11. Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
Zeke
The moment I mentioned leaving, my demon rebelled, bending me over in pain. This was the second time he’d done this in as many days, and I was over it already.
Coming here had been a mistake. Rory’s proximity fuelled my demon’s desire. But what choice did I have? He deserved an explanation surrounding the events of yesterday, and I was the only one who could give him that.
While he went to see Carlotta, I gave my demon a serious talking-to. This wasn’t acceptable. I was in charge. Not him.
He grumbled his disgust but eventually calmed enough for me to sit up unimpeded.
Then there was the drawing. How the fuck had she drawn the house?
My house. The one I lived in with Mal, the one she’d never seen, and why was I holding hands with her dad?
All this was incredibly bizarre. I didn’t know what to think, and Rory appeared as shocked as I felt.
Was it a sign? Who the fuck knew?
But what I did know was it was time to leave.
I grabbed my jacket. “I need to go.”
“Look, I have a proposition for you. You can say no if you want to, but this thing with Ernesto is troubling me.”
“I’m listening.” I stood in the doorway, my hand on the post.
“You said you didn’t think he’d give up, that he’d not be satisfied until Carlotta was back with him. I can’t allow that to happen to my daughter. I already lost her mother. I can’t lose her too.”
“What do you suggest?”
“I’m offering you a job. Bodyguard to my daughter. I can’t pay you a million euros, but I can offer something. I must keep her safe. There’s no way on this earth I’ll let him win and allow him to take her from me.”
Never had I expected that, and it’d fuck up my plans to go home or anywhere else. My answer would have to be no.
“Look, Rory, I appreciate the offer of employment, but I’m not a babysitter. I was observing before, watching you. What is it you’d want me to do? Be with you twenty-four hours, seven days a week?”
“No, of course not.” He walked away from me and once again ran his hand through his hair, mussing up his curls. I was guessing this was a habit of his as he did it again.
“And how would you pay me?”
“I work. I have money. I’ll make it worth your while at least. Carlotta’s safety is paramount, and honestly, I’m prepared to pay you everything I have.”
I looked at Carlotta. She sat at the table, watching something on her phone, oblivious to the conversation we were having.
Probably a good job, given the subject matter.
I recalled her forlorn face as I’d pulled her from the car.
The hurt she’d suffered because of a grandfather who professed to love her but was willing to put her life at risk to satisfy his ego.
And here was I, selfishly thinking of myself, but that was me. I’d never had to put anyone’s needs before my own. The last time I’d done anything resembling good was when Bael threatened Mal and Jason.
I’d joined my brother, prepared to sacrifice my life if I had to and protect them.
“I’ll give you a minute to think about it.” Rory sat next to his daughter and placed a kiss on her head.
I had no idea what it was like to love anyone unconditionally. In all my years—centuries—I’d loved no one but myself.
Sure, I loved my people—Mal, Jason, Mrs Gold, family—but no one bone deep or all-consuming.
After all this time, all the years I’d lived, the realisation hit me I had no one. Not that Rory was the one.
Who was I kidding? The universe didn’t lie. My demon never lied.
Taking the job, being in his company constantly, the desire to have him, to possess him in every way possible, would grow stronger.
Did I want that? The million-dollar question. Or million euros, in my case.
But could I turn his request down? Ernesto wouldn’t stop. Demons had a sixth sense for evil, and this guy reeked of it. It oozed from every bore, ingrained in every fibre of his being.
Fucking hell. Damned if I didn’t, damned if I did. The decision seemed impossible, but should anything happen to Rory or Carlotta, despite never caring for anyone before, I couldn’t in all good conscience leave them to his vile intentions.
I glanced at them sitting together, the love shining from him as he gazed at his daughter. As if sensing me, he looked up, his eyes meeting mine. Warmth spread through my chest, and I accepted my fate.
“I’ll do it.”
“Thank you. I can’t tell you how much this will mean to us both.” He approached, his hand outstretched. I took it, and the zing of electricity Mal had described shot up my arm. By the look on his face, he’d felt it too.
I could lament the end of my single life, but it was time to embrace my future. A future full of the man who stood in front of me.
With his dark blond, messy hair, an errant curl falling over his right eye. Expressive eyes. Eyes that sparkled in the sunlight shining through the window.
Since when had I noticed shit like this, and since when had I become so eloquent?
Then there it was, a lopsided smile revealing a dimple I was dying to lick.
I dropped my hand. This was a bad fucking idea, but I feared it was too late to back out now. The damage had been done.
Rory had imprinted himself on my demon, and he preened, proud as a peacock.
It could have been worse, much worse.
“I have a few things to take care of, but I’ll stop by later and make sure everything’s okay.”
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am. If you need an advance or anything, I’d be happy to do that too.”
“You’re good. I think I can trust you.” Honestly, Rory had no reason to trust me. I’d betrayed him in the worst possible way by taking the job with Ernesto.
By doing this, I could make amends. Make things right, and if I could prevent it from happening again to this undeserving family, then this was the right decision.
“Will you be back? I think it’d be wise to have a plan of attack. Details of Carlotta’s school, my workplace…”
“I’ll drop by later. I have a few things to take care of.” A call to my brother being one of them. “But you should know, I have all your details. I’ve been watching you for a few weeks.”
“Oh, of course you have.” His face fell. Probably not the right thing to say, but it was true.
“I’m sure there are other things I don’t know about you.” If my demon had his way, there were a lot of things we needed to know, but how was I even going to tell him what he was to me now?
Something I needed to talk to Mal about. How had he gone about it?
How did I even reveal myself to him? Perhaps it’d never be the right time and my demon would have to be content with him being close.
“Well, I’ll see you later. I need to take care of Carlotta.”
He walked me to the door.
“Thanks, Zeke. You agreeing to this makes me feel more secure with that madman about.”
At least I was doing something worthwhile now, not just money grabbing, and that made me feel slightly better about myself.
By the time I got back to my apartment, my demon was becoming agitated again.
This was fucking ridiculous. We’d been away from Rory for all of thirty minutes.
“Get used to it. I’m not spending every day of the fucking week with him.”
I called Mal.
“Yo, Mal. Question for ya. How did you tell Jason you were his mate, and how the fuck did you reveal your demon to him without freaking him out?”
“Everyone is different. Jason accepted it with little to no fuss. As for the demon part? There were perks to my demon form he was more than willing to explore.”
“Whoa, far too much information.” I’d need to wash my ears out with bleach.
“Does this mean you’ve accepted your fate? What’s his name again? Rory, was it?”
“I’ve accepted that my future might be with Rory, yes. I’m working for him now.”
I explained what had happened, how Ernesto had tried to kidnap his granddaughter.
“For what it’s worth, you’ve made the right decision. I know you have. Build a relationship with Rory, and you’ll find the right words and the right time to let him know. Don’t just blurt it out. I know what you’re like, and for fuck’s sake, don’t just reveal your demon to him without warning him.”
“Might be funny.” I chuckled. Maybe I should do that.
“I’ve heard of some doing that and ending up without a mate. Let me tell you, it’s not the best way to go about it.”
“You certainly seem as if you got lucky with Jason.”
“I did. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Soft. That’s what you are.”
“I’d kick your arse in a fight. Don’t forget that. Remember when we were kids? You lost to me every time.”
“You were fifty years older than me,” I protested.
He laughed loudly. He did that more since meeting Jason.
The mating suited him. Would it suit me? I had no way of knowing, but I’d committed myself now.
“Zeke, you will figure it out. I have absolute faith in you. I know you, and as much as you don’t think so, you’ve been lonely long enough. This could be a good thing.”
“Yeah, we’ll see. I’d better get back there. I wanted to talk to you, get your thoughts.”
“You’re doing the right thing, and you’ll know when the time is right. Trust in your demon and yourself.”
I messed around in the apartment for another hour or two, putting off my return, but eventually, it was time to head back.
My reluctance to return had nothing to do with Carlotta but everything to do with Rory. To say I was nervous about the future was an understatement.
I’d never been nervous in all my life, not even when faced with the largest army or an irate mother when Mal and I had been fighting and I’d broken his leg.
Time to grow a pair and face up to the consequences.
When I returned, Rory was sitting at the table, his laptop open in front of him.
I looked around the room. “Where’s Carlotta?”
“She’s sleeping. Dosed up on pain meds. I’m so fucking angry, Zeke.”
His eyes were bloodshot, his face red, and if I had to guess, he’d been crying.
“I’m sorry, Rory. I feel like this is my fault.”
“Did you kidnap her? Did you tell Ernesto to take my daughter? No, you didn’t. It was him. I have a good mind to call him, but what good would that do? No one can touch him. Not the police, not Interpol. I hate the bastard.”
“Hey, calm down. I understand how you feel.”
“Do you? Do you have children?”
“I don’t. But I’ve known people who’ve lost children.”
“I can’t lose her. I’ve lost too much already. Life is fragile, taken away when you least expect it. I intend to protect her until I can’t do it anymore.”
He trembled with undisguised rage. My demon shifted uncomfortably, filling me with a need to comfort him. I didn’t know Rory well enough to do that, but I squeezed his shoulder in support.
“Tell me about your wife.” Maybe if I talked to him about something else, it’d take his mind off his daughter.
He walked to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water.
“We met when I was twenty-two, and it was love at first sight. We were soul mates. Her father was throwing a party for something, I can’t remember what.
I went as a junior diplomatic envoy for the UK.
They thought it’d be a good experience for me.
I hated every moment of it until she walked into the room.
Cliché, I know, but I knew then I’d marry her and stay with her for the rest of our lives. ”
Although I knew what had happened to Mia from the report Ernesto gave me, he’d made it seem the accident was Rory’s fault. I wanted his side of the story.
“What happened?”
“Fucking Ernesto. He wouldn’t leave us alone, interfered in every part of our lives, especially when Carlotta came along. He became obsessed with her. I should have fucking known he’d take it to the extreme.”
He blew out a breath and scrubbed his fingers through his hair, an action I was becoming fond of. It left him looking dishevelled and unkempt.
“I know this is hard for you.” Death, loss, it was never easy. Grief, a millstone around our neck every day. It helped if we had someone to share that weight. I’d suffered but had borne that burden alone.
“We bought a house. A villa not too far from him but far enough to give us the independence we deserved. We’d signed the contracts, and the day she died, we were going to tell him we were moving out.
I don’t know what happened in the accident.
No one does. I visited the site often, saw the broken barriers where her car had broken through. She knew those roads, Zeke.”
“It could have been anything. She could have fainted, passed out, an animal running out in front of her. Any of those things could have contributed to her accident.”
“He thinks it was my fault. I would have done anything to bring her back. Anything. I let her loss almost destroy me, but I had Carlotta and needed to stay strong for her.”
Ironically, I could have helped him had I not had that income stream taken away, but after seeing how Jason had moved on, it wouldn’t have been the right thing for him either.
“It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Sometimes things happen that are out of our control. Life moves on, and although for a while, we stay in the moment, unable to go forward with our lives, ultimately there’s always something worth living for.”
“Carlotta. She’s my one reason for living. Had I not had her… I don’t think I’d be here today.”
“You would have taken your own life?”
He shrugged and took a gulp from his water bottle.
“I would have done what I thought was the right thing.”
The fragility of life was something we should never take for granted. The willingness of people to throw caution to the wind and go for what they thought would make them happy had been something I’d never understood.
Talking to Rory now, seeing the love he’d had for his wife and for his daughter, I realised the mating would be difficult but not to be feared.
I just had to convince Rory of that.