Page 66 of Karma

I’m still reeling from all that as I climb the narrow, steep stairs up to the room I’m sharing with Karma and Grim. Still seeing Joker almost die. Never mind that it’d be the end of all his well-laid plans for our revenge. We haven’t been apart for more than a week or two in the past sixteen years. I don’t know how I’d survive his death. Not well.

Karma and Grim are both still wearing their riding gear when I walk into the room. Grim is sitting on the edge of the unmade bed, and Karma is standing by the window, her arms wrapped tightly over her chest. They both hone in on me, blue laser heat and Karma’s not much softer gaze.

“What is going on here?” I ask as I slam the door shut. “I’m in no mood for another one of our serious conversations.”

The bottle of whiskey on the nightstand is calling my name. After I answer that call, I’m coming one way or another and then falling asleep, and that’s the sum total of my plans for tonight. I have no illusions that the sleep will be restful. Or that I’m getting any, judging by their serious faces.

“I didn’t fucking ignore you down there,” I tell Grim, who seems very pissed off. I figure this is the reason. “But we’re not supposed to be besties where anyone can see.”

“I’d say we were past just besties, wouldn’t you?” he says in that calm, deep voice of his that never fails to get every hair on my body to rise and makes me want to do whatever he wants.

I grin at him, walk over, and run my hand along the back of his wide neck. “Yeah, I’d say we were way past besties too.”

Maybe this is all we need to calm the hell down after tonight and get on with what we do best—making each other come like there’s no tomorrow. Which there suddenly isn’t if what Joker said is true.

His eyes lose some of the piercing heat and his cock is definitely more than half hard already. I’m just about to kneel down and make it all the way hard for him, when Karma asks, “Are you planning on abducting that girl Joker’s been dating? Is that his big plan for getting revenge on the Devils?”

The questions nearly knock me on my ass, driving all thoughts of blow jobs and pleasure from my mind.

I have no idea how to answer her, so I just stare at her blankly. It’s all the answer she needs.

“I knew it,” she says, stalking over to me and jabbing her long finger into my chest. “And what are you gonna do? Kill her? Torture her? Rape her?”

She punctuates each accusation with a sharp jab at my chest and I hate it.

“How the fuck do you know?”

Grim inhales sharply and Karma’s face drains of all color.

“We didn’t,” Grim says. “Not until you just confirmed it.”

How dumb am I? But what the hell, I’m done lying to them. If there’s any kind of future for us on the other side of the war we’re entering tomorrow, they’ll need to be by my side.

“You’re planning on torturing an innocent woman?” Karma asks. Her voice sounds like someone’s gripping her throat.

“That’s the plan, yeah,” I say and she grows paler still.

“But that’s not what’s gonna happen,” I say. “Joker’s got feelings for her. And, besides, he’s not big on hurting women.”

Karma scoffs. “Could’ve fooled me. He went after Ariel pretty hard downstairs.”

I sit down next to Grim, who’s as stiff as a board beside me. I don’t even know what I was hoping for from sitting next to him. Protection from Karma’s blinding rage, I think.

“I admit it was tactless and stupid,” I say. “But she was a pretty serious whore up until a couple of years ago. She cleaned up good though.”

I didn’t think Karma could grow angrier, but the rage in her eyes feels like bullets hitting my chest now.

“What? I got nothing against whores,” I say. “I was raised by one, remember? And was one for a while.”

I’m trying to diffuse the situation, but I just keep making it worse going by the growing rage on Karma’s face.

“Look, nothing’s gonna happen to any innocent woman,” I say. “We’re taking her tomorrow and you’re coming with us, so you can make sure of that.”

Grim laughs harshly. “And you think the two of us are gonna stop Joker? Or are you saying you’ll help us stop him?”

His words propel me back to my feet. I thought his silence so far meant that he was on my side in trying to calm Karma down. Another thing I misjudged.

“The plan is what it is and it’s happening,” I tell them. “You’re coming too, so you better make your peace with it quick.”

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