Page 65 of The Warrior
“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered and turned to her. “You are one ofthose women?”
She only spared me a quick glimpse. “I don’t know what you’re referring to or who you are, but I want you out of my house.”
I pointed an accusing finger at her. “He wasn’t holding you hostage, was he? You’ve been hiding Devlin all this time.”
“So what if I have? It still doesn’t give you the right to go and beat him up.”
Devlin groaned, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of the physical pain or the humiliation of his woman seeing him get beaten up by a woman.
“You don’t understand,” I said. “Devlin is a criminal. He’s been in prison.”
“Yes, he told me.”
“And you still allowed him inside your house?” I couldn’t fathom the stupidity of this woman.
“He never hurt me,” she insisted, and that made me pick up one of the ropes and hold it out to her in an accusatory manner.
“How can you say that? He had you tied down and I saw him strangling you.”
Her eyes were shooting daggers at me. “I’m a naturephile, okay? We like role plays, and I don’t have to explain my fantasies to you.”
“Your fantasies?” My tone was incredulous.
Devlin lifted his face; a large red mark from where the shovel had hit him was already showing. “It was just a role-play,” he explained in a strained voice.
“It didn’t look like play to me. It looked like you were raping her.”
“I waspretending.” He gave me a hard stare. “Julia knows I would never hurt her.”
I rubbed my face, as if I could somehow wash away what I had seen. “This makes no sense to me.”
Julia found a robe to cover her naked body, and faced me. “I was up at the border when the earthquake happened. That’s when I met Devlin. It was a spontaneous decision to bring him here.” She brought him his clothes and I looked away as he dressed himself.
“Didn’t it occur to you that he might be dangerous?”
“No. People say mean things about the Nmen all the time, but it’s just rumors and lies. My friends and I have read every article about the women who have married men from the North. They all tell how wonderful their men really are.”
I was shocked at how naïve she was.
“Because they married good men. This piece of shit…” I pointed to Devlin, “…stabbed a man to death and went to prison for it.”
“He only stabbed the man because they were both intoxicated and the man attacked him. Devlin was only trying to protect himself.”
“Oh yeah?” I looked down at Devlin. “And is that why you stabbed my husband too?”
“Your husband?”
“Magni Aurelius. He’s got a scar on his arm because of you.”
“Fuck that, it wasn’t my fault.” Devlin frowned. “Look, fighting Magni is no joke. That guy is legendary and when I met him I was heading over to tell him what an admirer I am. If I’d known what a foul mood he’d be in, I would have kept my distance. I bumped into him by accident and he got so mad that he slammed me up against a wall. Your husband is crazy, and if I hadn’t pulled my knife, he’d have smashed my head in.”
“He was going through a tough time, that’s all,” I defended Magni.
“No shit. I heard that you left him. I would be going crazy too.”
Julia spoke up. “Devlin and I love each other.”
I lowered my brow. “You’ve only known each other for three weeks.”
