“What about…” Eden touched her chest. “When will he be back?”
She shrugged. “I dampened him really good. He’s gone for a while and won’t know what hit him. Call me tomorrow if you want my help. If not, good luck. You’re sure as hell going to need it.”
“Thanks.”
“And that book’s not a freebie. You’ll have to pay for it before you leave.”
She looked down at the hardcover. “I was going to get it anyhow.”
“It’s helped a lot of women even more clueless than you are when it comes to lying, cheating men.” Selina pressed her palms down on the table.
There wasn’t a major shift in the crowd’s behavior, but now they could look directly at Eden instead of her being invisible to them. Selina began signing again as if nothing had happened. Eden shakily made her way to the cashiers, paid for the book, and left the store. The cool night air swept over her.
What in the hell just happened?
A sob welled up in her chest but she forced it back down. Having a breakdown was not going to be very helpful at the moment. But she couldn’t concentrate. It felt as if her entire life had just imploded.
Selina said that Darrak was evil. An archdemon. And that everything he’d told her about himself had been a lie.
Was it the truth? If so, she should have let Selina get rid of him. Why would she want to delay it another minute?
But there was a small part of her that remained strongly skeptical. The witch could be the one who was lying. It was a good story with a great delivery, but did that make it true?
It felt true. That was the worst part. It felt as if Selina had just filled in the blanks in a really difficult, demonic crossword puzzle.
Had Darrak really lied to her? This realization made her more angry than hurt or sad or afraid. How many men had to disappoint her before she realized they were all creeps who deserved to be cursed? And Darrak wasn’t just a normal, run-of-the-mill creep. He was a demonic one.
So what was preventing her from marching right back into the bookstore and asking Selina to get rid of him tonight?
Why would she even want to defend him or give him the benefit of the doubt after everything Selina told her? Darrak wasn’t her friend, and he was just using her.
But she’d spent a lot of time with him over the last few days — more time than with anyone else in recent memory. And the more she was with him the more she… liked him.
Is that what this was about? She’d developed a strange, warped infatuation with an evil entity from Hell?
Yes, that was exactly it.
She was so completely screwed.
“Hey, Eden! Wait up!”
She looked tentatively over her shoulder. It was Vanessa with a bag of purchased books in hand.
“Hey,” she managed weakly.
“I wanted to thank you.”
“Thank me?” She’d completely forgotten about the girl in her rush to leave the store.
Vanessa grinned. “Yeah. I knew I needed a change, but you helped put everything into perspective. I was going to call you tomorrow — you gave me your card, remember?”
“I remember. So, your boyfriend?”
She huffed out a breath. “Gone. Literally. I tried to contact him a few hours ago to break things off with him, but couldn’t find him anywhere. I don’t care if I lose the club. I’d rather be in control of my life than dependent on any man. That’s what Selina always says.”
“Right. Selina.” Eden glanced back at the bookstore. “She’s… she’s great, isn’t she?”
“She’s like a goddess of good advice.” Vanessa studied her. “You don’t look so good. You okay?”
“I’ve been better.”
Vanessa nodded knowingly. “Man trouble?”
Eden sniffed. “You have no idea.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Worse.”
Vanessa shifted her book bag to her other hand. “Are you headed to your car?”
She’d parked in the underground parking lot across the street from the bookstore. “I am.”
“Would it be terrible if I mooched a ride off you?” Vanessa asked tentatively. “If you don’t mind, that is.”
Eden nodded. “I don’t mind.”
Of course she didn’t. Despite her current traumas, she’d rather know that Vanessa got home okay — since Eden still didn’t know how everything had worked out with Fay and her husband — than leave her to wander the streets at night alone. Besides, it would give her something else to think about for an hour before she had to deal with her own issues again.
Eden led her into the parking garage and down the elevator to the level where she’d parked the Toyota.
“Maybe you’re overthinking things,” Vanessa said.
“What things?”
“With your boyfriend. The reason why you’re upset.”
“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s just…” She had no idea who or what he really was. “Let’s just say he’s somebody who’s managed to get under my skin and now I can’t figure out the best way to get rid of him.”
“Come on, nobody gets this upset unless there’s some romance involved.”
“I’m not upset. And there’s no romance.”
“Yeah, right.”
Eden wiped a hand under her nose while she dug into her purse for her keys. “It’s complicated.”
“It always is. It’s kind of funny, though.”
“What is?”
“I didn’t think he ever let you out of his sight.”
Eden placed her purse down on the trunk of her car so she could find the keys that seemed to have slipped down to the bottom. Then she frowned at Vanessa. “Did you meet him? He didn’t come in the club with me earlier today.”
“We met. Never guess he was a demon at first glance, that’s for sure.”
Eden froze and looked at the blonde. “A… demon?”
“Yup.”
“Not sure I know what you’re talking about.” She was getting used to denying certain things. This was one of them. “Are you sure you met him?”
“I am, indeed.” Vanessa smiled and Eden suddenly noticed that her eyes were very dark. Black, in fact. “He threatened to rip my arms off if I hurt you, remember? However, I was in a different body at the time. I’ll forgive you for not being so clear on the details.”
Eden’s stomach sank. “You know, now that I think about it, he’s going to meet me here any moment.”
“I think you’re lying.” Vanessa’s smile turned cold. “I knew you were a nosy little bitch earlier today, but you had to go and ruin everything for me, didn’t you?”
The drifter. His dirty little secret had been found out and he’d had to switch over to a different body. And he’d chosen his girlfriend’s.
“My business card,” Eden said flatly, but feeling the panic begin to swirl inside her. “That’s how you found me?”
“Called your office earlier. A man told me where he thought you’d be tonight. He sounded really cheery, actually. Funny. You really don’t strike me as the private investigator type.”
Andy had been in a good mood with all their newfound business. He’d probably thought Vanessa was just a friend who wanted to meet up for drinks tonight.
