Page 58 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

I pat his shoulder. “It’s okay, darling, I’ll be back in time for our date.”

He slams his fist on the table. I jump, along with the noodles in the carton. “Fuck! You are the most stubborn woman I have ever met.” Everyone but Jed stares at him in shock. I’ve never heard him curse… He really doesn’t like being disobeyed—if he’s planning on working with me, he needs to get used to it.

“Jed will go with you,” he states, gritting his teeth.

“Duncan will be coming, too.”

He nods, pacified. “Just be careful.”

Glancing at my bare abdomen, he traces a finger along a star-shaped scar on my lower left side; he pushes me forward and glances down my back.

“It didn’t go through,” I whisper, shivering against the rough texture of fingertips.

“Who shot you?” His tone is so casual, he could be enquiring what type of coffee I prefer; but his raging aura tells a different story.

I straighten my spine. “It doesn’t matter he’s d… dealt with.” I can see him studying me in my peripheral vision. Duncan’s concerned expression catches my eye, and I shake my head. Lawrence being alive is something we need to deal with, but not today.

Something occurs to me. “You never asked how I’m going to get to the island and back in a day.”

He swallows a mouthful of kung pao chicken. “I assume Duncan will be teleporting you.”

My mouth drops open as I swing my head to Duncan, who doesn’t look surprised. “Duncan is a powerful warlock—it’s not a stretch that he can teleport. I assumed that was the plan when you said you would be back for our date,” Archan continues.

“Oh,” is my intelligent response. “Zee and I are going to the coroner’s office in the morning. I’ll update Jed as soon as we’ve finished,” I change the topic.

Archan shakes his head. “Jed will come with you.”

“No.”

“No?” he repeats, apparently not used to the sound of the word being directed at him.

“No. The coroner is a friend, and we work closely with the detective in charge of the case. Seeing Jed will put them on edge; they won’t discuss the case with me if he’s around.”

Some might think it’s sad that I count the coroner as a friend, but Emi’s incredible. I don’t have to lie about what I do for a living, and she doesn’t shy away from the various kinds of demon guts that often end up stuck all over me. Once she helped me shampoo a stubborn, sticky, unknown substance out of my hair—a step up from holding your hair back while being sick.

Standing, I turn on the sound system. “I promise I’ll update Jed.”

Whitney’s classic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” pumps through the speakers. Zee, Aaden, and Duncan groan.

“Pick something else, Locks.”

Shooting Duncan a look, I take my seat back at the table. “And what, oh mighty DJ, would you have me play?”

“Anything else,” he mutters.

“Anything?” I purr, hoping he falls for my trap. Archan picks up my phone from the table and scrolls through my playlists. I try to grab it, but I can’t reach his extended hand.Why do I surround myself with these Neanderthals?Unless I want to give him a lap dance, there’s no way I can reach my phone.

I shrug. “It doesn’t matter. It’s all my music anyway.”

He smirks. “But the names you give your playlists are most entertaining. For example, ‘Natia’s happy songs,’ or ‘I’ve had a fucked-up day,’” his lips twitch, “‘Natia’s sexy songs.’”

Crimson creeps up my cheeks.

Zee catches my reaction and grins. “Play that one.”

Snapping my gaze to him, I mouth, “Traitor.” Unrepentant, he eggs Archan on. Awesome, they’re bonding over embarrassing me. Before I can intervene, the opening chords of “Closer” by the Nine Inch Nails drifts through the apartment, talking about having mindless sex to escape reality—that’s my personal interpretation. Don’t judge.

I put my head in my hands to escape the five pairs of wide, surprised eyes.

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