Page 64 of Death and Donuts

“Non-human. You can call me Cross.”

I glanced from the phone to Cross when she didn’t respond right away. He smiled softly.

“My employer has an opening in her schedule at 10 pm tonight,” Amberly said without a hint of concern.

“And who is your employer?” Cross asked.

“Orphia Prince. I believe you’re acquainted?”

“I am,” Cross said. “And I’ll decline the meeting on behalf of myself and Everly. Please tell Orphia to stop what she’s doing. The rings aren’t meant for her.”

Cross disconnected the call and pocketed the note.

I was going to wait for him to explain, but the questions tumbled out unchecked.

“Who’s Orphia? If you know her, why does she want to meet with me? And what the heck did you mean the rings aren’t meant for her? Are you saying she’s the one who’s been trying to get them, not Adriel?”

He chuckled and reached for my hand, playing with my fingers as he spoke.

“Orphia is a woman I mistakenly once viewed with affection. She is a vampire, but not like me. She has no wish to co-exist peacefully with any of the races. Her only desire is complete dominion over everything.”

I captured his hand. “When you say you viewed her with affection, what does that mean? Ex-wife? Ex-lover? Master?”

“In her mind, perhaps all of those.”

“And in yours?”

“An ex-lover.”

He met and held my gaze, waiting for my reaction. However, I wasn’t sure what reaction to give. Was I jealous of an ex-girlfriend who was working with someone like Adriel? Absolutely not. However, it definitely concerned me. But more concerning was the fact that Cross’ apparently emotionally unstable ex wanted world domination.

“And the rings?” I asked. “Are those part of her world domination plan?”

“Yes. I left England to escape her centuries ago when she’d made her interest in my ring known, which is why you found me in that cave.”

“So you hid your ring, but what about the rest of them?”

“I have no control over the others. The rings–one for the vampires, one for the dwarves, one for the fey, and one for the werewolves–were never meant to be possessed by one person.Together, they could end the world we all know. However, without mine, her attaining the others would be useless.”

He lifted my hand and kissed the back of it.

“Rather than allow Orphia to steal any more attention from our lunch date, I would prefer to focus on you. After we finish here, there’s another cafe I wanted to take you to so we can review their aesthetics. The interior designer I’m working with called it a moody blend of modern and gothic. And after we look at the cafe, there’s a baking supply store I wanted to take you to.”

“All of that sounds amazing,” I said.

He released my hand while I focused on the food’s arrival, setting aside the problem of the rings and his crazy vampire ex for now.

While I sampled everything, Cross made notes for me. Once I was full and had sampled everything, he paid the bill, and we left.

“Thank you,” I said as we walked to the car. “Some of those dishes were amazing.”

And some were downright disgusting, but he already knew that from my reaction to tasting them.

“You are more than welcome, Everly. I hope it helps in your quest for the bakery.”

“Understanding flavor preferences definitely helps.”

We were still half a block away from my car when something dark darted out from under it.

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