Page 6 of Run From Me

“Hey, Ripple. You planning on living up to that namesake and leaving a wake of ripples as you destroy the city morgue?”

Deflect whatever this feeling was, that was the only thing that seemed logical. I could ignore my own feelings with the best of them.

“Bitch,” was all Ripple said as I blinked and Xander’s fist squarely nailed him in the face. Ripple’s head whipped back, and he lost his balance, slamming into the lockers. I smirked at no one but myself. Good thing everyone was already dead or this might have caused some heart failure because, fuck.

Xander sticking up for whatever honor he thought I still had was sexy as hell.

He glanced at me over his shoulder, and my mouth went dry at the way he looked at me.

It was like he saw someone worth actually looking at.

It was like he saw me.

“Shall we go?” Xander asked.

I blinked.

“What? Oh, right.”

I’d forgotten all about Rylee’s reception.

“Wait,” Ripple said, his voice a lot more nasally than before.

I pulled up my big girl panties and gave Ripple the sweetest eat-shit grin I could muster.

“I’ve got things to do, Ripple. As I said before. I already checked in.”

Red dots decorated my nicely bleached floor. Fucking hell.

“Maybe clean up after yourself before you tuck your tail and run back to daddy dearest,” I said.

Ripple tried to growl, but it just sounded pathetic. Funny how things just weren’t all that scary anymore when you had a lot less to lose.

“We own you, Calliope.”

I paused, turning to face Ripple.

“And the devil owns you lot. Hasn’t stopped you from being a giant pussy.” I turned back to the door.

“You can’t go off with him. He isn’t one of us. You’re putting me in a bad situation,” Ripple said.

My hands shook as I unbuttoned my white lab coat and moved to hang it before stopping near the hook on the wall. If I turned around, Xander would see how hard I was trying to hide just how tired I really was of being the yes-woman for the Vipers. I wanted to be in control of my life, and there was no reason I couldn’t be.

Breathing in and out was some kind of bullshit the yoga instructor swore would keep me grounded. I snort-laughed tomyself. Yoga. Fuck, I stuck out like a sore thumb there. Still, it really seemed to give the Vipers something to gawk at. I just needed to keep busy all the damn time.

Still, I blew out a breath and envisioned something happy. Puppies, knives, blood, and Xander shirtless. My face heated at that last thought.

“Ripple, nowhere, and I mean nowhere, in the contract did it ever say I had to date one of the Viper ass hats.” I turned on my heel and looked up, catching Ripple’s watering eyes with mine.

“It puts you and me in a real bad place, bitch. Contract my fucking ass. No one had you sign shit. You sold your damn soul, and we are so much worse than the fucking devil,” Ripple said, spitting blood on that last syllable.

Xander stopped next to me, and out of the corner of my eye I could see the cords of muscle in his neck. I could see the subtle way he flexed his hands. All I could do was put my hand on his chest to stop him from starting some kind of war that might not be all that great for my life.

“Putting you and me in a bad place? You, maybe. But I am not putting myself in a bad place. So pardon me while I say this with all my heart. Fuck off, Ripple.”

I turned away from the mess that would still be here in a few hours if the cleaning crew never got to it. I was on call since the last guy quit. Or had been murdered. Whatever. We were really down to me again.

I spun on my toes and slammed my fists against the swinging doors, stepping out into the dimly lit office-like front desk and continuing out into the hallway.

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