Chapter 20 The Test
THE TEST
By the time I woke, Bo was already gone.
Not that I was surprised. We’d agreed, the night before, that time was of the essence, so the fact that he’d gotten an early start wasn’t exactly shocking. Nor was the state of my fridge because, apparently, for such a little guy, he could pack away an impressive amount of food.
Which meant I now had no creamer for my coffee and nothing to eat for breakfast. It also had to be said that I was not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination, and adding those two crimes to the list was a guaranteed way for me to lose my shit.
Even without the added pressure of having to ‘play along,’…
whatever the fuck that was supposed to mean at this point.
So yes.
I was pissed.
And honestly, being angry that my life was about to be completely uprooted felt better than giving in to the fear I knew was waiting just beneath the surface.
Fear that was ready to overwhelm me the second I let it.
So, I clung to the anger, held onto it like a lifeline, because I knew the moment I saw the car Oblivion had sent for me, it would evaporate fast.
It made me wonder what would happen if I just didn’t show up. If I stayed gone. Would he really find me, no matter where I went, like Bo said he would?
I was dangerously tempted to test it.
But pissing him off probably wasn’t the smartest move, not right now. There was something to be said for luring someone into a false sense of security, and as the saying went, better the devil you know.
Right now, that particular truth was becoming very literal and very unwelcome.
As for Bo, he couldn’t be anywhere near me when Oblivion was around, not if we wanted even the slightest chance of this working. The thought of him slipping away so easily left my apartment feeling unnaturally quiet, as though something essential had been removed.
By the time I left my apartment, the city looked exactly as it always did.
People hurried past with coffee cups and headphones, taxis honked their horns, and life carried on.
Doing so with a comforting, infuriating indifference to the fact that my own life had just taken a sharp left turn into the absurd.
I lingered outside the office longer than necessary, fingers tightening around the strap of my bag as I scanned the street.
And then it arrived.
The car slid to a stop at the curb with quiet confidence, sleek and black and unmistakably expensive.
The kind of vehicle that didn’t need to announce itself to command attention.
Polished lines and tinted windows. Everything about it screamed control, money, and a level of power that didn’t bother pretending otherwise.
I wasn’t sure what I’d expected. A chauffeur in a crisp suit, maybe. Something impersonal. Something that would let me pretend this was just another business arrangement and not the continuation of a nightmare with better tailoring.
The rear door opened smoothly as I neared, and just as I was ducking to get inside, I faltered, as it wasn’t empty like I hoped it would be.
Oblivion hadn’t just sent a car for me, he had…
Sent himself.
He sat back against the leather, one arm resting easily along the seat, looking infuriatingly at home as he turned his gaze toward me.
Same composed calm. Same unreadable certainty.
The suit, again, unfairly perfect and molded to his large frame like a very different armor.
As if he’d been built for this tailored world just as much as the demonic one he ruled.
I hesitated for half a second too long.
Then I accepted the inevitable and slid into the seat opposite him.
The door closed with a soft, final click that made me flinch.
“You’re here,” I stated foolishly, and his mouth curved faintly, something close to amusement flickering there.
“I believe I informed you I would be sending a car.”
“Yes,” I replied, heat creeping into my cheeks despite myself.
“I just… just didn’t expect you to be in it,” I admitted.
“Much like you didn’t expect me to attend yesterday’s meeting,” he said smoothly.
I nodded, unsure of what else to say to this.
Silence settled between us, not the awkward kind but just heavy. My mind raced as the car pulled away from the curb and the city began to move past the window. I was acutely aware of how close he was, of the subtle pull of his presence, and of Bo’s voice in my head reminding me exactly what he was.
An Enforcer.
An immortal.
Someone who did not break rules for mortals.
“Ask your question, Eliza,” Oblivion said calmly, pulling me back to the small space between us.
“What?”
“Let’s not pretend you don’t have questions… many, I can imagine, but no doubt one in particular,” he replied.
My fingers curled nervously in my lap, as he was right. I had a million and one questions, but there was one that I kept circling back to. So, I took a calming breath and asked,
“Why me?”
He studied me for a moment, and I got the strange sense that he was genuinely pleased by the directness of it. That, or he just enjoyed knowing something I didn’t.
“I would have thought that obvious,” he said, that smirk making him look far too handsome.
“Damn. So, it is about the club,” I huffed out a sigh.
“Tell me something, do you have so little faith in your ability that you believe I would manipulate an entire campaign for any other reason than picking the best candidate for the job?” he questioned, catching me off guard.
“I…”
“I selected you because it was clear the work was yours,” he said before continuing.
“Your ideas. Your vision. Your passion for them.”
Something warm flickered inside me at the quiet praise, at the simple acknowledgment that I had done something well.
“That being said, the knowledge you now possess is… inconvenient,” he said in such a way that had me tensing, despite the calm tone he used.
So naturally, my stomach dropped before I braved to ask,
“Inconvenient how, exactly? And please don’t say the kind where I end up swimming with the fishes.”
His smile, this time, didn’t quite reach his eyes, and I didn’t take that as a good sign.
“As I have previously stated, I have no intention to hurt you, but what happens next does depend on you, little Inanna,” he said, and for the first time today, he used the nickname he had given me. But knowing now what it meant, I felt it differently, deeper, and far more dangerous.
“Depends on me,” I echoed faintly after I shivered.
“On how many questions you choose to answer,” he offered, making me swallow hard.
“We’re not going to your office, are we?” I asked as I noticed us heading out of the city where most of the office buildings were.
“No, we are not,” he said calmly as the city slid past the window, unfamiliar streets opening up ahead. Which was when I realized with a sinking certainty that wherever we were going, it wasn’t somewhere I could simply walk away from.
But I could at least try to remember the way, just in case.
Of course, this was easier said than done as I watched the buildings slide past the window.
Silent minutes of trying to map the route in my head were wasted because I failed almost immediately.
The streets blurred together, unfamiliar turns stacking one on top of the other, until it became clear that even if I asked to be let out right now, I wouldn’t know which direction to run.
Not that I thought he’d stop.
“So, if we’re not going to your office, then where exactly are we going?” I asked carefully, breaking the silence before it could press in too hard and crush me.
“Somewhere private,” Oblivion replied firmly, and I tried not to freak out.
Tried and failed as I admitted on a bitter scoff,
“Wow, that’s not ominous at all.”
But then the corner of his mouth lifted, just barely, before he teased,
“You have a talent for stating the obvious.”
I shot him a look, then immediately regretted it when his gaze met mine, steady and assessing. Like he was cataloguing reactions I hadn’t meant to give him.
“You said I had a question and I asked it,” I reminded him, forcing myself to hold his stare this time.
“And?” he inquired with a sexy raise of his brow.
“And you gave me half an answer,” I replied, making those damn lips twitch again.
“You're certainly persistent, I will give you that,” he remarked, and I decided to do the same because, clearly, self-preservation had flown the fucking coop at this point.
“As persistent as you are evasive, it would seem.”
He gave me a little head nod at that, as if to say touché. Then, after a moment of contemplative silence, he released a slight sigh and told me,
“I give you half answers because one half is all you’re prepared to hear.”
I choked back a sound of disbelief at this before my jaw tightened.
“Try me.”
He regarded me in silence for a moment, something unreadable moving through his expression, softening the harder lines of his face just enough to make him look almost human… Almost.
“You’re not ready,” he said at last, and I was close to gritting my teeth at that.
“You don’t know that,” I argued pointlessly, and he was quick to say,
“But I do.”
“Based on what exactly?” I shot back.
“You don’t know anything about me!”
He released another sigh, this one deeper, as if he was silently praying for patience. That or divine guidance on how to deal with human females that push handsome immortal buttons.
“Something we will soon correct, for we will be working closely together, and I have every intention of knowing you very well,” he replied calmly, although the way he said this last part felt more like some sexual promise.
To the point that it sent heat to where it was not welcome, despite my girly parts telling me to fuck off as they shamelessly wanted to wave the ‘we surrender’ flag at him.
But then I focused on the more professional part of his sentence.
“For the campaign,” I clarified quickly, folding my arms.
“You mean for the campaign?”