Page 23 of Conflicted

“Sure.” The sarcasm dripped heavily from his words. “And I don’t have any issues surrounding leaving the house. We’re all good here.”

“We are.”

“No, what we are is liars.”

I got to my feet. “We were raised in Hell, Quill. What did you expect?”

I was almost to the door before he responded. “Something better than we had downstairs. I was hoping for it, at least.”

I paused, my hand on the doorknob. “You can’t experience what topside has to offer if you don’t leave the house, Quill. You’ve got to feed the hope with reality.”

He didn’t answer me, just turned his head so I couldn’t see his face.

I bit back my sigh, knowing better than to push. “We’ll be here to take that step with you, Quill, no matter how long it takes.”

5

Nox

Somehow, I’d found myself in a club.

I’d walked out of the house with no real sense of direction, what I’d discovered repeating itself over and over again in my head.

Micah’s in love with Dimitri.

Dimitri doesn’t love Micah.

An angel has been flying overhead.

All of it had added up to a foul mood. The thing that was fucking me off most of all was that I didn’t understandwhyI cared. I shouldn’t have cared that Micah was pining over someone who resembled me. I shouldn’t have given a fuck that fate claimed we were perfect for one another. There was no way that could be the truth, not given how different we were. Micah was uptight and looked down his nose at everyone he came across.

Okay, so I might not have seen him interact with many others, but I liked to think his sneer wasn’t just reserved for me.

And if it was? Well, that was fine. I didn’t want him tolike me.

I wanted him to hate me, just as I hated him.

The one thing I should have cared about was that an angel had been flying overhead. If it was Micah, I wasn’t sure what I’d do about it, if anything at all.

However, if it was another angel? Specifically, another arch?

That could spell trouble for us all.

While I suspected Micah had kept his unit away from me while I’d been having my fun, I wasn’t certain that was the case. Even if he had ordered them not to harm me, it was highly unlikely he’d extended the same courtesy to the other demons I lived with.

With Dahlia and Darius MIA, and Jeremiah attempting the world record in one-night stands, it just left me watching over Quill. Before we’d left Hell, he’d been as formidable a force as the rest of us.

Now though, I was…concerned. Quill was essentially starving his powers, making him easy prey for anyone who chose to come looking.

Not wanting him left unprotected, I’d cast my own ward over the house. It wasn’t as good an effort as Quill’s, but it’d notify me if anyone crossed it.

How I’d found myself in the club on Westbrook Street was beyond me. I’d just been wandering aimlessly, trying to get my mind to shut the fuck up for two minutes.

Realistically, my demon must’ve taken control, following the trail of sin to this place.

Because my oh my, did this club have sin to spare.

Men were gyrating on each other, not caring who was watching. Several couples, and even one threesome, had disappeared into the corridor that led to the bathrooms. And those were just the ones looking for privacy. Many of the humans hooking up didn’t seem to need it, optinginstead for a dark corner, or just getting it on in the centre of the dance floor.

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