Page 9 of Hell Hath No Fury

She frowns slightly, pausing as she appears to ponder the question, then she says, the words practically falling over each other, “Not too long, but certainly long enough.”

I tilt my head at her strange response, then as I open my mouth to respond, Camilla interrupts, “But what about Dmitri?” obviously wanting her to finish her initial thought.

Antoinette’s smile broadens once again as she turns her attention back to Camilla. “Oh, yes. Dmitri said Los Angeles is the place you go when you want to meet new friends and take the chance of running into old ones.”

Camilla lifts one brow at her, her lip curling at the same time as she retorts, “Is that so?” Antoinette laughs again, completely oblivious to the sarcastic undertone of Camilla’s question. And then, Camilla asks, “And where is Dmitri now?”

“Oh, he’s away on business, like usual. Every day seems to be a business day for him.”

Camilla and I glance at each other, and I hide my snort behind a cough. I reach for a piece of bread on the table, not bothering to put anything on it as I rip off a piece and shove it into my mouth. I’ve barely swallowed the dry bit of bread before I ask, “And what is it Dmitri does?”

Antoinette shrugs and shakes her head as she replies, “I haven’t the foggiest. Some kind of international trade or something.”

“More like human trade,” I mutter bitterly, and Camilla kicks me again, but this time, I turn to glare at her. She gives me a very pointed look, indicating I should behave myself, and I roll my eyes rather petulantly because I’m feeling a little petulant.

Just the name Dmitri has my blood boiling. Even knowing it can’t be the same Dmitri that we ran into in the past, given the fact that he was blown up with a grenade in his trousers, doesn’t make me feel any better.

It seems that whenever history repeats itself, it’s never for the greater good. Most likely, we’re gonna have another Dmitri who needs his dick blown off.

I turn back to Antoinette, my smile saccharine sweet as I say, “Well, I hope I get to meet him soon.”

I can see that Antoinette’s smile is genuine as she replies, “Oh, that would be lovely. I’m sure he would think the both of you are absolutely fabulous. He’s always telling me I should make some friends and get out more.”

This time, Camilla snorts. “I’m sure he does.”

I laugh, looking over at Camilla as I add, “I bet he’s gonna find us a real delight.”

Camilla laughs again, and then something catches her attention behind Antoinette, and her laughter cuts off abruptly. Her eyes widen almost comically, the blood draining from her face as she mutters under her breath, “What the actual fucking fuck.”

Antoinette tilts her head as she asks, “What?”

I sit up straight in my chair, whirling around to look in the direction Camilla is staring, my breath automatically catching, my own eyes widening. “Holy shit.”

Antoinette frowns, looking between us in bewilderment as she asks, “What? What is it?”

We both remain completely silent, my blood running cold, before Camilla and I both jump to our feet. I turn my frantic gaze to Camilla, unsure of what we should do, only to turn back just in time to meet the intense, furious gaze of none other than Darius Hughes, who is headed directly for me.

I take a step toward him and then two, hurrying to intercept him a few feet away from Antoinette, but rather than push past me or shove me out of the way, he stops, his lips curving up in a knowing smile as he says, “Agatha, darling. Here you are.”

He gives me a hug, brushing his lips briefly against my cheek before standing back and slinging an arm around my shoulders. I stand there stiffly, completely flabbergasted on what the fuck he is doing, as he turns to Camilla and says pleasantly, “Camilla. Good to see you.”

Camilla’s eyes are bugged almost out of her head, and I’m pretty sure I see her pulse in a vein on her forehead, but she manages to stammer, “D-D-Darius. Yes. How good to see you.”

He maneuvers me back to the table, shifting me until the backs of my calves hit the chair, and I automatically sit rather than topple over. Darius turns to Antoinette, who’s still seated, nowstaring up at him wide-eyed, and he smiles at her, extending his hand as he says, “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve been acquainted.”

Antoinette blinks away her confusion and beams up at him. She moves to stand, but he waves her off and extends his hand again as he says, “Darius Hughes. It’s a pleasure.”

She opens her mouth to respond, but Camilla interjects, “Darius, this is my friend, Lila. She’s new in town, and I’ve taken her under my wing.”

Darius’s smile broadens, and he extends his hand a bit further until Antoinette finally places her hand in his rather delicately. Her eyes widen fractionally, her brow furrowing, as she stares at where their hands are clasped.

Her lip quivers, and she presses them together, her breath seeming to stutter from inside her as her eyes lift back to his, and she gives herself a little shake. She laughs and clears her throat as she responds quietly, “The pleasure is all mine.”

Reluctantly, he releases her hand and steps back, peering down at her as he murmurs, “It certainly will be.”

The smile falls from her lips, and she sits there with her hand hanging out in the air as she frowns. “Excuse me?”

Darius’s smile turns positively predatory, and he moves to respond just as I lean back in my chair and bring my heeled boot down on his toes as forcefully as I can from this awkward position. Which is surprisingly forceful but doesn’t even earn a tiny flinch from him. He does glance at me ever-so-slightly as if I’m an annoying gnat standing between him and his favorite meal, and since that’s exactly what I mean to do, I interrupt loudly, “Darius, I thought you were too busy to entertain me today.”

---