Page 114 of Villains Never Die
It might have been the first time a ghost had asked me that question. The thought that they cared about me was absurd, but perhaps I’d gotten many things wrong.
“Of course I’m not okay!” I snapped.
I went home and let myself crumble in my bed. Death was gone. Rook was gone. That fucking tattoo burned like a brand, astark reminder that I’d somehow fucked up both of the things I wanted most.
I glanced at the laptop sitting on my nightstand and thought about logging on to The Looking Glass for something to keep my hands and my mind busy. Death was real, and I knew for certain she could be killed. She wasn’t an untouchable immortal. She wasn’t a mysterious threat. I had the Prague collection and more ambition than she could fathom.
All hope wasn’t lost.
Fuck Rook. I didn’t need him. He was something fun and distracting to pass the time, but I had other goals I could pursue. My life wasn’t empty without him, and perhaps we had both overestimated his importance. Let him stew about how little he meant to me. We could both move on from this like nothing had ever happened. We had an adventure, we stopped a serial killer, and now the fun was over.
But I was never one for fun, was I? Work. Power. A hint of obsession.
I didn’t need him.
My world would continue to turn.
One month after I gave him my life
“You have the loveliest eyes,” I said, flashing a smile. They stared back at me in a unique shade of hazel. I preferred blue, but they would do for a night. The brunette in front of me—Amy, she’d introduced herself—smiled, and her eyes twinkled under the lights of Avalon. It was the accent that summoned that smile, I was sure of it. American girls loved that.
“Thank you,” she said, a pretty blush spreading up her cheeks. “What do you do, Austin?”
“I own this club, actually,” I said, swirling my straw in a cocktail I didn’t intend to drink. She was on her second, if I had to guess, loose and a little flirtatious.
“Oh wow, this place is great. I’ve been here two or three times before. Usually my friends and I come together, but they ditched me tonight.”
“That’s a shame,” I said, “but at least I get your company.”
I watched the silky fabric of her red dress move over her long, smooth legs as she uncrossed and crossed them again. I loved when my attention made them squirm a little. She leaned a little closer.
“Are you here with someone?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “I’m usually too busy working to be social.”
“But not tonight?” She sat up straighter, and a gleam flashed in her eyes that I thought might match mine—wanting and a little predatory. She was hunting me now, just as I hunted her. Two wolves circling each other, searching for something carnal.
“No,” I said, daring to stroke my fingers down her arm that rested against the bar. Goosebumps rose over her skin, but she didn’t comment on how cool my touch was. “Not tonight.”
“This place is really great. You could give me a behind-the-scenes tour.”
I nodded and extended a hand to her. “I would love to show you around.”
She was on me the moment we entered my office. This wasn’t a woman looking for a romance or more than tonight. Perfect. I wasn’t pursuing love. The past months had only reinforced my surety that love was pain in all its forms. Fuck love.
She undressed me with care. No haphazard piles of clothes. No tearing of fabric. Just buttons undone with slow, beautiful fingers. I gave her dress the same appreciation and draped it over the back of the couch.
The way she kissed and fucked was aggressive and needy. I didn’t give a damn about her, so it was fine by me. Rook’s face flashed in my mind as I pounded into her on the couch. Cocky smile. Sparkling eyes. Fuck his stupid face, andfuck love. I slammed into her pussy again and her shrill moan was muffled by the soundproofing in the room.
Afterward, I helped her dress like I was a perfect gentleman, led her back to the bar, and told the bartender all her drinks were free for the rest of the night.
“It was nice meeting you, Amy,” I said.
It wasn’t.
I left with no intention of seeing her again.
***
