want to, but it would be useful for everyone else to have a look as well.”
“I’ll be right out. We’ll make a date on when you want to talk,” I said, gesturing that he could leave.
“Wife wants a corpse, youngest daughter dismisses me like I’m the child,” Hasan muttered. “What is my life coming to?”
He didn’t sound upset; he sounded humored by it all.
I started looking around, my mind spinning with an idea that I knew I had to keep to myself. There was still an insanity lurking in me. It wasn’t really gone, and now that I was back in this office, it had started to try coming. I wasn’t actually done with what I started. I had dealt with the body, but I hadn’t dealt with the dead.
I planned to.
I took everything I could, stealing a briefcase from the office to hold everything I wanted. There were some good things. Things that would prove really useful if I gave them to Davor, but I wanted them first. Once I stuffed the briefcase full, I walked out. It was time to get out of this hell on earth of my own creation. I met Hasan in the hall, and he gave me a curious look. I decided to tell him the one good piece of news from the day I hadn’t told anyone else.
“Heath and I have a mate bond now,” I said with a smile.
He looked like someone had hit him upside the head for a second, then nodded.
“I’m happy for you,” he finally said. “Everyone deserves to have someone they can share everything with.”
There was still a lot to talk about between him and me, but at least it was never going to be about Heath and me ever again.
35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Aweek later, I hung out in my kitchen, watching Landon and Carey play-shove each other. They bumped into furniture and laughed as Landon finally got to let loose with his teen sister, and she was durable enough to handle being tossed around a bit more.
“They’re going to break everything,” Heath said as he handed me a third coffee. “Just as a warning.”
“Richard and Landon?”
“Yup.”
I chuckled as Heath sounded unamused, but through the mate bond, there was love and humor and indulgence. It was like, even to him, a piece of the perfect life fell into place. A touch of heartbreak since Richard wasn’t there to relive these moments with his youngest sibling. I touched Heath’s arm and laid my head on his shoulder.
“He would have loved this,” Heath whispered before sipping his fourth cup of coffee. We’d been up all night.
We had no one to blame but ourselves. Carey had gone to spend the night hanging out with Landon and Dirk. Heath and I had taken advantage of the privacy.
“When does her lesson for today begin?” Heath asked as we watched Carey’s werecat eyes flash in the morning light.
“After I have a meeting with Hasan,” I answered. “Remember how I asked if I could go into the Tribunal with you today?”
“Ah, that was it, huh?” Heath nodded. “I leave in five. Dirk can keep Carey for the day… or…”
“Or?” I tilted my head to the side.
“Hasan taught you to be a werecat, and he did a fantastic job of it… Why not take Carey and give him a moment to play grandfather and teacher? We both know he’s foaming at the mouth for the chance.”
