Page 34 of Hell Hath No Fury

Her features soften some, and her quick intake of breath is shuddering. She presses her trembling lips together, and hereyes lock with mine as she nods. “I understand. I mean, I’m grateful you’re alive.”

The room falls silent again, but then, Agatha says from her seat beside Lilith, “Are you gonna fucking cry?”

Antoinette immediately turns her glaring eyes on her sister as she says, “No, I’m not gonna fucking cry.”

Lilith jabs Agatha with her elbow, turning and giving her a dirty look, and she shrugs. “What? It’s a legitimate fucking question.”

Lilith shakes her head and turns to Antoinette. “You’re allowed to fucking cry. Ignore her. She’s obviously being a bitch again.”

Agatha makes an outraged sound, which Lilith ignores. Antoinette glares at her sister one more time and then turns her eyes back to Lilith. “I’m okay for now. I won’t even pretend to be capable of suppressing my emotions at this point.”

Lilith gives her a sympathetic smile then we all turn our attention to Tony, who’s now leaning forward in his own chair as he looks over at Antoinette. “Do you know who this Dmitri is?”

“He’s the man from the warehouse.”

Tony frowns at her, shaking his head. “Thewarehouse?”

Antoinette laughs, genuine humor on her face. “I guess that doesn’t really clear it up, does it?”

Matt chuckles from his seat. “There sure have been a lot of fucking warehouses, so you might need to be a bit more specific.”

I release my grip on her forehead, moving my hand down so I’m hunched over her, hugging her with both arms. She leans back against me, her hands still gripping my forearms, her head leaning against my chest. Some tension melts off her. “Way back when I first met Lilith, remember she took me from that apartment? But then she left me in the limo, and those assholes came along and hijacked me.”

Everyone nods, or at least the people that were there. I glare at Lilith, who at least has the decency to grimace slightly, but then she shrugs, and Antoinette adds, “Remember how you guys came and got me out of there? And I told you there was a man there?”

Tony nods and replies, “Yup. You were adamant there had been someone there and they’d gotten away.”

“Exactly,” she replies quietly. “He had just started to explain to me what the fuck was going on when you guys came in, and then he vanished.”

“So that same guy is Dmitri?” Darius asks.

Antoinette nods. “I’m not sure if he realizes that I know this. I didn’t mention it in our brief exchange tonight, but I’m sure it’s him.”

“Well, isn’t that fucking annoying,” Tony mutters as he sits back in his chair. “We never did find any trace of him. I guess the question now is how he ended up being in the right spot to save you?”

Antoinette looks over to Camilla, who’s sitting on the floor on the far side of the room. “He’s the extra Darius.”

Camilla’s eyes widen. “That motherfucker.”

“How do you know this?” Darius asks.

“I scratched his face. They left scars.”

Lilith looks over at Matt and asks, “Was he alive?”

Matt nods and sighs. “Yes. Antoinette had done a fair job with basic field dressings.”

Antoinette smiles proudly. “I actually forgot I did that. Go me.”

Camilla gets to her feet, Kaian now standing beside her. “So, are we going to go find out what this fucker knows?”

Slowly, everyone stands, moving closer to Antoinette, who’s still seated at my feet. We all wait, knowing that whatever we do next will be her decision. She moves to stand, and I shift,assisting her to her feet. She looks as tired as I feel, the sun now shining through the large windows, proving it’s full daylight. Agatha reaches a hand out, touching her arm lightly. “Tell us what we’re doing.”

Antoinette gives her a sheepish look and responds, “I know you all want to go down there and get this shit sorted right now, but I’ve really got something else I need to do first.”

Lilith frowns, glancing over at Antonio, who has a matching expression. “Whatever you want. Just tell us what’s up.”

“I’m fucking starving.”

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