Page 74 of Too Cursed To Kiss
“He’s not dead. He’s passed,” Soda replied with a choked sob, then turned and ran out of the room. I sprinted after her, catching the edge of a flimsy muslin piece with a rip that was surprisingly satisfying under the circumstances.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” I said, getting around her and barring her way to the front door. Her eyes flashed. I mean really flashed with gold sparkly stuff. I let go of her and stumbled back. My hand tingled where it had touched her dress.
“I need to go meet a client. Call me, Britannia. Nice to meet you, Harlan. Good luck,” she said, flitting to the door with a wavering smile that had nothing to do with sincerity.
Britannia gave her a half-hearted wave as she slid onto the couch taking a sip of vodka.
I poured myself a double bourbon while eyeing the cherries and choked up as the fire touched my lips. I couldn’t bear to eat a cherry. Not now. Maybe never. I set the glass down. Getting drunk would be a bigger disaster. There was a dead man in the next room, people still trying to kill me, and the police looking for me. Drinking wasn’t going to solve my problems. Maybe nothing was going to solve my problems. Tears stung the corners of my eyes, and I rubbed them away. Crying wasn’t going to help either. I turned to Britannia. Considering her as my salvation meant my life had hit another level of bottom.
“What the fuck did you mean about this being my fault? None of this is my fault—it’s YOUR FUCKING FAULT.”
Britannia glared at me. “I didn’t seduce him after he’dbeen cursed. I didn’t drain his life by kissing him. Touching him. Letting him touch me. Letting him lick me.” She had the audacity to smirk at me, but she drowned it with more vodka.
What she said sank in. Oh my God. Had I actually killed him by kissing him? “But Soda said Wald is not dead? I don’t understand. He was healing. How could he suddenly be dead, or passed, or whatever?” I was starting to cry.
Britannia kept her eyes on her glass. “We don’t die like you do. The connection to the corporeal form is lost. Wald has passed over like Agatha. His form couldn’t hold him because he was too weakened by the curse, and our healing wasn’t enough. The poison from the agents was in his system too long. To you, he’s dead,” she said in monotone, then finished the vodka she was holding.
“Well, regardless of what I think, if he’s not dead, then why the hell are you upset? Better yet, why the hell do you care?” I jutted out a hip, challenging her—to what I had no idea, but the anger was blurring the despair.
“Because passed for him is going to be the same as dead. If Elizabeth gets the album, he’ll be gone for good. Well, maybe… It depends on you, actually.” Britannia appraised me like a race horse with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. She moved around me as if I was suddenly interesting. “I have a plan that will fix your problems and get Wald back to living, but you’ll have to help me,” she said. It was more of an order.
“Me? Help you? Wasn’t it your fabulous plan that landed all of us here?” I laughed, nervously rubbing my upper arm. I had no reason at all to trust her, but it wasn’t like I had plenty of options. Despite my sanity, I probably needed her plan, but I didn’t have to look desperate.
“Yes, you. First, we need to get Wald into the car,” she said, gesturing for me to rush into the bedroom.
I studied her for a moment, pondering my choices. “I’m not moving until you tell me what your actual plan is. Where would we be going?”
“Home.”
“Like Coeur D’Alene, home?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” I didn’t move. I was pinching my upper arm to look sour rather than nervous.
“Because Victoria is a special person.”
“I gathered that, but it doesn’t answer my question.”
“Because if you give Victoria the ring, which I know you have, then she can find a way to fix all this.” She nodded at the bedroom. It might have been a trick of the light, but I swore her eyes were glistening.
“Why should I trust you? You’re far more likely to sell me out to Elizabeth.” How did Britannia know I had the ring? My fingers twitched, and I played with the spaghetti strap keeping my hand close to the marble.
“Because I’m calling off my deal with Elizabeth. I’m exploring other options.”
Ah, I got it. She wanted to use me to broker a deal with Victoria, and she was going to use Wald’s body as leverage for it. I couldn’t see the why, but whatever she wanted, she wanted it badly enough to make a deal.
I crossed my arms over the marble. “Look, you got me into this mess. Give me one good reason why I would help you get whatever it is you want so badly. And while you’re at it, you can tell me what it IS that makes you SUCH A BITCH.” I flipped my hair back and then returned my hand to my chest, so it was near the marble.
Britannia glared, her lips set tightly like she’d sucked on a lemon. “I’ll overlook that because I might need you right now. It’s a mutual need. Wald being passed helps my case toget Victoria to turn back time. If we appeal to her, she’ll do it for you and for her precious son. Why I need things fixed is none of your business.”
“It’s totally my business. You killed my ex, your aunt, and I completely blame you for Wald.” I choked on his name and took a sip of bourbon. “Besides, the question wasn’t optional.”
She cocked her head, twisting a strand of hair that had a micro braid in it. “Gentry loved me, but that was before I got the abortion. After that, it was never the same. He loved me, but there was this sadness thing, and it made me hate him. He never loved you, by the way, and he was glad you moved out.”
That should have twisted in my gut, but all I felt was the hollowness left by losing Wald. I didn’t care what Gentry had thought. Besides, she was lying. Gentry had loved me in his own twisted way. “You’ve screwed me over enough. Get another pigeon to help you. I’ll take my chances. Besides, I don’t have the ring.” It wasn’t a total lie. The ring was still in the marble.
“Cut the crap. We both know you have the ring, or the Grigores wouldn’t have bothered with Wald, and Wald wouldn’t have told you to come here, and there is no one else who can help me with Victoria. If you want this fixed, then youneedme.” She set down her glass. We both stared at it.
