Page 16 of Twisted Desire
I stop fixing my hair. “Damnit, Nikolai—”
“Relax, Skylar. Jackson is in. Though he’s still not a huge fan of the dark fae. Or me.”
“Shocking,” I deadpan.
He gives me a pointed look and rakes his fingers through his hair, messing it up. It makes me want to stomp over to him and fix it... or mess it up more. “We’re meeting him tomorrow at his home. He has access to an abandoned church we can use for a meeting with the fae.”
“Because that’s not creepy,” Allison says without looking away from her phone.
“Cute sarcasm,” Nik remarks, and she finally glances over at him, sticking out her tongue. Nice.
Nikolai opens his mouth to respond, but the ringtone on his phone makes him pause. Glancing at the screen, he frowns then answers it. “Talk to me, Derek.”
There’s a beat of silence, and in that moment, Nik’s face pales.
“Son of a—yeah, okay. No, that’s fine. I’ll send them. Yes, I’m sure. We’ll be fine.” He pockets his phone and curses.
“What?” Allison says before I can.
“Derek and Marni’s group was ambushed outside one of the facilities they located.”
My mouth goes dry. “How many did we lose?”
Nikolai’s jaw is hard. “Four. I’m sending Kelsey and Seth to them.”
I nod. I want to punch something. Badly. “We’re losing time.”
“I know,” he replies, “but we’re doing the best we can. We knew it was likely going to get worse before it got better. This is just something we have to deal with.”
He’s right, and I hate that.
“I need a drink,” I say with a sigh.
“There’s a bar downstairs,” Nikolai comments.
I glance back at Allison. “You in?”
She shakes her head, yawning. “I’m beat. You guys go ahead.”
Oliver slips past Nikolai and drops onto the bed beside her, resting his arms behind his head. “I’m good, too. We’ll catch you later.”
I almost don’t want to look back at Nikolai, and when I do, my thoughts are confirmed. The smirk gracing his lips makes my stomach coil. He knows what I’m thinking—he’s thinking it, too.
Alcohol plus the two of us alone can’t end well.Nothingbetween us can.
“Shall we?” He offers me his arm.
I step forward then pause, lifting my face to meet his gaze. “Our world has gone to shit.” I place my hand on his arm. “Why the hell not?”
6
The hotel bar isn’t anything special, but it’s not a dive bar, either, so I’m not going to complain. As long as there’s alcohol, I’m satisfied. There are a few hotel guests sitting at small tables around the room, but the stools at the bar are empty, so Nikolai and I claim a couple of them, waving over the guy behind the counter.
The bartender—Joe, according to his nametag—slides us each a shot of his most expensive tequila at Nikolai’s request. We clink them together before tossing them back.
I swallow, shivering at the warmth quickly spreading through me as the liquor heats a path toward my stomach.
Joe pours us another round.
