Page 34 of Madness Behind the Mask
I stayed in bed with her for as long as I could, but work pulled me upa few minutesafter sunrise.She scampered up behind me, her green eyes wide with terror, her lips silent as she struggled to ask me not to leave her alone – that Shadow pride still burning bright after all this time.
But she’ll never have to ask for another thing again. I will simply provide.
And so she hides beneath my desk, not yet able to face the world, finding a small comfort in my touch, my leg pressed against her cheek, my fingers combing her hair – just enough to lure her back to sleep.
Back to her nightmares.
Whereherules her everything.
My jaw tightens as my pen moves across ourcodedledger,checking the payments we collected overnightfrom people wantingour protection (thosewholive on the streets where our war with the other two gangs rage), our product (the drugs we sell – both toother supernaturals and humans across America), and our silence (those we blackmail and extort into being part of our business). The tipof my pendigs into the page, nearly tearing itbefore I force myself to relax.
Antonio does not own her.
He is not her husband.
He might have left his mark onher, but I will wash him from her memories, give her new ones to sleep to, to find comfort in rather than pain.
I wish I could promise her his headon a silver platter – nothing less than what she deserves to be given, but the fucker is wily.
Soon after we rescued Sau, he went into business with a witch coven further north, far outside our territory. They supply Antonio and his higher ups with charms to counter our scrying, so we haven’t been able to get a pinpoint on him in years. Although he still fights on the front lines, he never lingers when it comes to exchanging blows, using his natural speed to strike hard and fast before running away. He doesn’t even have his tail tucked between his legs when he does so, instead carrying an arm or a leg or even the fucking head of a witch proudly in between his teeth.
But one day I willget hold ofhim.
And he will regret ever hurting what’s mine.
As will Bert and anyone involved withfucking my wife these last two years.
“Caden?”
My name is a soft whisper in the quiet of my study, and I look down at her cheekbones that need filling and her sad green eyes that need laughter.
“Yes?” I murmur, stroking my fingers through her long black hair –the only part of her that looks vibrant and full of life– as I have done many times over these last three decades.
“Is Antonio dead?” There is so much hope in that soft murmured question. So much agony.
Cupping her chin with my fingers, I lift her gaze up. “He will be, my sweet.”
She’s quiet for a long moment as she stares at me. Then so softly I can barely hear the words, she asks, “Am I safe here?”
My chest tightens, as do my fingers, and I lay my pen down on the ledger so it doesn’t snap in half. “Yes, Sau,” Isay. “That man you woke towill never hurtanyoneever again.”
“Is he dead?”
“He surely wishes it.”
She shudders,no doubt remembering all the times she wished the same.
Pushing myleatherchair back, I reach down and pull her onto my lap. She tenses now that she’s outofcover, her muscles so tight, they tremble.Her head swivels fast around my office, searching for danger in the brightly lit room, the rays of the sun already strong despite the early hour. Her eyes latch onto the window, its curtains on either side, and her heart rate increases, thumping hard at the base of her neck.
With a flick of my fingers, I close the dark-red curtains while also turning on the light with my other hand. The room is dimmer now, but there aren’t any monsters lining up shots through an open window. She is safe.
Swallowing, my wife ducks her head against my neck. “Aren’t I in the way of your work?” she murmurs.
“This morning’s work is depressing anyway.”The damn vampires, the Blood Fangs, are bleeding us dry, turningthosewe’ve blackmailed and pressured into working for us into bloodbanks – humans that are passed around like a tray of hors d’oeuvres. They’ve even kidnapped a couple of our human members to besiredunder Aleric.
For the first two and a half decades after Sau’s rescue, they were quiet. We thought they were simply letting us and the Death Hunt duke it out, but Aleric, their Boss, was actually turning humans en masse, building an army of sired vampires. Now there are hundreds of the fuckers, and for every one we kill, another five seem to rise. And another couple of our suppliers and business partners go missing.
“And I am not?”my wife asks.
