Page 41 of Mayhem and Minnie

“I was acting like a brat, wasn’t I?” She sighs. “You opened your home to me and offered me a place to sleep and here I am, being ungrateful. I’m sorry.”

I blink.

That’s it? She is the one apologizing now?

“I’m thankful for everything you’ve done for me.” She smiles. “And I’ll do my best to conform to all your stipulations.”

“Good. Shall we head back up then?”

She wets her lips as she regards me for a moment. There’s something in her gaze, something I cannot put my finger on.

“Okay.”

We go up the stairs and I drop her at her door.

“There’s unlimited hot water. Take advantage of it,” I mention with a wink. There, I managed to find a more palatable way of telling her she needs to wash—for a long time, too.

I give myself a metaphorical pat on the back.

Minnie giggles and nods before she closes the door.

Once in my own wing of the house, I enter my room and discard my dirty clothes, then jump straight into the shower.

I spend thirty minutes scrubbing all the grime off my flesh before changing into a fresh set of clothes.

Glancing at my watch, I note I have ten more minutes before my scheduled bedtime, so I grab my phone and dial my secretary.

“Giles, there was a situation at Wendy’s diner,” I say and give him a quick description of the location. “See to it that nothing gets out.”

“What kind of situation are we talking about?” he questions in that posh manner of his

“Code orange. Perhaps red. There were witnesses.”

“I see.” He pauses. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks, Giles. Good night.”

I hang up and put my phone to charge before I slide into the silky sheets and close my eyes.

What would I do without my precious routine?

6

The floor creaks.

I shoot up and my eyes collide with the electric clock on the desk across from my bed.

Four o’clock. In the middle of the fucking night.

More noise.

Steps thud on the floor, followed by a rapid descent onto the stairs.

My features harden.

Not even one night and she’s already breaking my rules.

Getting out of bed, I put on a pair of sweatpants and a shirt and head downstairs to investigate.

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