Chapter 13
Graham
I walked away as Lillian, Shelby, and Meera stepped into the elevator leading back up to the penthouse. The polished brass doors slid shut with a soft ding, sealing them inside. I lingered in the lobby, trying to decide if I should return upstairs.
I tried to tell myself I’d only tailed them the entire lunch trip to keep them safe. That was mostly the truth, but not all of it.
I hated the way I’d jumped every time Meera laughed at something Shelby or Lillian said. And the way I’d caught myself staring at the curve of her neck when she tilted her head back to sip her drink. Was it normal to be jealous of a glass for touching her lips?
Why couldn’t I stop thinking of her?
It was just one stupid kiss out in the woods. A single moment of weakness in the middle of a crisis.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, jarring me from my thoughts. I yanked it out, grateful for the distraction.
“Graham speaking.”
“Our guys tried to pay Karim’s office a visit,” Mateo’s voice said through the speaker. I could hear the hum of an engine in the background. “But they arrived too late. The place is burnt to ashes.”
I rubbed my temple. “How bad?”
“Everything on the entire floor is completely destroyed.”
A cold weight settled in my gut. “Do you think he did it to get rid of evidence?”
“Karim?” Mateo’s voice was grim. “Don’t know. It could be. But I think it’s someone else after the egg. The wizards, maybe. The fire left all the other floors untouched. That’s a magic fire if I’d ever seen one.”
“Shit.” I hated dealing with wizards. I thought of the portal that had opened up on the road.
“Either way, I’m already on my way back to Darlington. Desmon sent someone else to track the scent on scene, but…” He trailed off, and I could practically hear him shaking his head. “Whoever torched that office knew what they were doing. They didn’t leave much behind.”
I clenched my jaw. “What about the SUV?”
“Already on its way back to Redrock.”
“Got it. Keep me updated.”
“Will do.”
I stood there for a long moment, phone still pressed to my ear. The lobby was quiet now, the only sound the hum of the concierge’s radio and the faint tick-tick-tick of the old clock above the front desk.
I shoved my phone back into my pocket and turned toward the stairs. The climb would do me well. I took the steps three at a time, wishing the activity would distract me from the stupid urge to go see what Meera was doing.
I punched in the code at the top of the stairs, unlocking the small landing outside the penthouse. The hallway contained the stairwell door, both elevators—the private one and the public one, which required a code or keycard on this floor—and the penthouse’s secured entrance with its iris scanner.
Was it a little excessive? Perhaps. But we liked our privacy. Plus, it kept all the women living with us safe. And right now, that included Meera.
We had the entire top of the building to ourselves. Each of us gargoyles for each of the four corners, except Eamon had taken Griff’s place. Griff and his mate, Emily, lived nearby on the rooftop of his friend’s bar, to whom he owed a life debt.
I hesitated at the door when I heard the sound of Meera’s voice coming through it.
I thought about heading to Griff’s to visit Daryl’s bar.
Daryl was a lone wolf shifter—most were trouble, but he was one of the good ones.
But it was still early in the day, and this was starting to feel a lot like avoidance.
Maybe I could just wait until Meera went back into her room. But what if they decided to hang out in the common area? The mates did that a lot, and the once barely used middle section of the penthouse was now a hub of activity.
I didn’t trust myself around her. Because next time, I doubt it would be just a kiss.
One touch from her already felt like it could burn straight through every wall I’d ever built.
I’d want more from her. So much more. I wanted her in ways I had no business wanting, in ways that would change my life forever, and I wasn’t ready for that.
I’d never felt so out of control around anyone before. Not even with Sara.
“Are you planning on stepping inside?”
I whirled around to find Eamon leaning against the wall, arms crossed, one ankle hooked over the other like he’d been there for a while.
His smirk was infuriatingly smug. Neither elevator had dinged, and the stairwell door hadn’t so much as creaked, which meant the demon had simply appeared beside me the way his kind liked to do. Blasted demon.
“Or are you just going to spy on Meera like some creep?” he drawled.
“I’m not spying.”
“Sure you aren’t.” His golden eyes gleamed with amusement. “And I suppose that wasn’t you tailing her around outside at lunch either?”
My jaw twitched. “I was keeping an eye on things.”
“Uh-huh.” He pushed off the wall, stepping closer.
“She could feel you, you know. Felt eyes on her the whole time. You’re scaring her.
Knock it off.” Eamon exhaled, rubbing his temple.
“Look, she thought the feeling would fade once we got back here, but nope. Still there. Then I felt your presence out here.” He gestured between us.
“So. Let’s take a walk. I promised the girls I’d sweep the area for anyone suspicious watching the penthouse. ”
He punched the private elevator button. The doors slid open immediately.
I hesitated, then stepped inside, and the doors closed behind us.
Eamon leaned against the back wall, watching me with an unreadable expression. “You’re making this harder than it needs to be.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“It’s been a century. It’s time you got over her.”
I knew which her he meant.
“I am over her.”
“Right. Sure. That’s why you haven’t dated since. All this for a woman who never cared for you back.”
A growl ripped out of my throat.
“Ha! And you want me to believe that you’re over her? Seraphina used you like she tried to use everyone around her. Get over it.”
I gritted my teeth; the idea that I hadn’t been the only monster Sara had courted to save her from her unwanted marriage wasn’t new to me. At the time I’d been blind, but hindsight was twenty-twenty.
Eamon took a step forward as the elevator slowed to a stop.
“Forget Sara. She’s gone. Meera is upstairs.
She denied that anything happened between the two of you, but she’s a horrible liar.
At least try to see where this goes. She’s brave, and she’s sexy as hell.
And if you don’t snatch her up, someone else will. ”
The door opened, and he stepped outside. I followed, my jaw clenched so tight it ached.