Devil You Know(Lost Boys Book 1)(94)

“Okay. Why don’t you stop by tomorrow around noon?”

“I’ll be there. Thank you.”

I watched her walk away, spotted Damian and for the first time ever, I didn’t wait for him to open my door. I climbed in, folded my arms like a petulant child and glared out the window.

“What the hell was that?” he asked as soon as he climbed into the car.

The shoe was on the other foot because it was me who gave him the silent treatment. I said nothing the entire way back. It was only when we reached the cottage that I opened my mouth. “For someone all pissed that I hadn’t kept you posted as to my whereabouts, it doesn’t take much to distract you. Shiny red ball or in your case a pretty face and a nice rack. Fucking triggers my ass.”

I climbed from the car but Damian appeared, right in my face. “You don’t know shit.”

It was tempting to holler at him in the front yard, but we were supposed to be a happily married couple. I held my tongue until the door slammed at Damian’s back. “I don’t know shit? Okay, well here is what I do know. I know that you can’t string more than a few words together to me because of your fucking triggers, but seeing you being solicitous, hell downright friendly, to others really pisses me off. It pisses me off that I’ve shared everything there is to know about me and yet you’ve shared nothing personal. You drop the bomb that you lost someone, but you don’t say who. And how the hell did you find this place? And what the fuck was that with Janice? You know what? I don’t fucking care.” I detoured to the kitchen for a bottle of wine, a glass and a corkscrew then retreated to my room—locked the door, turned on the television and drank the whole damn bottle of wine.



It was late when I left my room. I hadn’t heard Damian since I stormed off like a child. I was hurt, there was no way around that. I hadn’t handled that hurt very well, but what was done was done.

I walked out back, stepped off the deck and strolled through the gardens. Solar lights were set up strategically so even at night the gardens were showcased. For a safe house it was charming and so not Damian. And the reminder that there was more to this place than he had let on brought a fresh wave of pain.

It hadn’t even been two weeks since the attack in the alley. It seemed almost like a dream now, a nightmare that felt real. And even hating that my life had been turned upside down, I wanted to go home. I needed my mom.

I strolled around for a while before I turned to head back inside and that was when I saw Damian. He was on the balcony that we shared. His long legs stretched out in front of him, a bottle of beer dangling from his fingers and his focus was completely on me. I didn’t raise a hand, I didn’t smile and I didn’t offer him a good night. I just walked back inside, locked the door, filled a pitcher with water and went back to my room.



In the morning I woke to the smell of coffee. Walking from my room, like a child to the sound of the pied piper, I entered the kitchen to see Damian at the stove frying up some bacon. His diet was the healthiest diet I’d ever seen and even he couldn’t resist the deliciousness of bacon.

The coffee was done. He had a mug next to him. He was showered and dressed and I suspected he’d even had his run already and it was only half past six in the morning.

“Do you want breakfast?” That was his olive branch.

“Sure.”

I walked to the coffee maker, noticed the second mug on the counter, sitting right next to the sugar bowl. The gesture from Damian was like a declaration of love from someone else. I looked at that mug as tears burned the back of my eyes. My fingers were trembling when I reached for it.

“You don’t want the job at Janice’s?”

Like fucking ice water. “No.”

“You misunderstood the situation.”

“I don’t think I did. I’m meeting Maureen at noon at her nursery outside of town.”

He turned to me. “Maureen?”

“While you and Janice got acquainted, I ran into her on the street. I met her that day I went to the nursery. Learning my only job prospect was Charlie of Charlie’s Chicken Hut, she offered me a job.”

“I would rather you were at Janice’s.”

“And I’d rather work at Maureen’s.”

“Why are you always so fucking stubborn?”

“Can you get in touch with Anton?”

My sudden subject change caught him off guard. “Yeah.”

“Fabulous. Next time you talk to him tell him I think I’ll take my chances in New York because being here with you is intolerable.” I almost hurled the mug at his head before I stomped from the room. I didn’t get far before I was whirled around and pushed up against the wall. I couldn’t tell if he wanted to kiss me or shout at me. His fingers tightened on my arms, his body pressed into mine, but it was his hard stare that pinned me in place.