Page 46 of I Regret Nothing
“I will if you will. And it doesn’t have to be what you are either. Tell me a secret, Rei.”
“You have yourself a deal.”
“I live in a cabin in the woods. I own ten acres of land, and I built my house with my own two hands. I love being out there, and I’ve never brought anyone home. I’ve been fine with that, but I’ll be honest. It’s starting to feel a little lonely.”
He looked at me with his amber eyes like he wanted me to be the first person who saw the cabin he made. And that was way too much pressure. I was a serial dater with commitment issues, and Faust looked vulnerable right now. I always fucked things up and ran before they could hurt me first. And Ineverdated shifters because they could scent I wasn’t what I said I was. I avoided the supernatural community in general and stuck to humans when it came to dating. I shouldn’t even be thinking like this about Faust. Or Dakarys and Rajack for that matter. Jobs were jobs. Feelings shouldn’t get involved.
“Why hasn’t anyone seen your place before?”
Faust just smirked at me, and gods, he looked so sexy when he did that.
“That’s not how this game works, Rei. It’s your turn. You can ask me something else once you’ve spilled a secret. And that’s how it goes. This game is a lot more fun with beer, but I can’t sneak that in here.”
I let out a groan.
“Please don’t mention alcohol. I could really go for a cold beer or warm sake.”
Faust laughed.
“I’m sure you can get hooch in your cell block. We haven’t tossed the cells or bathrooms in a while. Every gang does something different with theirs. You’re stalling.”
“No, I just perked up when you mentioned booze. There’s a difference. You already know a lot about my past. I’m trying to think of something you couldn’t find online. I’m assuming you’ve already dug through my social media?”
“Does that upset you?”
“Are you still stalking me?”
“No. I’m stalking the Aether Circle now. I’m going to bring that entire coven down.”
I usually would have noped right out of there if anyone had dug through my adoption records and social media and admitted it to my face. I should have been doing that with Faust instead of sitting here sharing secrets and eating his pizza and cupcakes. So, why wasn’t I? Why was I so drawn to him? Maybe because he was willing to wipe out the entire Aether Circle for me. As far as impressive things guys could do for girls went, that was right up at the top.
“Okay, here’s something you might not have found. How did you know pizza was one of my top foods outside of Hauser’s steak and mac and cheese? Did he tell you?”
His entire face just lit up.
“He didn’t, and I didn’t know. It’s one of my favorite foods too. You’ve had Hauser’s steak, but you haven’t had mine.”
That feeling was back in my gut. I mean, Faust was offering me his meat. It came from a cow, but I was seriously wondering abouthismeat. What the fuck was happening? It was time. Hauser said I could trust him, and I already told Dakarys and Rajack my secret. Nothing terrible happened, and they were trying to help me keep it. Faust needed to know. Yeah, I guess I did trust him too.
“Faust, I want you to know that—”
I was cut off. An alarm started blaring throughout the entire prison, and someone started screaming in Faust’s walkie.
“Code Red! We’re on lockdown. Get everyone to their cells!”
Faust immediately snapped to attention.
“Shit, Rei. Hold that thought and stay close to me. Silverhold is going to be locked down for a while, and your cell is going to get tossed. Don’t panic. If you have anything in there, hide it!”
What the fuck was going on? I stayed close to his back as we walked down the hallway to my cellblock.
“What’s a Code Red?” I hissed.
“They found an inmate dead. I won’t know more until later.”
Shit. Dakarys and Rajack better be okay. Did Astrid finally take care of Venus? I wouldn’t be mad about that. Sitting in my bunk waiting for news was going to be miserable, but at least the foxes were friendly with me, and I’d have someone to talk to. I hoped it wasn’t someone I knew.
The foxes all looked relieved as soon as I set foot in my cellblock. Candra flung her arms around my neck and squeezed me.
