Page 87 of Demons in My Bed
“You look conflicted, Palmer. Are you having issues?”
I blinked, shaking away their faces from my mind. “It’s just, with all due respect, sir… They’re honestly not as bad as I thought. They’re insane, sure. Dangerous, irrational, but for the most part, they think things through before acting.”
Asrael tossed his head back and laughed. “Not as bad as you thought? Did you not just tell me you witnessed murders?”
“Well, yes, but he was a pedophile and they—”
“Palmer, listen to yourself. You’re justifying murder right now, which goes against everything you learned in training. Now, what about these shipments?”
I cringed hard on the inside because he was right. Wasn’t he? In training, we’d always been taught right and wrong. Good and evil. Black and white… But what happened when the black and white bled together and created a beautifully confusing hue of gray that housed five demons who were making me question everything? I had to shut down those thoughts. Especially in front of Asrael. The last thing I wanted was to be pulled from the assignment.
Clearing my throat, I answered his question. “Ashland blew up a boat full of bodies of a rival gang, who’d been stealing crates and spying on whatever shit they’re moving. Scorpio’s gang from West Harbor? There’s a war brewing there and it’s going to get bloody. I can sense it.”
I knew I needed to ask him about Jasper, if he’d known. The thing was, he had to have known, but there was a big part of me that wanted to keep pretending that Asrael was clueless about him. Otherwise, he’d deliberately kept crucial information from me and sent me half-cocked into a fucking complicated assignment.
“What are they shipping and receiving that’s different from the norm?”
“Wish I knew, but I haven’t exactly had a chance to investigate. This is my first time alone since the party at Haunt.”
Asrael crossed his arms. “Are they suspicious?”
“No, more like obsessed,” I confessed, thinking of all the ways they’d shown their level of obsession over the past week.
He chuckled. “I knew they would be. Look at you—you’re beautiful. I don’t think there’s a man out there who could resist you.”
“What’s the endgame here, sir?” I needed to know. I’d come into this thinking I was going to kill them at the end, but truthfully, I didn’t know if that fit anymore.
“Same as before. I need you to figure out what’s so goddamn special about these shipments and then we can meet again to discuss. This is a time-sensitive situation, Palmer. Everything’s been moved up. I need answers and I need themnow. Do you understand?”
I chewed on my bottom lip. Same as before. So he wanted me to kill them, end of story. Could I do that?
“You know,” he continued slowly, waiting for me to give him my attention. “There was a reason I wanted you on this job. It’s not because you were the best recruit from your class. It’s not because of your unique affinity, and it’s not just because you’re my favorite.”
My eyes stung a little at that last little bit.His favorite.I knew he cared about me and oftentimes had shown me favor over other recruits, but to hear it…
“Oh, sweet girl. Didn’t you know that? I admit, I’m not the greatest at expressing my emotions, but I do care about you. So much so that I made sure that you were prepared to go into this and come out successful in your mission for revenge.”
I turned and faced him, pushing my wet hair to one side and wringing it out. “My mission for revenge? What does that have to do with anything?”
“I’m going to ask you to keep an open mind as I explain this. Just know that I made what I felt was the best decision as your guardian and mentor. Sometimes we have to wait to learn the truth of things until we’re prepared to bear the weight of it.”
My throat was already tightening up, and I had a horrible feeling settling in the pit of my stomach. Whatever he was about to tell me, I knew it was going to be horrible.
“When I first told you about The Exiled and started preparing you for this assignment, there was a reason. You trained so hard, Palmer. Worked yourself to the point of exhaustion to make sure you were fit for this.”
“I already know all of this,” I murmured.
“You do, but I felt the need to remind you because the truth is, I know who murdered your parents, Palmer.”
If words had the ability to physically assault you, I would’ve just received a jab to the throat, a kick to the gut, and a right hook to the cheek. It felt as though the ground was going to open up and swallow me whole.
“You have to understand, I didn’t tell you back then because it would have driven you mad. You would have wanted to seek out vengeance immediately, without being ready, and that would’ve ended in disaster. So I kept the truth from you, buying you time. I hope you can appreciate that.”
If he didn’t tell me and instead had me begin training for this? That means...
Oh gods, no.
“They’re charming, aren’t they?” he murmured sadly, shaking his head. “The most vile creatures usually are, unfortunately.”
