Chapter 29
Meera
“And now the egg is safe and sound with its father,” I finished.
I scanned Maa’s face to see her response.
Considering how outrageous the story sounded, Maa had yet to freak out on me, so I considered that a win. Now that the egg was no longer in his possession, Desmon had given me the go-ahead to share the story. It was crazy enough that I doubted anyone would believe me anyway.
I did, however, decide to keep Emmett’s name out of it. Partly because I thought it safer to leave him unnamed, and partly because I worried that saying his name might call him into existence, then steal me off to babysit his future kid and warm his bed.
Just because Graham didn’t even have the decency to show up to say goodbye didn’t mean that I was desperate enough to hop over to a powerful stranger who promised me the world. Though I had to admit that the deal sounded sweeter by the minute.
It was why I hadn’t told Maa about the offers Emmett had thrown at me. She might just decide to contact him and make sure I didn’t ruin my chance now that Karim was gone.
“You’ve had a big adventure. I’m just glad you are safe, beta .” Maa took a long sip of her tea. “What are you going to do now?”
“Just keep living my life, I guess. My new friends invited me back to Darlington for the upcoming Monsters & Magic Charity Gala. We should go together. You’ll love Darlington.”
“Oh, no, no, no. You should go with a date. I’m sure my daughter can find a date by then. One better than Karim.”
I sighed. “I know you’re always worried I’ll be alone. But don’t be. I’ll be fine.”
Maa was silent for a beat before she spoke. “The reason I pushed you so hard at Karim was because I felt like I failed you.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, shocked. “You worked so hard and raised me on your own after Dad left. How could you think you failed me?”
“In so many ways. You had to grow up watching us fight. And money was always tight. You had to see me cry when I was lonely. You tried to cheer me up. It should be the other way around. That’s my job. I should be there for you .”
I gawked at her. I had no idea she held so much guilt in her heart.
“And because of me, you’ll never see the culture-rich country you came from,” she continued. “I didn’t even have time to teach you to cook! You made your first dal from a recipe on YouTube because I failed you. Every desi mother is supposed to teach her daughters.”
“You were working, Maa! You paid for everything: our apartment, my school books, you even paid for my real estate license.”
“Because I worried you wouldn’t find a husband. And then when you started seeing Karim, I was so happy. I thought I could never take you to visit your home, but he can.”
She’d asked Karim to take me to visit India several times, but the answer had always been “after the wedding.” I hadn’t understood then how much it clearly meant to her that I saw her homeland for myself.
“I don’t need him to go anywhere. I know you’ve told me that I had to go with a man for safety, but what’s stopping me from hiring one of the Redrocks to go with me? And you can come too.”
I was talking out of my ass because I had a feeling the Redrocks charged an arm and a leg, and a trip out of the country would be way out of my budget, even though we were friends.
Her eyes lit up at the thought of seeing her home country again. “Oh, no. I can’t.”
“Why? Because of your family? Your brothers? They wouldn’t even know we’re there. And have you seen the Redrock brothers? They’re gargoyles. Even if my uncles find out, they aren’t going to try a thing.”
There were tears welling in her eyes now. “You are sweet, my Meera. We will save up and go together.”
She embraced me, and I hugged her back, tears welling in my eyes.
Maa and I hadn’t always agreed on everything, but it felt good to know she always cared about me and had my best interests at heart.
She’d taken care of me enough. Now I wanted to give her something back.
If she could never take me to India, then I would take her.
Now that my unplanned detour through the supernatural world was officially over, I had to figure out what came next.
Somehow, the idea of going back to showing condos felt about as exciting as watching paint dry, especially when half of Manhattan already had a license to sell shoeboxes for a million dollars.
We finished up our meal, and Maa told me that a few of her coworkers were working together to get her boss fired, which made me think of Graham and our visit to the farmers’ market.
I never did pick up that warding plant for her.
Then Maa packed me enough food to last until the next apocalypse and sent me on my merry way home in a cab.
The silent cab ride meant I was thinking about Graham again.
I hated how my brain kept going back to him and the fact that he hadn’t even cared enough to say goodbye.
He was just some guy who was tasked to protect me and nothing more.
Nothing! I shouldn’t be so freaking hurt over this.
I bet he was over me already. He hadn’t even called.
I was about to haul two full canvas shopping bags of glass containers up the stairs to my apartment—the elevator was broken, again—when a very familiar-looking woman stopped me.
Michelle looked worse for wear, her usually perfect hair a mess, her makeup badly smudged.
The crisp blazer she always wore was wrinkled, one sleeve rolled up haphazardly, and there was a coffee stain on the front.
That alone would’ve caught my attention.
But the gun in her hand? That was impossible to ignore, especially since she pointed it at me.
“Well, well. If it isn’t the woman who ruined my life,” she spat.
I realized she was the voice I’d heard from behind the counter at the coffee shop. Bitch had been in on it the whole time.
“I can’t believe how stupid you are,” she continued. “You managed to get your hands on the egg and ended up with nothing to show for it. You really were always the slow one, weren’t you?”
“I don’t have it anymore,” I said. even though I was sure that wouldn’t make a difference.
“Oh, I know you don’t.” Her laugh was sharp.
“You could’ve sold that egg for millions, and what did you do instead?
You gave it away. That was our retirement plan.
We would’ve been rich. But now Karim has disappeared out of the country, and my brother took the rap.
Did you know they made it look like a suicide? ”
She stepped closer, the gun unwavering in her grip. "I’m not here for the egg, you idiot. I’m here to ruin your life because you ruined mine. Now drop the bag, turn around, and march your ass toward the back door.”
I glanced over at the concierge but didn’t see anyone there. Shit. With the gun pointed at me, I did as I was told, dropping my bag of leftovers even as I tried to rack my brain for a way to get a call out to someone, anyone.
Owen was waiting for us next to a black sedan with the engine still idling. He leaned against the driver’s side door, arms crossed. He sneered as he pushed off the car.
“So there’s the bitch who fucked us over.
I was supposed to get a cut of that. Watch them try to garnish that for my ex-wife and her brat.
You really thought you could just walk away from this, huh?
After everything we set up? After all the favors I called in?
" He shook his head, his laugh dry and humorless. “You don’t get to just give away our fortune and walk away clean. That’s not how this works. ”
I looked up at the cameras and found them missing. Owen must have noticed because he laughed. “We’re not stupid like you. No one will know about this.” His hand shot out, gripping my jaw hard. “You cost us, bitch.”
His grip tightened, his fingers digging into my skin. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you? Playing hero, giving away what wasn’t yours to give.” His other hand balled into a fist, and before I could react, he drove it into my stomach.
The air left my lungs in a rush, and my knees buckled as pain exploded through my abdomen. I doubled over, gasping. My vision swam as Owen stepped back, wiping his knuckles on his jacket.
“Just making sure you remember who’s in charge here.” He turned toward the car, jerking his head toward the back seat. “Get her in. We’re done here.”
Michelle grabbed my arm, yanking me upright. The world spun, my stomach churning as she shoved me toward the sedan. But before I could take another step, a shadow blotted out the sun.
A deep, guttural growl rumbled through the air, vibrating in my bones.
Owen froze, his head snapping up just as Graham landed in the alleyway with a ground-shaking thud.
He was in his gargoyle form without any illusion, his wings spread wide.
The look in his eyes was terrifying as he locked onto Owen.
The color drained from Owen’s face at the sight, and Michelle made a horrified sound.
One massive clawed hand seized Owen by the throat, lifting him off the ground like he weighed nothing, before an equally large fist slammed into Owen’s belly right where he’d punched me. Owen’s eyes bulged, his hands clawing uselessly at Graham’s iron grip.
“Never hurt what is mine,” Graham growled.
I turned away as Graham smashed him several times against the wall. I tried to mentally drown out the crunching sounds that made me feel physically ill. When Graham finally released him, Owen sagged to the ground like a rag doll.
My deadly gargoyle savior turned to Michelle, who had released me and now stood frozen against the car, her eyes wide with terror.
“Run,” he growled. “Before I change my mind about letting you live.”
The bitch ran, leaving the vehicle behind.
I found myself in Graham’s arms as he ushered us back inside my building.
I was glad the lobby was empty because I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to explain all this to anyone.
I wasn’t sure if Owen was still alive. If he wasn’t, did that mean I’d witnessed two lovers murder two different people in two weeks?
Fuck. I really had bad taste in men. But this time, I couldn’t find it in me to feel fear of any kind for Graham. I knew deep down in my soul that even if he were a monster, he was my monster.
“Meera, are you hurt?”
I shook my head because my voice refused to work. Robotically, I went to pick up my bags by the stairwell. Then Graham had me in his arms, and he took the stairs three at a time up sixteen floors to my apartment.