Chapter 18 Maeve
MAEVE
“What has happened here?” I ask, looking at the new carpet along the corridor to get to mine and Ari’s flat.
I’m wrecked. It’s late, and despite pretending to sleep on the plane to avoid talking to the guys, I spent the entire time thinking over what Adrian and Helen were talking about.
About the threats Leanne made that had just a bit too much knowing attached to them.
“We got that organised before we left,” Lucifer says calmly. “The old one was tainted. I wasn’t going to make you worry about whether you could smell him every time you entered your home.”
I blink back a tear and nod my head jerkily. The twins are at Hadrian’s flat already, and annoyingly, Draven couldn’t leave just yet, so he’s stuck at the compound.
He’ll be making his way home once he’s done with the pretence of working. I hope it doesn’t take long.
Not because I care. Or because I need him here.
Just so that I can work. Yes. So I can get back to work.
Well done, Maeve, you’ve managed to embarrass yourself in front of yourself.
“Thank you,” I murmur.
He grins and unlocks my door for me, immediately calling for Ari.
“Maevey-Baby!” Ari yells, and I grin when she rounds the corner. Her dark blonde hair is tied up in a messy bun, and she’s practically glowing.
I narrow my gaze, taking in the bright smile and the glassy look in her grey eyes.
She’s very, very happy.
“Had a good time without me?” I ask, waggling my brows.
She smirks, immediately deflecting from what was going to be an inquisition into her elephant courter. “I heard you saw Tarun.”
I gag, and she giggles. She holds her hand out for me before immediately snatching it back when she realises. I immediately look away from her, the memories of actually touching her a few days ago sending me into a mini panic.
Goodness, I’m a fragile mess.
“Nice to have you back, Luc,” Ari says, beaming at my bodyguard. It seems nothing is going to dim her shine.
He smiles. “Good to be back. My cousin doesn’t realise how lucky he is to have you.”
“How’s that?” Ari’s tone dips into curiosity as she twists the knot around in her shirt.
“Because if it weren’t for you, I’d have slit his throat at brunch.” Lucifer waggles his brows at me when I give him a dirty look.
You can take the man out of… well, whatever deranged hole he crawled out of, but you can’t make him gain normal social skills.
Not that I’d want him to have them.
Dark, deadly, toxic… that’s me in a nutshell, so I couldn’t expect him to change.
I like him this way.
“Alvie only left twenty minutes ago, when you guys landed,” Ari says, looking over my head at Lucifer. “But I bet you’ll want to do a check anyway.”
He nods firmly. “Go sit in the living room, pretty princess. Once I’ve made sure it’s safe here, I can leave and give you girls some privacy, provided you’ll listen to the rules.”
“I obey the rules. Mostly.” He raises a brow, and I grumble. “Fine, sometimes. The important ones.”
Ari scoffs, but she’s still beaming at me. “Okay, Maevey-Baby. You don’t need to tell lies, you know, we love you anyway.”
My heart skips a beat, and then races dramatically when Lucifer doesn’t deny it.
Asshole.
Lucifer strides towards my bedroom, whereas I move straight to the living room. I drop into my favourite chair, relief filling me immediately at how normal everything feels.
I was concerned I’d have some panic about being back here after what happened. That once again, he managed to ruin something for me.
I’m so fucking glad that’s not the case.
“Here,” Ari says, passing me a cold bottle of water. She’s soft on her feet, and I never even realised she detoured to the kitchen rather than following me through.
I flinch at the feel of it on my hands but take the hint and sip at the bottle. It’s uncomfortable, anxiety-inducing, really, which is pathetic.
Sure, I have some valid things to be anxious over, but holding a bottle of water?
That’s just pathetic.
“Your messages got more dramatic as the days went on,” Ari says, raising a brow as she tucks herself back under the bundle of blankets she has.
Normally, my roommate would blast the heating when she was chilly, but it’s sweet knowing she avoided it for me coming home.
When it’s too hot, I feel like my skin is itchy, and I can’t help but rive at it, scratching and gouging, really.
“Well, it’s not like I actually killed them,” I protest before shrugging. “But I was tempted. Honestly, that place is a fucking mess.”
“And the attack on your home?”
I roll my eyes. “It was a massacre of clothes, barely even an attack.”
My chromius snorts at me, fully aware of the depth of my lies. Fine. It was an attack.
It was personal, it was scary, it was fucking awful. To have that amount of blood at his disposal and still be able to leave?
I don’t even want to know how he did it.
That would horrify me more than the mental anguish he’s got me tied up in.
“Something happened with Adrian before we left,” I murmur, looking at the doorway in case Lucifer’s hovering.
He isn’t.
“What?” she whispers, edging forward.
“I overheard a conversation I don’t think I should have. Between him and Helen—his mate.”
“I know who she is.” Ari’s eyes narrow, a brow lifting. “About you?”
I nod my head. “They wanted me gone before his parents got there. Helen and Adrian have a plan for me, and his parents were going to ruin it.”
“Fuck me.” Ari scoots closer, not close enough to touch, but the comfort is there. “That tells us something, though.”
“Does it? Because it just feels like more unknowns to add to the list of problems.”
She shakes her head. “Sure, their plan is an unknown, but the motives aren’t, Maevey-Baby. Adrian’s playing the family game of chess, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was his kingpin move.”
I snort. “What the fuck is a kingpin move? Have you ever actually played chess?”
Ari giggles, waving me off. “What do you understand about the family dynamics?”
“Adrian’s the head of the family, until his parents are there, and he submits to them. They’re still creepily in charge. I’ve not been around them much, but Adrian never defied them.”
“See, from what I understand, Adrian’s still seen as the baby of the family. Sure, he’s mated and runs the Tribunal, but he’s still regularly checked in on by the sisters and his parents. He’s not trusted fully for whatever the family motives are.”
I nod my head before frowning. “Sure, maybe with Marianne. She definitely runs the show when her parents aren’t around. But I don’t think Leanne or Brianne have that same pull.”
“Because their mates don’t have the same pull that Bharlo does,” Ari offers.
We both fall quiet when Lucifer strides through the corridor, his footsteps heavy as he moves out of the bathroom towards the kitchen. I don’t want him overhearing what we’re talking about.
Not when things are as tense as they are.
“So, maybe the plan Helen and Adrian have for me is one that gets him the authority he’s always desired,” I say bitterly. “He’s tried tying me to his nephews. Is that step one?”
“Do you think that’s a step at all?” she asks, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
My chromius snarls at me, but I ignore my inner creature, refusing to let her delusion twist the truth.
“Don’t be swayed by the lies of a Graves man,” I half-heartedly tease. With a heavy sigh, I look at my roommate. “I feel like I’m drowning, and there’s no end in sight.”
“Exhaustion usually does that. Let’s get you to bed once Luc’s given the all clear, and we’ll take things step by step.” She gives me a soft smile. “You’re so strong, Maeve.”
“Strong, pathetic, miserable… they should all be synonyms. I wish I didn’t let it all get to me.”
“I propose you just never go back there.”
I grimace, unwilling to even let myself hope. “If only.”
“Want company tonight?” Her offer is sincere, and I’m selfish enough to take it.
“Please.”
She beams at me. “Great. Do you want to shower or anything first? Or should we leave that traumatising activity for tomorrow?”
The fact that she understands how hard such a simple activity is for me will never be something I take for granted. I know Ari has her own issues, but her respect and accommodations for mine… I don’t deserve it.
You pathetic, whimpering slut.
Nothing but a—
“Maeve?” Ari cuts through the dark thoughts, and the tense smile I give is all I can scrummage up.
“I wish I could, but I want to wash that place away from me,” I reply.
Want isn’t true enough—it’s a need.
A desperation.
Ridding myself of the memories of that place can only occur under scalding water.
She nods. “I get it.” With a sly smirk, she asks, “How were my ex-in-laws, then?”
I groan. “Honestly, they’re fucking vicious. Bharlo is a creep, and Marianne… honestly, she’s just plain psychotic.”
Ari grimaces. “I thought so. The only ones without any ties to the situation, and yet somehow managed to make them all about them.”
I nod, a shiver creeping up my spine. “Marianne was the one who sent me to get Adrian. Then again, it was Leanne who decided to threaten me for stealing her useless heir—”
“Ah, ah, ah,” Lucifer cuts in, and we both turn to face him. He’s leaning against the doorway, looking far too comfortable like that. His shirt rises ever so slightly, showing off his toned midriff, and I look away.
Why it bothers me seeing such a tiny bit of skin, I’ll never know.
My chromius purrs, though, liking the view… and the effect it has on me.
“You never told us that my auntie cornered you,” Lucifer says, raising a brow at me. “Any other secrets you’re keeping?”
“Oh, Luc, you’d collapse under the weight of my secrets.” It was meant to come out sarcastic, but somehow, it just sounded sad.
Empty, lonely, and sad.
“There’s enough of us to share the burden, pretty princess,” he counters. “Do I need to be concerned about Leanne?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so. She’s not much of a threat, although she did imply your grandparents would be.”