Page 24 of Forsaken Fate

“I’m trying,” I said.

He leaned over and kissed me. “Have an early lunch with me and then the driver can take you back to your apartment. I want you at the house no later than noon tomorrow. Fair?”

I smiled and nodded. Twenty-four hours. My sentence was suspended for a mere twenty-four hours.

* * *

Grayson had been docile and sated during lunch. True to his word he dropped me off at my studio apartment downtown. He was right that it was little. He was wrong that it was shitty. If it weren’t for the circumstances that brought me here, I could have fallen in love with the place. As it was, this was my 450-square-foot sanctuary. It had one large window wall with a view of the city and the river behind it. When I was here, I could stop pretending, stop lying ... just be.

And now that would be stripped away by tomorrow morning. I knelt on the small green window seat that had been the first thing I bought when I moved in. What would I do with it? With all of it? I could ask Grayson’s people to take it to a storage unit, I suppose. What would I take instead? As soon as I thought about it, I knew the answer.

Nothing. I would take nothing. I would make Grayson get rid of the staff in the house so I could be alone when Grayson was gone. Then ... I would find Diana’s grimoire and spellbooks. It would be hard to live there, but the job would be done sooner. The sooner I found what I needed, the sooner I could leave Grayson and the lies behind.

Resolved in my plan, I stared out at the water with my face pressed against the glass. It got late. Dark. I finished a third glass of wine as I taped the last of the boxes, I would have the movers take to storage in the morning. There was nothing left to do.

I took out the key card Theo had given me and fingered its hard edges. Theo. Why did the memory of his touch linger on me? He was just a man, after all. And he was a Dorran. There was a chance he was complicit in some way with Diana’s sins. If I went to him, maybe I could find out. And I wanted to. I wanted to see him again. Badly.

Tomorrow morning, I would give myself over to Grayson the way he wanted. Let him think he was remaking me into the perfect shifter’s mate. I would let him. It wouldn’t take long.

I called a cab. Tonight, however, would still be for me.

CHAPTER 11

Brynna

I hesitated for just a second before tapping my knuckles against the door to room 814. For a moment, I wondered if I hadn’t knocked loud enough. One second passed. Two. I was strangely calm for what I was about to do.

Then the door swung open, and Theo stood before me. He was casual, in a black button-down shirt and faded jeans that hugged his hips. So was I. I wore a black jacket over a black tank top and my own pair of faded jeans with holes in the knees. Grayson would hate it if he saw me in it, but these were my clothes.

Theo took a step back, gesturing with his arm to invite me in. Tucking a hair behind my ear, I stepped into his hotel room. It wasn’t what I thought. Theo Dorran could afford the Presidential Suite, no doubt. This room was simple: luxurious, but simple. He had a lake view from his large double windows, of course, but just a king-sized bed, TV, two chairs and an end table. The room was decorated in cream and white. There was nothing of Theo here but the man himself. Whatever luggage or personal items he had were neatly tucked away.

“Slumming it, Mr. Dorran?” I said as I hoisted my oversized bag onto one of the chairs.

“I’m glad you came,” he said, ignoring my weak sarcasm. Now that I was here, I wasn’t entirely sure how it was supposed to work. I decided to say so.

“I’m not sure I should stay,” I said as I turned to face him. The windows were at my back and Theo took two steps toward me but stopped just at the edge of the bed.

“I’m not sure you should either. But you’re here now, why don’t we sit? I think you have questions and I’ve got a few of my own. Do you want a drink?”

I shook my head. I crossed my arms in front of me and turned toward the window. City lights reflected across the water like stars, making it hard to tell where the river ended, and the sky began. Theo came to stand next to me. We were less than an inch apart. His scent filled me. His power intoxicated me. I’d been around wolf shifters my entire life but Theo was different. He was more.

“What happened today?” I started. “Grayson wouldn’t say. He seemed angry at you.”

Theo breathed hard through his nose and cast his head downward. The moonlight shadowed him in blue. “I don’t even know how to start. Let’s just say it was Diana’s final fuck you to me.”

I turned to face him. “I’m sorry that happened,” I said. “I really am. I’ve taken my share of those myself.”

“I’ll bet you have,” Theo laughed, and I liked the sound of it, rich and smooth, and I wanted to hear it again. “You sure it’s been worth it? That woman has left a long trail of bodies behind. Grayson’s going to be one of them.”

“Stop,” I said. “Let’s not talk about them anymore. I’m sorry I brought it up. Forget it.”

“That,” Theo said, “is a fabulous idea. Come sit with me.”

Smiling, I turned. “I thought I’d be nervous coming here. I am a little, I guess. But I know why you asked me to come. And I think I’m okay with it.”

“Why?” His eyes narrowed and he took a step back, sinking down on the edge of the mattress. He looked up at me with a sly, inquisitive smile.

“Why am I okay with it or why did you ask me to come here?”

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