Page 50 of Betrayed in Blood
“Devon released me from my debt. Something about sending me away to Oasis. Setting up an account.”
“What?” If I’d been more awake, I might have heard something more in that single word, but I was pretty much in my own head at that moment.
Ginger entered the bathroom, pulled a wash rag from the rack, and tossed it to me. “Clean up and meet me in the bedroom. I’ll call for coffee.”
I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and peed. More awake than I’d been several minutes earlier, my head was still fuzzy from a hangover. It had to be the champagne. Damn vamps. The champagne wouldn’t have affected Devon.
I shuffled out of the bathroom as Ginger was closing the door holding a tray of coffee and a plate with a silver dome.
“Come sit by the fireplace. We’ll talk after you’ve finished a full cup of coffee.”
My face must have reflected some form of petulance because she gave me that mama bear look.
“Don’t argue with me. We’ve been through this rodeo before. Sit.”
Yep. Not the first time she’d nursed me through a bender. But all I remembered from last night was Devon’s hands. A shiver ran through me at the memories of the sensations those touches created.
I was halfway through my first cup when it hit me. “Aren’t you supposed to be with Colantha and Lucas?”
“Well, you’re part way to recovery. Keep drinking.” Ginger opened the silver dome to reveal scrambled eggs and bacon. “Bacon first. You need the grease.”
I did as she asked, mostly because the heavenly smell was too good to resist. And she knew me better than anyone when it came to hangovers. Bacon and coffee usually did the trick. Once the bacon was gone and half the eggs, I was well into my second cup of coffee.
I fell back against the couch, definitely feeling better. “Thank you. Now, shouldn’t you be with Colantha and Lucas?”
“They don’t need me to translate. I’ll catch up.” She bit her lower lip, then shook her head. “So, tell me what happened.”
I ran a hand through my hair and sipped the coffee. “It’s all a bit vague, to be honest. He woke me up and said he released me from my debt.” I replayed in my head what I could remember, but there were gaps. “Something about setting up a bank account and sending me to Oasis.” I glanced at her. “I think he said you should go, too.”
Ginger tidied up the tray, her eyes not meeting mine. Then she bit her bottom lip again.
“What?” When she didn’t say anything but kept rearranging the tray, I leaned over and grabbed her arm. “Just tell me. No secrets. Right?”
She blew out a breath and fell back on the sofa. “I think this is all my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
She picked at her scarf. This was one of the knitted ones her mother had sent her. It was lime green and somehow fit with her ensemble of a rose-pink, short-sleeved T-shirt and black print leggings. “When Lucas was on the mend from the vamp attack, we shared some personal stories.”
I sighed. That was enough for me to know where this was going. “You told him about the debt.”
She nodded. “I didn’t think he’d tell Devon.” She didn’t look at me.
“It’s alright. Go on.”
She gave a single-shoulder shrug. “There’s nothing more to tell. Lucas knows you covered my debt with Sorrento. He must have said something to Devon.”
I leaned my head back against the couch. Now, it made sense. Well, not really, but it was a start.
We sat in silence for a while. Not a sound pervaded the room. Not even the sound of a ticking clock, which would have been appropriate.
“But this is a good thing, right?” Ginger got a second wind. “I mean, I’m guessing you and Devon haven’t spoken about the debt. So much has happened since then. But now, he’s settled it. You said he renegotiated with you. If you helped him, he’d clear your debt and pay half back. That explains why he set up an account.”
“I suppose.”
“That’s why it’s a good thing. It puts your relationship on even ground.” She took my hand. “This means no contract is holding you here. I’m not sure I understand what he really said about sending you away to Oasis. Maybe he just wants to make sure you’re here because you want to be and not because you owe him something.”
More of his words slipped into my fractured memory. “He said something about the war. Making a decision if I’ll be at his side or Colantha’s.” I shook my head. “Something about it not being my war or yours.”
