Page 50 of Grave Curse

I couldn’t seem to get my jaw rehinged. “You didn’t.”

“I did. Check it out the next time you’re enjoying nakey-time with him. If you’re not tied up again, that is. Not to brag, but it’s some of my best work.”

“I just…” Nothing worked. My brain, my mouth. Nothing. Well, my heart was racing a mile a minute, but that only made things worse. “Th-that’s… this is…”

“Holy shit, I’ve blown a circuit in you.” His delighted chuckle earned him a dirty glare from me, before he leaned over the table once more. “Look, Ginger, when we were growing up together, all my siblings and I wanted was to protect you from the monster that was our uncle. But for Tyr, that need to protect you became an obsession that never died. He would do anything for you.Anything. I’m sure of it.” When I could only shake my head, he sighed roughly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Serious question, okay? So think carefully before you answer.”

And that wasn’t intimidating at all. “Okay.”

“Are you too fucked up in the head to make babies and a future with Tyr? Because if you are, you need to let him know right now, so that the both of you can be free.”

Free? Free of what? “I-I don’t know.”

Loki looked at me for a long moment. “Don’t let Hades win on this one, Ginger. He wants to annihilate Tyr, he always has. And you not being able to get past all the poison Hades created between you… well, that just might do it. That might seriously fucking end my brother in a way I can’t explain. I do know that no other woman would ever be allowed to have his babies—create his family—other than you. So whether you want to hear it or not, here it is.Everythingis all up to you now, Ginge. You need to get your head out of your ass and decide if the past is strong enough to take away an amazingly beautiful future that you could have with Tyr, or if you’re the one who’s strong enough to fucking go for it. Right here and now, on this very fuckin’ day, that monumental decision is all. Up. Toyou.”

Chapter Fourteen

Family Sucks

Tyr

I paused at the top of the stairs to watch as Ginger’s red Mini pulled up in front of Vixen’s Den. Safe and sound, just the way I liked it. I took another moment to chuckle to myself as she checked her appearance in the Mini’s rearview mirror, making sure all the hickeys I’d put on her the night before were covered.

Damn, she was cute.

Then, while I still had signal, I tried one more time to text my brother, all the while wondering if this was what Sisyphus felt like, trying to push a stupid rock up a hill.

“Loki, goddamn it, answer me, shithead. What did Ginger want?”

Sending…

Delivered.

Then a pulsing ellipse appeared, indicating a response.

Finally.

“Loki can’t answer right now.”

I stared at the text bubble, baffled. “Alice?”

“No. It’s, um… baby Catherine.”

“FUCK U LOKI.”

A single laughing emoji showed up.

Honest to Christ, family sucked.

My phone chimed. “U sound like UR in middle school, asshole. ‘Does Ginger like meee? Did she say anything about meee? Does she want to be my girrrrrlfriennnnd?’”

I would kill my little brother slowly. Surely Alice and the kids would understand.

Then a thought hit me and I thumb-typed fast.“Wait. Did Ginger actually talk about any of those things with you? What did she say?”

An entire block of cry-laugh emojis appeared.

Okay. Checking in on why my idiot brother had lunch with Ginger today was clearly the worst mistake ever.

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