Page 39 of Grave Curse

“Long enough to clearly prove what her intentions are. I want every Gravedigger to see her. Then I want them to feel the fire in their blood when they understand that Hades sent this fucking insult into our territory, because he thought her cunt was so powerful it would somehow cripple us.”

Romeo snorted. “Yeah, that is insulting.”

“After our brothers see this spy in action, feel free to give her over to Ajax and his crew so they can show her just how crippled we are not.” Furious at the slap in the face my uncle sent our way, I headed for the door. “Just make sure Ajax knows I need her to be kept alive and capable of talking. I’ve got questions for her, but they can wait until tomorrow.”

“Got it. Where are you headed?”

“Gotta shower off the taint of a skank who’d like nothing more than to see us all dead by Hades’s hand.” No way would I ever allow Ginger to put hands on a body that had been touched by that bitch. “Oh, that reminds me—the cameras in Ginger’s loft are going offline until tomorrow morning. Call only in case of emergency.”

There was only a sliver of hesitation before he nodded. “Understood.”

Chapter Eleven

Everything is Mine

Ginger

Today was one of those days when I was simply grateful to make it home in one piece.

With a sigh, I locked the door and hit the security code, hung up my purse and kicked my boots off. The bra came off next, pulled through an armhole of my turtleneck, and I let out a groan of relief.

Nothing better than freeing the girls from boobie jail.

I didn’t even glance at the kitchen when my stomach growled. Usually I enjoyed cooking, but with a hint of my hangover headache trying to claw its way back, the last thing I wanted to do was figure out what to prepare.

Which was why God invented ordering online and prompt food delivery.

With the promise of egg drop soup, kung pao chicken, lo mein and shrimp egg rolls on its way, I toyed with the idea of ordering dessert as well. Everyone knew I was the world’s biggest fan of ice cream and would happily eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I could get away with it. But being the responsible adult I was, I talked myself out of looking to see if Baskin-Robbins delivered, laid down on the couch and clicked on the TV to catch up on the local news. In half an hour I’d be elbows-deep in yummy Chinese goodness…

It was completely dark when I opened my eyes again.

Disorientation hit hard, and for a second I couldn’t remember where I was. Bedroom? No, couch. I’d been watching the news… Automatically my gaze snapped to the TV. It was now dark and silent, a barely discernable rectangle in the darkness.

What in the world…?

Did I turn it off? I couldn’t remember. Maybe I rolled over the remote in my sleep and that was what turned it off? I sat up to look for the missing remote, only to jump about a foot when the soft fuzzy throw I kept on the chair several feet away—a fuzzy throw I never used—fell off of me.

Oh, shit.

The unmistakable sound of teeth crunching down on something crisp hit my ears.

Instinctively I clutched the throw to my chest as if it had suddenly turned into fluffy body armor. Wildly my eyes searched through the gloom to a silhouette of a man seated at the dining table several feet away.

“Is that shrimp in the eggrolls? Gotta say I prefer pork. Don’t forget that the next time you order, yeah?”

“Tyr.” It came out on a pent-up breath, a word that was both his name and a curse. “Goddamn it, you startled the shit out of me.”

“Sorry, baby girl.”

He didn’t sound sorry. Not in the least. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Eating dinner.”

Oh, my God. “Have you lost your mind?”

He seemed to ponder the question while munching away in thoughtful silence. “I don’t think so. Not completely, anyway.”

I had to kill him. Really, he’d left me no other choice. “I know I locked the door this time. IknowI did.”

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