Chapter 9
The weeks passed far quicker once I’d started getting to utilize my skills, and soon months had gone by.
Note-taking was easy, and I absorbed a lot of the information about the casinos in the city that I wouldn’t normally be privy to.
And Cillian remained as hot and cold as ever—brief moments of normal conversation one moment and then rude dismissiveness the next.
My head spun from all his mood shifts, as fickle as spring weather.
“This meeting is concluded,” he announced to the table of different humans and monsters, this time vendors he worked with for the Spires.
As per usual, Cillian waited for me to get up first before rising himself, and I wasn’t sure if it was to remind me he was my jailer or because he had another meeting involving me.
We’d been eating lunch afterward some of the time, while other days he’d bustle out and leave me to my own devices.
Which I wouldn’t mind, except that Amelia would inevitably show up to fetch me and escort me back upstairs.
Far too quickly too. It was like the woman had a psychic pulse on things. Or at least, whatever her witchy magic did.
Everyone made quick work of leaving the room, unlike at some meetings where the business owners loitered. I watched the guy on the right side of the room, Nate Silvers from my notes. He was one of the last to leave, taking extra effort with his briefcase.
Once it was just Cillian and me remaining in the room, I shifted my laptop to face him. “Nate Silvers contradicted himself in a few different spots regarding the budget. I highlighted it in the notes.”
“I’ve had a suspicion he’s been trying to skim off the top for a while,” Cillian said, stepping behind me to peer over my shoulder.
“This should give me the direction of what to check out.” His proximity sent a reflexive shiver up my spine.
The way he loomed wasn’t like the average human, not with the sheer size of him, and the brimstone and musk scent rolled off him, surrounding me.
The amount of time I’d been here plus the amount of time we’d spent working together had started to addle my mind.
I’d become used to his presence, even if I still loathed him.
“I’ll send you a copy of the notes,” I responded before closing down the document and shutting off my laptop. A normal person might say thank you, but I wouldn’t hold my breath that Cillian would bother. He said the bare minimum and not much more, unless it was a rare occasion when he shared.
“Hey, boss,” Charles said from the doorway, his smile as easy as ever. “Here to provide my escort services.”
Right. Back to my prison.
Cillian grunted, which was his way of dismissing me, because the man hadn’t learned basic decency. I slid the strap of my laptop bag onto my shoulder and didn’t bother acknowledging him as I headed away to follow Charles.
The second we stepped outside the private meeting room, Charles led me straight out onto the casino floor instead of making the sharp right in the direction of the private elevators we normally took.
“Theo’s waiting for us over at Sinspiration Deli,” Charles explained. “Thought you might like some more time away from upstairs.”
His kindness made my chest squeeze tight.
As much as Cillian could be brusque and rude, Charles, Theo, and Amelia had made life in this new space tolerable.
All of them tried in their own ways to make my time up there a little easier.
Charles, with his random rambling and the coffee chats we’d started to have.
Theo making sure I had food, as well as asking for book recommendations on the regular.
Amelia had been a little tougher to crack, as she wasn’t the sociable sort, but her regular check-ins had come to mean a lot.
Maybe they all helped in order to ease their own consciences, but regardless, I appreciated the attempts.
“Thank you,” I said, tugging on the strap of the laptop bag.
“Boss has a big luncheon out in Peregrine, so Theo’s off the hook for cooking until later,” Charles said. “He always snags the opportunity to grab meals elsewhere when he doesn’t have to cook for himself.”
“You’re not going to cook him a meal?” I asked.
Charles barked out a laugh. “Unless we want the Spires to burn down around us, no. Me and the kitchen don’t get along.”
“Convenient that you’re dating a chef,” I said, keeping pace with him as we wandered past different rooms filled with gambling tables.
“Happy coincidence,” he said. “The second I met Theo, goddamn. Have you ever hooked up with a werewolf? Hot doesn’t begin to describe it. And that knot.”
I snorted. I should be surprised by Charles’s overshare, but I’d begun to see that was his nature. I appreciated it. “Can’t say I have. My dating and hookup history is a bit sparse.”
Charles blinked. “No way. With baby blues and golden curls like yours? Plus, your ass is like a work of art.”
Heat flushed my cheeks at the compliment. “My coworkers always said I was too picky.”
Charles shrugged. “Do you feel like you’re too picky?” He swiped at some longer strands of his dark brown hair, which had begun to drift over his eyes.
I licked my lips, his question settling deep inside me. “No, I don’t. I’m not interested in hookups with assholes, which means dating, and it’s a cesspool out there.”
My phone buzzed, and I glanced at the screen. Speaking of the cesspool—Damian.
“What was the wince for?” Charles asked.
“My neighbor, who won’t take no for an answer,” I responded. “Even though I’ve turned him down dozens of times, he still thinks he has a shot.”
“Well, that’s unattractive,” Charles commented. “Is that how guys normally act with you?”
I opened the message.
Where have you been? There’s an eviction notice outside your apartment. Did you move?
My stomach dropped. Of course. While I wasted away here, my normal life had fallen by the wayside.
I’d contacted the library at least, to tender my resignation, but I hadn’t contacted my landlord, because part of me wasn’t sure whether I should try to keep my place or not.
Apparently the decision had been made for me.
However, that meant everything in my apartment would likely be tossed.
“What’s wrong?” Charles asked, placing a hand on my shoulder and gesturing toward the overhang featuring Sinspirations Deli in neons. “We’re here.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh, you know, the normal quandaries that come with abruptly being locked away in a tower. My landlord posted an eviction notice, and I didn’t have the chance to get my things before I came here.”
Charles frowned just as Theo strode up to us.
“That’s bullshit,” Charles said.
Theo slid an arm around his shoulders. “What is?”
“Beau’s about to lose his belongings, since his landlord’s evicting him.” Charles’s brows drew together, and the indignation on his face made me like him even more. He was the best person I’d met here so far, and I latched eagerly onto any connection I could.
“Well then, we go get them,” Theo said with a shrug. “I’ve got some free time later.”
Charles stared at his boyfriend, an adoring look in his eyes.
Jealousy flared through me. Fuck, what I wouldn’t give for someone like that—a protector, someone who lifted me up and saw the real me…
and accepted it. I’d been searching for so long that the prospect felt wearying and futile at this point.
And with my next decade to be spent locked up in a tower, I wouldn’t stand a chance at finding anything that resembled love.
Not even a good fuck at this point.
“Thanks,” I said to Theo as we meandered over to the tables.
“Don’t thank me for basic decency,” he said.
“It’s uncomfortable. Anyway, I ordered a few sandwiches for the table, so you can all pick what you like.
” He plunked into one of the steel-framed chairs facing the four-seater pine table.
The vibes here blended neon and loud casino noise with the chill ambiance of a lounge.
The lighting was low, the back part of the deli featuring a stretch of red vinyl booths while the tables lay in the middle area.
“Cillian won’t be upset if you grab my belongings?” I asked. I didn’t want him getting angry at them over helping me out with this.
Charles snorted. “What will he do? Brood at me?”
Theo mussed his hair, a rueful grin on his face. “You’re trouble.”
“That’s why you love me,” Charles responded. My heart twisted tight. Their relationship was exactly what I longed for.
A server brought over a tray laden with sandwiches and placed them on the table.
Theo had ordered a feast, which shouldn’t be a surprise from the resident chef upstairs.
He and Charles didn’t hesitate to dive in, and I nabbed what looked like a roast beef sandwich on a crusty roll and dragged the plate in front of me.
“Do you need us to tell your neighbor to back off too?” Charles asked, talking as he chewed with his mouth open.
I shook my head. “It’ll be a non-issue. Don’t suppose he’ll be bothering me for the next ten years.”
The mood dampened at the statement, like I’d splashed black paint across the table.
“Damn, that really sucks,” Charles said. “What you did for your dad, though—that was pretty selfless.”
“He’s all I have.” I took a bite of my sandwich and savored the tang of the horseradish, the savory taste of the meat. “My mother passed away when I was a kid, and he worked hard to raise me on his own.”
“Still a selfless act,” Theo said, his demeanor a bit more serious. “You could’ve just walked away. You had a choice.”
“For me, there was never a choice.” The resolve settled in my bones all over again. I couldn’t imagine letting my father hang.
“No wonder Cillian didn’t want to send you to the Pits,” Charles said. “I was surprised he took you as personal assistant, though. He hasn’t had one since Olivia—”
Theo elbowed Charles in the side. “Which is his personal business.”