Page 23 of Okay, I Regret a Little
Chapter 18
Rei
F
aust was a grumpy fuck again, but it wasn’t directed at me this time. He kept staring at his laptop and growling. I might not be a shifter, but I could sense that his wolf was cagey about something and itching to come out. Was this some weird mate thing? I lived in the same house as Hauser for years, and I couldn’t feel his wolf like this. I could just see it when his eyes would flash amber, and his canines would elongate.
I didn’t want to think about it. I needed to eat or talk. Those were my go-tos when I had some feels I didn’t want to deal with. It felt weird asking Faust if he brought leftovers again, so talking it was.
“You keep staring and growling at your laptop. What are you staring at that has you so grumpy?”
“Somethingis going on in this prison that I don’t know about. That never happens. These assholes are good because I’ve been watching them on the CCTV, and I still can’t figure out what they are doing.”
Oh, fuck. The only thing going on in this prison that I was reasonably certain Faust didn’t know about was Dakarys and Rajack’s side business. Wedid notneed Faust looking into that. They still needed to get the ingredients in to melt the metal on the door. I needed to get out of here. People were going to ask questions if every witch in Silverhold ended up dead. Not when Venus made it public she had a beef with me.
Officially didn’t need that shit.
The shitty thing was that IlikedFaust. Hauser trusted him. If he was my mate, I should be able to tell him to stop looking into it and help us break out of here.Shouldbeing the operative word. He worked hard to avoid jail. Dakarys and Rajack admitted he was good at his job in the same breath they called him a psycho.
He might think I was his mate, but this would totally ruin his life if he got tied to our breakout. He might be trying to win me over, but he didn’t sign up for Dakarys, Rajack, and Wren. No. I couldn’t tell him.
“What makes you think something is going on you don’t know about?”
“There’s only one way to get respect here, and even then, some gangs are against you. No one here is universally liked unless they are up to something. I just can’t figure out what.”
“Who is it?” I asked.
I justknewit was Dakarys and Rajack, but maybe it was someone else. It most likely wasn’t. Faust probably didn’t give a shit about those two until he started smelling things around me and saw me hanging out with them. Fucking wolf. I knew he had a code about who he killed, but what about when his jealous wolf took over?
“Just two assholes. Sorry, Rei. Are you hungry?”
I perked right the fuck up because I was always hungry, and the last time I had his cooking, it was excellent. I couldn’t help smiling at him.
“Yeah, I am.”
“They don’t serve lunch here. You get breakfast and dinner. That’s it. The people here are awful, but they don’t deserve that. It’s hard on the shifters.”
Faust stuck a Tupperware container in the microwave in his office and then handed it to me when it was warm. It smelled amazing. He pulled the lid off with a flourish and handed me a fork.
“Japanese curry. I picked up some tricks when I was out on jobs. Do you want some tea?”
I shoved the food in my mouth and moaned. Faust was going to spoil me rotten in here. He was a fantastic cook. It was a little spicy, so I could use something to drink. I would have killed someone for a diet coke right about now, but I wasn’t about to ask for it in prison. Tea was just as good, but he already had coffee made in a pot on the side table.
“I wouldn’t mind some of that coffee.”
Faust just chuckled.
“I have reservations giving you caffeine considering how hard it is to wake you up in the morning. How do you take it?”
“Cream and sugar.”
“Rei, be careful with your new prison friends. Some of these people don’t have a release date, but you do. Don’t let them take that away from you.”
That should have reached some part of my soul. Probably way more than the fact that he cooked Japanese food for me. I couldn’t stay here. The Aether Circle wouldn’t stop. It would be impossible to bring them down. I should have listened.
Instead, I just smiled sweetly and assured him I was being cautious.
