Page 51 of Endless Terrors
If a woman hadn’t been hospitalized tonight, I probably would’ve responded with a mirthless laugh. Instead, I stared out the window, feeling hollow and bleak. It showed in my voice as I replied, “Have I ever mentioned that you have great hair? Like, seriously great. Beautiful, really.”
“Yes, I am vain enough that flattery would usually work. Not this time, however. No matter how sad you sound, my lady. I’m not a free cleaning service you can summon whenever you have need of one.”
A sigh filled my throat. I knew Laurie. I knew when he wanted something.
“What’s your price?” I asked, ignoring the huffing sound Finn made beside me.
“A date.”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
Laurie’s tone made me imagine a dismissive gesture. “Nothing fancy, don’t worry. I know you have a lot on your mind. Dinner. Tonight. Your place.”
“Fine,” I said.
Laurie paused. And once again, even though I couldn’t see him, I could picture him with perfect clarity. In my mind, the Seelie King was in his elegant bedroom at the palace, morning light gleaming over his bare skin as he held his phone to his ear. Maybe there was a naked figure asleep next to him—I ignored the pique of jealousy that detail provoked. During the silence that fell between us, the Laurie in my head raised his eyebrows.
He only cemented this image when he finally said, “No threats? No hustling, bargaining, or promises to skin me alive and disembowel me?”
I rested my temple against the glass. “If I disemboweled you, there would be no one to clean it up.”
“I’ve taught you so well. Is this what pride feels like?”
I didn’t even have the energy to roll my eyes. Instead, I just told Laurie where to find the alley and finished with, “I’ll see you tonight, then. We won’t have long. Savannah is coming to perform the spell at midnight.”
“I’ll bring everything we need for dinner,” Laurie replied. “You just bring the wine and the sex swing. Actually, on second thought, I have those things, too, so never mind.”
My lips twitched, but I didn’t respond. I hung up, wondering how Laurie always managed to do that—make me smile when everything was terrible. I lowered the phone to my lap and peered up at the waxing moon. I was still leaning against the window, and as the tires rattled over some cracks in the road, the vibrations moved through my bones. Silence resettled in the car like dust, and that was when it hit me.
Holy shit. I was going on a date with Laurelis Dondarte.
I could feel Finn looking in my direction. When the seconds ticked past and I could still sense his eyes sliding toward me, I lifted my head and glared at him.
“What?” I demanded, exasperated.
He refocused on the road, and his voice was carefully neutral as he said, “I’ll go on another hunt tonight.”
Finn was too much of a gentleman to state his meaning outright, but I still got it. “No, you really don’t need to,” I told him firmly.
Finn shot me a dubious glance. “There’s a scent,” he began, hesitant.
“A scent?” I echoed. Then I held up my hand. “Okay, you know, I should warn you. You’re coming between me and some pretty intense denial about what you can and can’t smell, and we’re roommates. Don’t take my denial, Finn. I’ve lost enough.”
The werewolf stared out at the night, a faint smile curving his mouth. I turned my face back to the window, but I was smiling, too. Amazing, I thought. It was amazing that, in the darkest moments, when the sky was raining blood and there was death around every corner, these people I’d stumbled across brought me so much light. It didn’t seem possible that only coincidence had led them into my life.
Then I remembered what Gil had said, once, about the God who had abandoned us. Maybe He does take an interest. I’d disagreed with him at the time, but now I wondered. My gaze went up to the moon.
I wondered, and I hoped.
Because in less than twenty-four hours, I’d be in Hell, and I needed all the help I could get.
My last day on Earth was quiet.
After everything that had happened, sleep held no appeal for me, so I passed the rest of the night making preparations. First, I wrote a letter to Gretchen and Bea, because I still hadn’t heard from them and I couldn’t bear to leave this world knowing they were afraid of me. Then I wrote letters for everyone else. I gave them the words that were so difficult for me to say out loud. I told them what they meant to me, and how much they’d changed my life for the better.
I just wished they could say the same for me.
I left the envelopes in the drawer of my nightstand, along with everything else Damon would need. The deed to the land Collith had put in my name, my birth certificate, and Bud’s business card—when my life had started becoming more treacherous, I’d taken a page from my brother’s book and updated my will. I’d even had Bud—Granby’s only lawyer—draw up an advance directive, which Damon would find out about in his letter.
