Page 12 of Monsters of Midlife

I rolled my eyes. “Like he’d work anywhere else.”

He was stuck in the family diamond business, and he couldn’t get out. The thing was, he never even tried even after I pleaded with him. It was worse than that, though, he never even took me into confidence to tell me more about his family’s diamond business.

“You do deserve more than that,” Laney said, her gaze serious. “You know I only want the best for you. I’ll come over after work today and if he’s there I’ll scare him out. I’ll let them know we’ve gone gay and he has to do both of us. That should frighten him away.”

I couldn’t stop the laughter from bubbling up in me. I loved Laney. She was as irreverent of herself as she was of everything around her; it wasn’t disrespectful, it was more just playful, as long as everybody understood it. They didn’t always and that’s when she hurt feelings, but I got her and she got me.

“I think we can handle this like civilized adults.” I wiped the mirth from my face. “He didn’t put up a fuss when I asked for a divorce. I don’t expect him to complain about leaving now. It’s been three years.”

“Well, he showed up for a reason,” she pointed out. “You don’t know what that is exactly and he’s most likely never going to give you a straight answer, because well he never has done, has he?”

As much as I hated to do admit it, she was right. I nodded my head in agreement. He had never done that; he had never been honest and forthright with me.

“All right, look. Let’s not make this weird, but do come over after work,” I said. “I have the strangest feeling he’s going to be around.”

“No problem,” Laney said with a grin. “I’ll bring the wine; you bring the whine.”

She ended the video call before I could give her the finger.

I stared at my phone quietly and tapped the buttons on it to pull up Ryder’s number. With him being in my house last night, I was drawn to him again. I wanted to call him. It felt normal, like ‘see if you wanted me to pick up anything on the way home from work’ kind of normal. I shook my shoulders viciously. I was definitely going to need Laney around if Ryder was showing back up in my life again. How was I going to withstand his charm, his magnetic pull and those dark brooding eyes? The way he looked at me like he wanted to devour every particle of my being and bathe in my spirit. I was going to need every little bit of help I could get if I was going to resist Ryder from returning to my life.

Chapter 9

RYDER

I walked through Caroline’s living room, what had once been our living room, taking in every single item in the room, even the empty spaces on the walls where pictures used to be. She had taken them all down. I don’t know why, but that annoyed me. It made me want to punch the wall where our wedding picture used to be.

My fingers twitched.

This was where I was supposed to be rational. This was supposed to make it all make sense. Of course, we couldn’t be together and of course we would split up. A monster and a human weren’t a logical match. And of course, she would take our pictures off the walls; that’s what anyone would do.

I inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled through pursed lips. No one understood what it was like to be a monster living in a human world. I tried so hard to fit in, to look like a normal human being, to do all the things humans did or even the things supernaturals did, like care about each other and worry about each other.

It didn’t come naturally to a monster.

I only cared about two things in life: getting monsters back to their side of the rift and her. I didn’t know why I was wired that way, but I was and I knew it. Unfortunately, those two things didn’t go together and instead of choosing her, I chose the path that was laid out for me. The thing I was born to do: protect Earth from the monsters. A low growl rumbled in my chest, irritation brewing just beneath the surface. I closed my eyes, letting the smell of the house permeate through me. It smelled of dark wood and chicken broth with a hint of a floral bouquet drifting around the top.

It smelled like home.

My fist clenched at my side. At least there was no other smell of any other man around. No other supernaturals either. There was just her. I ran my hand through my hair, listening to the rain beat against the windows.

“This isn’t healthy.” Ratchet’s voice cut through the air.

I opened my eyes, my body unmoving.

“I don’t remember inviting you.” I commented.

His laughter was rich. “If I was waiting for an invitation from you, we wouldn’t even know each other. Instead, we have this amazing friendship where we spend tons of time together and provide each other with a strong shoulder to lean on times of need.”

I rubbed my chin, staring at him. “Don’t you have somewhere else you need to be?”

“No,” Ratchet said. “I don’t believe I do.”

“Pity,” I murmured.

“The DGC sent me to mind you, so hanging out with you is actually my job,” Ratchet said with a smirk.

“Clever bastards,” I said. “I’ve never figured out why you listened to them so completely. You never go against them.” I looked at him curiously. “What do they have over you? “

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