Page 9 of How to Entice a Fiend

Rylee happily follows him with me trailing behind. “Am I staying in the same room I did last time I was here?”

“Do you want to?” Orin asks.

“Yes! NO! YES!”

“Well, here are two guest rooms. You two can battle for which one you want.”

“I want this one!” she says as she races into the room.

“Did something happen?” Orin asks me.

I watch as Rylee dives right onto the bed, arms and legs sprawled out like a starfish. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

“You can ask for help.”

“I did. And I got Rylee back.”

“Beyond that.”

I laugh as I look at the man. “The only reasonanyonechose to help me was because of Rylee. I’m not foolish. I’m well aware I deserve no help. We will be out of here by tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to be,” he says as he walks away.

But he just doesn’t understand.

CHAPTER THREE

MADS

“He was a delight,” I announce as I look at the cat I’ve been tasked with.

“Do not trust that man,” Marcus says. “That was Ender.”

“I picked up on that. But for a man who is supposedly the very person who slaughtered the council, the rest of you seemed to have gotten along with him alright. At the very least, none of you tried to arrest him, which I thought was peculiar.”

The cat acts like he’s just along for the ride, so I tuck him against me.

“Now where might this Ender be going?” I ask curiously.

“Why?” Finn responds, oddly wary. Although after hearing what happened between him and that Watson who turned out to be quite the monster, I’m not surprised. I would be wary of most people I came across if I were him.

I smile at the human who I’ve heard so much about. “I thought I would return the sweet kitty once he was all cleaned up. Nothing more than that.”

“Nothing more than that, my ass,” the one I know is Alexei grumbles. “If you’re going to kill him, give me a call.” I heard about him and have been told to keep an eye on him as well. Honestly, I’m pretty sure the entire UK council wants me to keep an eye on everyone from the VRC.

“Ohhh noooo, speaking of calls, I forgot to get my phone back from him,” Marcus’s brother Claude says. “I have so many pictures of shoes saved on there, too. Do you think he’d look through my private shoe collection?”

“I don’t think anyone would ever choose to look through your private shoe collection,” Alexei tells him. “The only time I permitted it, it was because it was your birthday.”

“None of you understand the art of beautiful shoes,” Claude says before looking down at my feet then seeming to decide that I also don’t understand it. It makes me stare at my shoes a bit too long and question just how bad they are. I mean… can you go wrong with black trainers?

Clearly.

“Does… anyone know of a vet clinic nearby?” I ask.

“I can tell you, but before you go, whatwereyou doing here?” Finn asks.

“Oh! I was walking by and heard some noise.”

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