Page 199 of Nightshade

“Because women just fall at your feet.” The bitter bite in my tone wasn’t nearly as acidic as the rage pulsing through me.

“Well, your words. Not mine.” He snorted another laugh and ran his trembling hands over the fabric of the armchair. Clearly nervous. His sickly pallor seemed to turn more ashen by the minute.

“What drugs are you on?”

He stilled and frowned back at me, only solidifying my suspicions. “What? No. I don’t need that shit.”

I wasn’t convinced, but the longer I pretended to care that he looked like hell, the longer it would take to get to the root of my anger: That fucking kiss. “So, you’re saying you had absolutely nothing to do with Danielle’s disappearance.”

“Look, I told you. My soul-stealing days are over. I’m a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guy now.”

“How romantic.” I quietly ground my teeth together, wanting nothing more than to knock the smug look right off his face. “So, the kiss in the woods … that was nothing.”

If it were possible, his face turned whiter than before, and he shifted yet again, clearing his throat. “Yeah. It was … nothing. Just a joke.”

Doing my best to reel in the anger, I pushed up from my desk. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret, Remy. One I’ve not told anyone.”

“Oh, yeah?” He chuckled nervously, as I rounded the desk, dragging my knuckles over the surface of it.

I came to a stop alongside his chair and leaned back against the desk. “All of my memories have returned to me.”

“Well, hey, that’s coo--”

Before he could finish, I shot forward and grabbed him by the throat. Remy coughed and gasped, as I lifted him from the chair and into the air, holding him above me by his neck. His feet dangled, fingers clawing at mine.

“She is mine,” I growled, squeezing hard enough that the color of his face turned from white to an unhealthy shade of red. “If you go near her again, I will sever your head from your shoulders and let my dogs feed on your carcass, are we clear?”

Still kicking his legs, he rasped, “Yes.”

I let go, and his body fell to the floor like a pile of wet clothes. Rounding back to my chair, I adjusted my cuffs, as he wheezed for breath, struggling to climb back onto his own chair. “I need you to do something for me.”

“What?” he managed to say between gasps.

“It seems Farryn recognized a certain phrase, spoken by someone at the church she attended. Dominus vigilans.”

“Pentacrux?” He rubbed his neck, frowning.

“It would seem. It’s a Catholic church, from the sounds of it. Nothing but a front, I’m guessing.” Tasking him with looking into it meant keeping him away from Farryn. Something I was all too happy to accommodate. “Do this for me, and I’ll forget that you touched what’s mine.”

“Of course. I’ll do it.”

“Good. And one other thing. You’re to report back to me. Directly.”

* * *

As I walked down the dark corridor of the undercroft, a strange feeling swept over me. It tingled the back of my neck, and I paused to turn, feeling as if something shadowed me.

Ignoring it, I kept on toward the room where I’d left Farryn. The moment my hand hit the knob, that strange feeling returned again.

Pushing the door open, I found Evie lying naked on her side, sprawled across the bed where Farryn had lain not even an hour before.

“Hello, handsome,” she said, lifting her knee to expose her sex.

“Where is she?” I growled, scanning over the room.

“Forget her--”

I cut off her words when my hand hit her throat. “Where. Is. She?”