Page 126 of My Revenant
Bile rose up my throat. Dex. He’d found me. The what-ifs, the fears, the doubts, the questions that ran through my head over and over at any moment in time. Is he alive? I finally had an answer. He was alive, and he was closing in. Through Harper he had me in his grasp.
“You’re a Stray.” My voice sounded distant.
His smile widened. “Now you’ve got it. They call me—”
“Little Snake Prince.”
Harper winked.
And I ran.
forty-five
Jonah - Past
THE TWINS.
Pink. Everything that could be pink on “Cupid” was. Their hair was pastel pink, falling in perfect natural curves to frame their heart-shaped face, and their shirt was a light pink with a darker pink chunky-knit cardigan over the top. Knee-high socks traveled down hairless legs, and were tucked into pink shoes with a couple of inches of platform on the bottom that still didn’t bring them up to my height.
I would have told Dex to get them the fuck out of here immediately, but my eyes caught on something I needed to clarify first. Along with the dusting of glitter over their eyelids, there was the pink tartan skirt. I was sure Dex had referred to them as “him,” and that he wouldn’t intentionally misgender someone. But if I wanted to insult this person, I needed to make sure I referred to them correctly.
“What are your pronouns?” I asked, and the smile that spread across full, glossy lips just made me hate them more.
“Oh! He/him is fine. I just like wearing sk—”
“Get him the fuck out of here,” I said to Dex, not waiting for Matteo to finish speaking.
Dex was tense. He should be. It was one thing knowing he’d fucked this guy before, it was entirely another to know he just came around whenever the fuck he felt like it. Before I’d seen him, I could have at least convinced myself it was just a convenient hookup of the past. But the fact was that Matteo was fuckingbeautiful… I tried and failed to find any part of his appearance I could rip into.
“I’ve never had someone in my bed in thedaylightbefore,” Dex had told me once. That meant he’d had guys in his bed at night. If Matteo knew where Dex lived, did that mean he was one of them? Had they fucked in the same bed Dex fucked me in?
“Rabbit,” Dex sighed, but I cut him off too before he could try to talk me down.
“I said get him the fuck out, Dex. Now.”
“Oh. You guys in the middle of something?” Matteo asked, blinking innocently. My lip pulled up in a snarl.
“Matteo is here because apparently the police have arrested Archer.”
The mention of police gave me pause. The fire building inside me simmered down enough to at least seek more details before demanding again that Dex throw Matteo out. “Why?” I asked, snapping attention back to the pink-haired bitch invading our space.
“Well, actually, they didn’t arrest him,” Matteo added.
“What? You just said they’re swarming his apartment.”
“Yeah, but he wasn’t there.”
“Then where is he?” Dex asked, and at least he sounded pissed.
Matteo didn’t seem to care as he shrugged. “Dunno. Was hoping you did.”
“No, I don’t know. I saw him last at the Strays house.”
“He’s not there. But Raven says it’s just a matter of time before the cops end up there, so not to go there.”
“What’s he being arrested for?” I asked. I was sure the list of shady activities Archer was involved in was long and vast, but there was something uncomfortable building in my gut.
“Murder of three Drakes,” Matteo answered casually.
