Page 61 of Cursed by Death

She blinked at me slowly. “You’re the spitting image of your mama. Beautiful.”

That made me pause and wiped the smile right off of my face. “You knew my mother?”

She looked at me sadly. “Of course, hun. She never brought you down here because she was a private person. But I used to drop things off at the condo for your father all the time. You were such a good baby, a beautiful baby, and a true miracle to your mother. She really loved you.”

I spoke around the bitter bile in my throat, my voice coming out sounding tight and strained. “Andhereally loved her.”

I didn’t want to be talking about my mother now or ever. And I didn’t think it was fair that my father got to be around people who knew her and remembered her when I’d had every part of her taken away from me right after she died.

I had pictures of her growing up but those hadn’t belonged to me until I’d turned eighteen. I kept them boxed away and put up because they hurt too much to look at.

I walked through the door the demon I’d followed down here was holding open for me, patiently waiting. His eyes were soft on me and they held a warmth they’d lacked in the parking lot. Ididn’t understand why they were warm now or what I had done to earn such a look from him.

The room I walked into was an office that was large enough to have a couch and a whole sitting area. There was also a very large desk that had not one thing on it.

The man that was sitting behind the desk was larger than life and just as I had remembered him. He hadn’t aged and the years looked like they hadn’t touched him at all.

Johnathon Maredo sat behind his desk with his hands steepled in front of him and resting atop his desk. He was the picture of a calm, respected businessman in his dark suit and tie. He had short black hair and vibrant blue eyes. I knew if he stood up he’d tower over me at six foot five. He had broad shoulders and a wide chest, but he wasn’t heavy set, just a large man. I imagined he had to have his suits tailor made just to fit him.

It was a good thing he was filthy rich and could afford the expensive suits.

He took everyone in in one look before those brown eyes came back to me. “Take a seat, Ruby Jane. I would like it if the two hunters you brought with you could wait out in the waiting room with Betty. If that’s not too much to ask for.”

I actually didn’t think it was too much to ask for but I wasn’t so sure that convincing Roan and Bane to wait outside was going to be an issue.

They didn’t disappoint.

Chapter 32

“We already know you killed the demon in that house,” Bane stated calmly, like he was reporting the weather and not talking about a murder. “The one who was responsible for murdering Ruby’s friend. Not to be confused with whatever other demons you’ve murdered recently.”

At the word friend my father scoffed. “He wasn’t her friend. He was her lawyer. Her grandmother’s lawyer at that.”

“His name was Thomas,” I said quietly and his eyes were deadly serious as they roamed over my face. “And he was my family. The only family I had left.”

His hands clenched into fists and I could tell he was not happy with what I had said. A muscle in his cheek ticked but he didn’t say anything.

“The hunters agreed to drop it because Thomas’s murderer had been found,” Roan said, letting us know something he’d failed to tell me earlier. “But my brother and I aren’t going to drop it until we know Ruby Jane is safe and there will be no more demons showing up at her home.”

I sighed as I sat down in the chair in front of Jonathan’s desk. Everyone watched me as if I were the only person in the room. I hated it.

It was my fault Thomas was dead. My fault because I was related to the man in front of me.

“I had to set an example,” my father said. “So that’s what I did. The hunters have never bothered me before when it comes to how I deal with my own people. It was my understanding that you only cared about the well-being of your own kind. So, I fail to see what your concern with my daughter is all about.”

I could see that he struck a nerve with the twins and if I let this continue on like this things were going to turn ugly and fast. I wanted to avoid that if I could.

“Bane and Roan lived with me at Harmond House,” I said quietly. I hated talking about this and would happily take it to my grave but I wanted this man to know. And it wasn’t like it was a secret that I had lived there. All you had to do was look in my file and you’d see it there.

“Ruby,” both Bane and Roan said my name at the same time. And they said it in warning.

But I was well past the point of listening to anyone else.

I stared my father in the eyes and asked, “Have you heard of Harmond House, Johnathon? It was my first foster home after my mother was murdered and my father abandoned me. Bane and Roan got there not long after me. I recently learned that the hunters sent them there to keep an eye on me because of you.”

My father was watching me carefully. “I wasn’t in a good place after your mother died and it wasn’t safe for you to be with me. I couldn’t bear for you to end up like her. I figured your grandmother would take you in if I was out of the picture. I didn’t know anything about you until years later when I went to check on you. I’m sorry the hunters sent people to watch over you when it should have been my people watching over you.However, it doesn’t explain what you’re doing here now with them.”

He was talking like he had no idea about what had gone down in that house.

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