Chapter 14
Iris
These past few days have been interesting, to say the least. Working alongside Noah to patrol Ashville is the equivalent of walking a tightrope while doing a clumsy dance to avoid landmines at the same time.
Because there are so many things I can’t tell him—even if I promised I wouldn’t lie anymore.
At least our conversations haven’t veered toward the umbra attack and everything that happened after, but toward the past, reminiscing. And for that, I’m grateful.
But what I’m most grateful for is that tonight I get a break from Noah.
If old Iris could hear my thoughts right now, she would have a conniption.
The summer air is stifling, and a fine sheen of perspiration coats my hairline while I cross the street in the southern part of Ashville—where Britney and Erik’s apartment is located.
This part of the city is filled with skyscrapers, posh cafes, Michelin-star restaurants, and high-end boutiques, most of which a certain Elite demon owns—ugh, here I go again, thinking about him.
I take out my phone to look over the address I have in the notes app.
Then check the time before flattening myself against the side of the building, blending into the shadows.
Five minutes later, Britney’s blond ponytail swishes in the opposite direction.
I wait until she disappears from my field of vision to step out of the darkness.
In the next second, though, I’m pulled back by strong fingers shackling my wrist. I swiftly unsheathe one of my daggers and whirl to press it against the man’s throat, drawing blood. My eyes slam into quicksilver.
“Noah?” I ask in disbelief, while dropping my hand at the side of my body and stepping back. “What the fuck? What are you doing here?”
His jaw ticks. “I should be the one asking you that, don’t you think? So tell me, Iris, what are you doing outside Erik and Britney’s apartment building? I saw you waiting for Britney to leave, so you better think twice before spewing a lie.”
“I can’t believe you followed me. We had a deal,” I seethe.
He cocks an eyebrow. “Our deal was only regarding the schedule. You never said I can’t follow you. Now, start talking.”
Shit. This looks bad. So bad in fact, that if I don’t tell him about Erik, and the Order finds out about my nighttime activities, my ass will land in Gomorrah faster than I can blink.
Here goes all or nothing.
“I killed Erik.”
Noah gapes at me for a few blistering seconds. Tilts his head. Then places his hands on my shoulders. “I don’t think I’ve heard you right. You did what?”
I can barely hear myself over the war drum in my ears. “Erik is dead. I killed him.”
“What the fuck?” Noah lets go of me as if I’ve burnt him. “How? What happened?”
I prepared myself for the possibility that I might have to confess I killed Erik at some point, so I tell him the story I’ve rehearsed in my head, sprinkled here and there with lies and omissions—a mirror, really, of all our interactions since he came back.
“Sam and I were at a club Saturday night. When she went to the bathroom, Erik found me at the bar. He wanted me to kiss him…I said no.” I sigh and squeeze my eyes shut before snapping my gaze back to his.
“He told me that Grayson put him up to watch me after the umbra attack. But he was already lurking in the shadows. I think he was stalking me.” I sniff.
“Long story short, he roofied my drink when I wasn’t paying attention.
Next thing I knew, I was outside, drugged out of my mind, and he came for me.
” I blurt out the last words, “He tried to rape and kill me.”
It takes a few seconds for Noah to process my last sentence. When it finally lands, his entire body starts shaking. “FUCK!” he yells as he punches the wall at his back so hard, it leaves a dent in the bricks.
I flinch at the unexpected sound. Noah is still shaking as he turns, pulls me into an embrace, and cradles my head against his chest. “Why didn’t you tell me before, Iris?” he demands, indignation lacing his words.
“How could I tell anyone I killed a lightborn?” His embrace is supposed to be calming, but it only suffocates me.
The realization that my body’s reaction to Noah might be the effect of Erik’s sexual assault makes my lungs fold in two.
I can’t stand his touch anymore, so I push out of his hold to step back. “I’m sorry. I—I can’t do this.”
Confusion knits his eyebrows. Then, something flashes in his eyes before they turn all hail and thunder. “Is it because of him? Of what he did to you?”
“I think so.”
“Did he…did he…” he grits out through clenched teeth.
“No, he was about to. Somehow, I found a sliver of strength and stabbed him with the dagger I had hidden in my boot. You know I never leave my house without a weapon. He beat the shit out of me, though. That’s why I haven’t been at the compound all week. If it weren’t for Sam…”
His upper lip curls. “Good. He’s lucky you got him first. But where’s the body?”
“It’s best you don’t know. All I can tell you is that Sam took care of it when she found me.”
“And no one saw you?”
“No, it all happened in the back alley of the club.” I swallow.
“There’s more. I don’t know if you’ve heard anything about the women being murdered over the years in Ashville.
The ones who had the words ‘demon whore’ carved into their bodies.
I believe Erik was the serial killer because he said some implicating shit while he was attacking me.
So that’s why I’m here—to search his apartment for evidence.
” I don’t think Noah would approve of me getting the human police involved, so I serve him another half-lie, “To have something to sway the Council in my favor if they ever find out I had something to do with Erik’s death. ”
Noah takes a few moments to absorb my words. “Okay. Let’s go.”
“Um, where?”
“To search his apartment. I’ll help you.”
“Are you sure? You would become an accomplice.”
“I don’t give a fuck. C’mon. I’ll drop you off when we finish.”
“Okay,” I mumble as he pulls me toward the entrance. “I think we should wait for a tenant to come in or out, though.” I tilt my chin to the front door of the building. It’s locked, and we could pick it, but there’s a security camera.
As soon as I finish saying that, someone strides toward us, holding a ridiculous number of designer shopping bags.
It’s a woman who looks to be in her late fifties.
I can’t help but wonder what store is still open at eleven at night.
Well, I guess if you have enough money, the schedule doesn’t apply to you.
And by the looks of it, she bought half the store.
She huffs as she unsuccessfully tries to fish something out of her designer bag. Her keys, I presume.
Noah throws her a smile that could blind the sun. “Do you need any help with the bags, ma’am?”
“Oh—um—I, um,” she stammers, and I bite my lower lip to stifle a laugh. I think I had the same dazed expression when I first saw Noah. Actually, I vividly remember tripping over my own legs like an idiot. It’s refreshing not to be the one bearing the brunt of his charm.
She shakes her head, then smiles back at Noah after she schools her features.
However, the reddish tint in her cheeks betrays she is still flustered.
“Sure. If it’s not too much trouble. My shopping spree got a little out of hand, and my driver had to go pick up my husband from a late meeting, so I thought I should walk,” she prattles on as Noah bends to take the bags from her.
“I haven’t seen you before. Did you just move in or… ?”
“No, we’re waiting for a friend,” I chime in before following them into the foyer. I stop near the plush emerald couch, plopping down with what I hope is the air of someone who’s been here before. “Noah, I’ll wait for you here. Melissa should be down any minute now.”
He nods.
“Noah. That’s a lovely name. I’m Charlotte. Oh my, look at those bulging muscles. You work out, don’t you?” the woman gushes all over Noah while they enter the elevator.
He throws me a panicked look when Charlotte starts feeling him up. This time, I can’t stop the chuckle from springing free when the elevator doors slide closed.
Thirty minutes pass before Noah finally makes a reappearance.
“Did that lady try to kidnap you or what? I was about to call the police,” I say, tone full of mirth while I stride toward the elevator, where he’s waiting.
Noah lifts his hand to show me the white card tucked between his fingers.
“Apparently, you weren’t prepared enough.
We also needed one of these.” He swipes it over the access reader when I step next to him, pushes the button for the twenty-fifth floor, then visibly shudders.
“That woman is batshit crazy. I only accepted a drink from her because I was trying to get this damn card out of her purse. She excused herself to go to the bathroom, and when she came back to the living room, she was fucking naked.”
I whistle. “Whoa. You really unleashed the Kraken with that smile, didn’t you?
Jeez. I bet my neighbor, Ms. Robbins, would be so jealous if she knew she didn’t get to pull that move on you first. If you ever want to change jobs, I think you would make a good living as a sugar baby.
Not like you need the money, but you know. ”
He shakes his head at my antics but still smiles.
The elevator dings. “C’mon, Casanova. Let’s get you inside before Charlotte comes looking.” When we reach the apartment’s front door, I unlock it with Britney’s extra key—which I swiped from her locker at the compound earlier today. What’s a minor break-in next to killing someone? Am I right?
Looking at the spacious living room with its walls full of cute pictures of Britney and Erik from their vacations all over the world, you wouldn’t think he was a psychopath and, most likely, a serial killer.
I was afraid that entering the place where Erik used to live would bring forth that blistering guilt.
However, it doesn’t come. It seems to be attached only to the people close to him, those who suffer from his absence.
I don’t get the chance to take anything else in because the moment Noah closes the door at our back, a high-pitched shrill reverberates in my eardrums as something sharp latches onto my right ankle.
I shriek back and try to shake the…rat? off.
Nope, not a rat—a dog.
Of course Britney has a Chihuahua.
“Do something!” I fire at Noah, who, instead of helping me, is shaking with laughter while recording everything on his phone.
“Do you really think you should film this? It’s evidence we broke in,” I mutter as I bend to dislodge the vicious creature from my leg.
The little fucker is stronger than one would think.
Luckily, I’m wearing hellseeker gear; otherwise, it would have done some real damage to my ankle.
I grab the dog from the back of its head to immobilize it, careful not to hurt him because I would never injure an animal on purpose—even one that looks like a rat.
Letting Styx, Sam’s Sphynx, sleep next to me every night is a testament to that.
He’s shaking as though he’s rabid and practically foams at the mouth as I push his small body into the bathroom at my left, then shut the door.
Muffled, high-pitched barks travel through the wood.
Facing Noah, I shoot daggers at him with my eyes. “Seriously? I can’t believe you just stood there. And filmed everything no less.” I extend my hand toward him. “Give me your phone.”
“Nope. Not gonna happen. That video’s going straight to the vault.
C’mon, Iris, you have to see the irony. You don’t bat an eye at fighting three ghouls at once, but you get ambushed by a two-pound Chihuahua.
Fucking gold,” he chuckles out and shakes his head before sliding his phone back into the front pocket of his pants.
“Vault? What vault?”
All the levity in the air evaporates as Noah’s expression turns serious.
“Well, I have all these videos of us, of you…from before I left.” He pauses, lines forming at the corners of his mouth, a haunted look in his eyes.
“There were some moments when watching those was the only thing that got me through the day. It cost me a fortune to get them back when my phone broke. But it was all worth it to have a little piece of you with me. Of what we had.”
“Oh,” I mumble and look down to escape the intensity in Noah’s mercurial gaze.
Maybe his words would have meant more if I hadn’t fallen for a certain Elite demon.
Instead, they only make my skin itch because I now have something to compare our past relationship to.
And what we shared doesn’t even hold a candle to what I feel—felt Iris, felt—for Kaiden.
I clear my throat, unable to withstand the awkwardness blanketing the air anymore.
“’Mkay, well, we better get to it. Where would you hide something if, say, you were a serial killer?
” Turning on my heel, I traverse the corridor to my right, where the portion of a bed covered by a pink polka dot comforter is visible through the crack in the door.
“I’ll take the bedroom. Will you look through the living room?
” We could search together, but I need some space.
Noah heaves a weighted sigh. “Sure.”