Page 104 of Degradation
‘Do you think Shade will ignore me now?’ she asks in a voice so quiet I almost don’t hear her.
‘Why would you ask that?’ I reply with a frown.
‘Because... I don’t know. I wonder if maybe after all this time, this was all he really wanted.’
I hold her close. ‘No, Daisy. Trust me. Shade wants a lot more with you than a quick fuck.’
‘Thatwas quick?’
A deep laugh rumbles out of me as I carry her from the room and down the hall to the bathroom. Blake is still in there, his hand in the water to test the temperature.\
He gestures to the mirror where a glass of water sits. ‘The Plan B is right next to the glass. It’s just the one pill.’
Daisy’s relief is palpable and she takes it quickly.
After turning off the water, Blake gives me a thumbs up and plants a quick kiss on Daisy’s lips as we go by him.
‘Grab Shade, would you?’
He nods and slips into the hallway.
‘Shade?’
‘Yeah,’ I murmur, lowering her into the tub. ‘I need to go...uh...relieve some tension.’
‘Oh, okay.’ She frowns. ‘I can do this myself, you know.’
‘I know, but I think you and Shade should probably talk, make sure you’re on the same page.’
She looks dubious, but I give her a lingering kiss to torture myself some more before I straighten and leave the bathroom in a bit of a hurry.
I shut the door, leaning against it with a sigh.
‘You wanted me to come? Is she okay?’
I glance back at Shade. ‘She’s fine, but one, make sure she knows that what just happened wasn’t all you want, allwewant and be blunt about it. And, two, Blake had some Plan B, thankfully, but we need some other form of protection if we’re going to keep doing this.’
His eyes widen. ‘Holy fuck,’ he breathes. ‘I didn’t even think.’
He looks at her. ‘I’ve never done that before. Not ever.’
‘None of us thought about it. But it’s fine. This time.’
He nods, letting out a long breath.
‘We need to talk about something,’ he whispers.
‘What?’ I ask.
‘I keep thinking about the car. I thought it was aiming for you. I saw Sark earlier. I figured it was a warning from Sauvage since he wants Envy to be done likeyesterday. But maybe it wasn’t.’
I consider what he’s saying, thinking back to the car that was heading straight for me and Daisy. ‘You think it was meant for Daisy? Are you sure? Who would be gunning for her? Hardly anyone even knows she exists outside the house. You said you made sure Sark knows she’s nothing to do with this, and that she means nothing to us.’
‘I did.’ He frowns. ‘The last thing we need is for her to become a target. She’d be one hell of a liability to us if that happens. We should probably make sure no one finds out she’s more important than just an annoying stepsister my dad is making me babysit.’
I nod. ‘Agreed.’
‘We should talk to Blake about this, too. He might be able to find something. He usually does.’
