Page 60 of Salem's Fall
Damien tilts his head. “Don’t worry about that. It’s all been taken care of.”
“Excuse me?”
His lips curl toward me in a knowing smirk. “Do you really think I’d take you to a gala without making sure you have the perfect gown?” His voice drops, velvet smooth. “It’s waiting for you back in Boston, along with a full glam team at your disposal.”
Quinn watches me closely, almost desperately, his eyes searching mine for something—anything—that proves he still has control over what I do. But something defiant sparks in my chest. If my career—and possibly my life—are already hanging by a thread, I might as well enjoy one damn night of fun. I turn to Damien, flashing him my sweetest, most saccharine smile.
“I’d love to go to the Gala with you.”
Boston, Massachusetts
By the time I step inside my apartment, I know something is wrong.
For one, it smells.
Not in a dead-body-something’s-decomposing-inside-these-walls way, but in a twenty-something-who-has-no-concept-of-household-maintenance kind of way. Stale takeout. Overflowing garbage. The faint, sour tang of abandoned dishes in the sink.
Maddie sits sprawled on the couch, still in her pajamas at 1 p.m., remote in one hand, a half-eaten bowl of cereal in the other. She blinks up at me, looking startled.
“Holy shit, Jamie! You’re alive.”
I sigh. “Yes, Mads. I didn’t die in Salem’s Fall—yet.”
“Well, of course, I know that.” She giggles. “It’s just that you’ve been weirdly MIA, and you’re never MIA. Always bugging me about something or another and?—”
“I think there’s a ‘Hey James, good to see you, big sis’ somewhere in there,” I mumble sarcastically as I drop my bags down and let Lucky out of his carrier.
Maddie shoves her cereal aside and hops up,wrapping me in a tight hug. “You know I missed you, big sis!” she cries, a sweet smile across her face. Too sweet. Suspiciously sweet.
I glance past her to the wreckage of our apartment. The garbage can is overflowing, pizza boxes stacked precariously on the counter. At least a dozen empty beer cans and some empty handles of vodka line up along the kitchen table, and the sink is a graveyard of dishes.
I narrow my eyes. “Just how many parties have you had since I’ve been gone?”
“Oh, I only had a friend or two over,” she says. “Don’t worry. I was just about to clean it all up.”
“Uh-huh.” I arch a brow. “And I’m about to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
She giggles, grabbing me in another hug. “Seriously, I’m really glad you’re back.”
I shake my head, laughing. Maddie is impossible to stay mad at.
“Sadly, I’m only in town for a few hours,” I say, pulling out my phone and ordering Instacart delivery. While I’m here, I want to stock her up on all the essentials—things like water, bread, peanut butter, and sliced turkey for sandwiches. “I have to go back to Salem’s Fall in the morning.”
“Oh, okay. That sucks.”
Shockingly, Maddie actually looks disappointed.
Huh.
Well, look at that. I guess the kid really did miss me. Or at least missed my wallet and cleaning skills.
I start picking up trash and sweeping around the place as Lucky hops onto the couch’s armrest. He stretches out and gets comfy, fixing Maddie with his signature unimpressed feline stare. Maddie glares right back, clearly no love lost between them.
“Make sure you take the little menace with you when you go,” she says, but then to my surprise, she smirks and scoopsLucky up into her arms. “Alright, I admit it. I even missed you a bit too, you big bag of fleas.” She laughs and presses a quick kiss to his furry head.
Lucky tolerates the indignity for exactly three seconds before flicking his tail and darting off to my bedroom.
“See how much he loves me?” She grins. “He’s practically obsessed.”
