Page 58 of The Devil's Dilemma

Maybe I didn’t want to think he was the one I was going to protect with my life. Although I couldn’t deny the attraction I’d felt towards him from the moment I saw him on the CCTV screen less than forty-eight hours ago.

So much had happened. It felt like a week.

By now, it was early evening. The casino was open, and I was once more neglecting my duties.

“I’ll go down and make sure everything is all right,” Conrad said, seemingly reading my mind.

“Do you want some food? I can get some sent up from the kitchen.”

“I guess, although I’m not that hungry.”

“You’ve not eaten all day.” I sent a message to the kitchen, took a couple of beers out of the fridge, and handed one to him.

“I can’t forgive you, even though Momma said I should.”

I didn’t care if he forgave me or not. Or did I?

“You have every right. I haven’t forgiven you for stealing from me and making me look a fool. I call that even.”

“You killed me.”

“Seriously, you need to get over that. It was an experiment that went a little awry.”

He looked at me wide-eyed. “I’ll forget you said that.”

“Look, we have to spend time together until I can sort out this issue with the angel mark. Once that’s done, you’re free to go your own way.”

“But I’m still a prisoner.”

I see-sawed my hand. “Yes and no.”

“Fucking typical. You should have been a politician.”

“I used to be one, but people didn’t trust the man with the horns.”

“I’m sure there are plenty with hidden ones. Yours are just visible. Anyway, you said you’d spoken to a friend. What did he say?”

“He agreed that when I touched your mark, I probably rid you of the protection you carried. Now I know what your mother said, I think it was meant to happen. We were supposed to meet when we did. I’ve never been a huge believer in fate, but these past few days have made me doubt that.”

“And you killing me?”

I was reluctant to tell him the next part. Mal had recently gone through a mating, and he’d found his soul mate in the strangest of ways.

His theory was that Austin was mine. I’d argued with him until I was blue in the face, but it was likely, as much as I didn’t want it to be true.

Yes, I couldn’t deny the pull, but fated mates? Fuck off. It was bullshit.

So I lied and told Austin what I’d said before, that the chip was protecting him and he shouldn’t let it go.

A knock on the door signalled the arrival of the food. I took the tray from the waiter and put it on the table in front of him.

“I didn’t know what you wanted, so I ordered a burger and fries. You’re not a vegetarian, are you?”

Austin fell on the food without answering me and, before long, had demolished the burger and was eating his way through the fries.

“Hungry?”

“Oh, God. I’m sorry.”

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