Page 81 of Assistant to the Villain

Blade peeked out from under his and frowned at the shattered glass. “Who, uh—who’s picking that up? Because all the interns are off for the night and my fingers are very sensitive.”

“To glass?” Tatianna said dryly, pouring more wine for Evie and a slightly dazed-looking Becky.

“I’ll clean it,” Evie said. The warmth was beginning to settle in, making her feel lighter, the threads in her chest unraveling. She moved to the closet to grab a dustpan but was halted by Tatianna, who raised her hand. With a flick of her wrist, the shards of glass lifted and clattered into the trash bin.

Blade sighed with a mock frown. “I wish I could do that.”

Tatianna’s beautiful smile stretched wide. “You have your own special talents, my dear.”

“Like being irritating,” Becky added.

“Or getting injured.” Evie giggled.

“What about his complete lack of self-preservation?” Tatianna chuckled, sipping her drink.

“I don’t like this game,” Blade said darkly, downing his glass.

“The color blindness is also something to be admired.”

All heads turned to look at their boss, who was watching the interaction from just a step away, like he didn’t want to fully immerse himself with the living. His wineglass was empty, and Tatianna moved to uncork another bottle to top him off.

Blade looked at The Villain with betrayed outrage. “You too, sir?”

Their boss shrugged, a blank look on his face, making his comment all the funnier for the seriousness with which he’d delivered it.

“We could do the boss’s talents next?” Tatianna looked gleeful, the wine making her eyes brighter, her face glowing.

“No, you will not—” But the boss’s voice was drowned out by Evie’s and Tatianna’s tittering.

“His inability to smile at anything that’s not related to death or torture.” Tatianna cackled, and Evie laughed with her.

She gripped her stomach, tears burning the corners of her eyes. It was the kind of laughter that was difficult to stop, and the more you tried, the more intoxicating the urge became—the best kind, her favorite.

“The obsession with his hair,” Evie added, wiping her eyes.

“What about his talent for heaving bodies out of windows!” Blade added.

Kingsley held up two signs: BADand JOKES.

“Making the interns cry just by looking at them for too long,” Becky added quietly, warily.

They all laughed even louder, Tatianna tilting her chalice toward the woman in a silent toast. Becky looked around, the smallest, almost indetectable smile appearing on her naturally downturned lips.

Evie’s laughter finally died down to something more manageable when she looked toward her boss, who was watching them all, watching her, with a strange look in his eyes. He was at ease, peaceful. That eternal lock on his jaw seemed to have come loose, and there was a relaxed feeling to him as he said, “I am not obsessed with my hair.”

That was what did it. All of them spiraled into a second, larger wave of hilarity. It was like medicine, healing all the broken pieces and forging them into something new, something different. Belonging was such a foreign concept to Evie, something she quietly longed for but had never figured out how to achieve, but here it was. Her moment, her people. It was worth the wait—

A flash of light and a thunderous boom shook the walls, sucking the levity from the room like a leeching.

The Villain’s jaw went back to its rigidness, and he walked over to look out the window.

“Sir? Not to pressure you, but do you have any idea when the female guvre will arrive?” Evie asked tentatively, walking up to his side.

A piercing screech wrenched the air.

“Was that…”

“Yes.” The Villain nodded, keeping his gaze on something outside the window. “She’s here.”