Chapter Fourteen
I opened my eyes and immediately squinted. Sunlight had turned the glass canopy above me into a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors. It hadn’t been that way last night. When I crawled into bed, the canopy had been muted shades of indigo.
I sat up. The swanlike wing that curtained the bed slowly uncurled to reveal the rest of the bedroom. Last night the wing had been as black as Remy’s hair. Now it was snow white.
Yeah, the bedroom had magic furniture, too.
Whoever the Tuatha Dé Danann were, they could charge millions in interior design.
I couldn’t pause to admire my surroundings, though.
I had to call my boss and tell her I was taking an emergency leave of absence.
Hopefully, Remy had that replacement nurse ready.
I got out of bed, glad I only had a mild headache instead of a nasty hangover. Where had I left my phone? Right, it was next to my bloodstained gown on the floor. This room might have magical furniture, but it didn’t have a phone charger. Thankfully, I still had some battery left.
Before I could dial my work number, my phone rang, the name ANGELA flashing on the screen. I stared at it for another two rings, trying to remember the last time I’d spoken to my former stepmother. Was it three months ago? Four?
“Hey,” I said, finally answering.
“Raine.” Angela sounded surprised. “I thought I’d get your voicemail again.”
Ouch, but I deserved that. “I’m, ah, off work today.”
“Are you all right?” Now she sounded worried. “It looked like you were bleeding.”
Huh? “What are you talking about?”
“I saw you on the news! You were leaving the Met last night where several people died during a weird blackout. What happened? You looked like you had blood on you. Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I said, putting her on speaker to do a quick scroll. EIGHT KILLED DURING DEADLY MET BLACKOUT, read one headline, with NO EXPLANATION FOR PANICKED STAMPEDE under the next byline.
Oh, there’d been an explanation, all right. Just not one that any regular news outlet would know about.
“I’m fine,” I said, seeing another headline: MOGUL REMINGTON BYRNE FLEES DEADLY BLACKOUT, with a picture of Remy and me right before we got into the cab. I was bloody, probably from where the Beast had tried to claw its way out of me.
“I’m fine,” I repeated.
Angela huffed. “Thank God. Now, are you going to tell me how long you’ve been dating the rich guy? Or are you going to skip that?”
I smiled. Angela was blunt, brash, and the only reason I hadn’t fallen apart after my family’s deaths.
My father hadn’t been up to taking care of my emotional needs.
He wouldn’t have taken me in at all except for the inheritance check I came with.
Mom and Gran had left everything to me, and if there was one thing a compulsive gambler couldn’t resist, it was free money.
Angela had been the one to step up as a parent. Hell, I suspected she’d canceled her plans to leave my dad because of me. She’d also been the one to unwittingly show me how to feed the Beast. Before she retired, Angela had been an ER trauma nurse.
“We haven’t been dating long,” I said, keeping it vague. “We were, um, trying to keep it low-key.”
Another huff. “Everybody knows now. It was news at eleven.”
I could just picture her saying it. Her full lips would be pursed, but her dark brown eyes would be sparkling.
I smiled despite myself. “Apparently.”
This news clip would only help the illusion that Remy and I were in love. That pic of him looking at me as he helped me get into the cab almost reeked of possessive concern.
“You could have told me you found someone special.” The new gruffness in Angela’s tone conveyed her hurt more effectively than a sob. “I might not be your real mama, but I love you like I was.”
I closed my eyes. Out of all the people I’d had to pull away from because of the Beast, Angela’s loss had hurt the most.
“I’m sorry.” Not enough of an explanation, but it was all I could give her.
“And I love you, too. In fact—” I seized on a chance I couldn’t have taken before.
Remy had said that most of his family attending the get-together would be human, so one more human shouldn’t be a problem.
“You can meet him tomorrow, if you’re free. He’s having a family gathering.”
“You’re meeting his family?” She sounded shocked. No wonder. I never dated, let alone took things to this level.
“Yes, and I’d like him to meet mine, too.”
Angela snorted. “You know your father and I can’t stand to be in the same room together since the divorce—”
“I didn’t mean him,” I interrupted. “I’m not inviting him. I’m inviting you.”
My father was my blood, but Angela was my family. With Remy’s Beast Control power in my future, I could finally spend time with her again. No more worrying about hurting her, no more waking up screaming from nightmares where the Beast had consumed Angela until nothing remained of her except ashes.
“I’d love to,” she said in a thicker voice.
I swallowed so I didn’t start to tear up, too. “Great! I’ll text you the time and place. I’m, uh,” my voice cracked, “really glad you called, Angela.”
I didn’t deserve how she kept showing up for me. But oh, I’d love the chance to make it up to her. If I finally had control over the Beast, I could start. Suddenly, I couldn’t wait to get that power infusion.
Remy and I took the helicopter back to Baltimore.
Then he had six burly guards help me pack my things from my apartment while he stayed outside “keeping watch.” Either no one was after me, or they hadn’t expected me to return this soon.
In any event, no one attacked aside from Belle.
One of the guards tried to put her in a cat carrier, and got a long welt on his hand while Belle’s growl said there was more where that came from.
“Sorry! I’ll take her,” I said, muttering, “You’re lucky he isn’t a were-dog,” to Belle.
She just blinked at me, unrepentant.
Everything I owned was packed within the hour. The guards loaded the boxes into a truck while Remy and I rode in his Mercedes. The same blond guy was the driver, and I said hello to him while slanting a glance at Remy.
“Why do you always have a driver? Can’t you drive?”
“Of course I can” was his reply.
“So, why don’t you?”
The barest smile hovered over Remy’s mouth. “In case I need my hands for other activities.”
I’d assumed the opaque glass was to keep conversations private. Guess Remy had another use for it, too. A different topic was definitely in order.
“I invited my stepmother to come tomorrow. I hope that’s not a problem.”
Remy’s brows rose. “Why would it be?”
“Because while you said that most of your extended family is human, it just occurred to me that the rest of them might be shape-shifters or sirens or Basilisks or something else that will give her a heart attack if she sees them,” I said honestly.
His faint smile grew. “My human family has no idea that such creatures exist. That’s why the ones who aren’t human keep their true natures in check during events like these.”
“Okay.” I would’ve hated to cancel on Angela, but this would be too much to reveal. She didn’t even know about me. I couldn’t tell Angela what I was. She wouldn’t believe it unless she saw it, and if she ever saw the Beast, she’d be dead.
“I have business to attend to the rest of the day,” Remy said, ending that depressing line of thought. “I won’t see you again until tomorrow.”
“No problem. Just give me the time and place.”
“My Fells Point hotel, twelve noon. In fact, we’re going there now. It’s where you’ll be staying.”
I gave him a sardonic look. “Which Fells Point hotel?”
“The one you can tell Angela about,” he replied with a grin. “We’ll have the hotel to ourselves for tomorrow’s gathering, though most activity will focus around the pool and atrium.”
Wow. I hadn’t expected a pool party for my introduction as Remy’s new girlfriend. Then again, it was summer. Maybe Remy’s family really liked to get their tan on.
“Sounds good.” I thought I had a bathing suit somewhere.
Remy’s cell rang. He glanced at the number and swiped left. It rang again almost immediately. He swiped left once more.
“Nagging girlfriend?” I teased before a thought struck me. What if Remy did have a girlfriend? How had I not considered that before?
“Never mind,” I said quickly. “Your life is none of my business. I’ll try to stay out of it as much as possible.”
Remy silenced his phone and set it down. “If this plan is to succeed, you can’t stay out of my life, Raine.”
The simple truth of that filled me with shame. I’d only thought about how our deal was impacting my life. I hadn’t considered all the ways that it would change Remy’s life, too.
“I’m sorry if this arrangement is screwing things up between you and someone special.”
Something too harsh to be a laugh escaped him. “There’s no one special. Not in the way you’re thinking.”
I was relieved, and then immediately felt guilty. I shouldn’t be glad that he was single. We were thrown together by necessity, not by any hope of there being more between us.
“I’m sure there will be one day,” I said in as bright of a tone as I could manage.
His stare suddenly felt like his voice when he used his power—tangible, dangerous, and endlessly enticing.
I looked away. Remy might be temptation itself, but I never allowed myself to sleep with someone I had feelings for. It made it too painful to break things off later, and I always had to break things off. The Beast left me no choice.
Besides, I didn’t want my first real adult relationship to be with someone who’d wipe the floor with me emotionally, and Remy had “heartbreaker” written all over him.
The city’s scenery blurred by as the car sped up. I could still feel Remy’s gaze on me, but I didn’t turn around.