Page 64 of Cursed to Be Mine
“They look a bit narrow for your hands,” he says flatly.
“They’re mine,” I repeat, softer now, daring him to keep pushing this.
“Was it consensual?”
Scarlett’s head jerks up at the same time Vlad grits his teeth in pain. His notepad drops to the floor as his fingers spasm. He bends down to pick it up, ducking his head of ginger hair, denying me the satisfaction of watching the twisting of his face.
My fingers flatten again, releasing the magic coiling around his heart.
“Yes,” my girl finally answers as he straightens. “It was consensual.” Her words aren’t strong, a mere breath of air.Her body shakes against my side.
“Well.” He flips the notebook shut and slides it into his pocket. His eyes find mine as his jaw twitches, and I can just make out the tips of his fangs before he tucks them away. His knuckles turn white as he grips his pen. “That’s all my questions, Ms. Davis. If you can please come with me to the station now, I need you to identify the body.”
“Now?” she whispers.
“Yes.
Her tremors intensify until the whole mattress starts vibrating beneath us.
“We’ll meet you there,” I tell him, a clear dismissal in the harsh warning of my tone.
His lips tighten, but he doesn’t argue. Smart man. With a single nod, he sees himself out.
The door clicks, and I give it a few seconds for him to walk away –his kind having better hearing than ours– before turning to Scarlett. I wrap my arms around her and pull her against my side. “It’s going to be okay,” I murmur into her soft brown hair.
But those words seem to just break her.
Sagging against me, she pushes her head into the crook of my neck and sobs. Tears seep into the collar of my shirt, cooling the flesh beneath. She hiccups as she cries. Her feet kick with a restless energy. Wails stick in her throat, and her fists clench and unclench against my stomach.
I’ve never felt more helpless.
More guilt than I do in this moment.
My girl is being torn apart by rage, betrayal, terror, and agony –partly because of me– and all I can do is hold her.
Nineteen
HER
I don’t want to move from Khalid’s arms. I don’t want to collect my things and head down to the police station to identify my ma. I don’t want to stand in their hallways after, trying to figure out where to go because I can’t go home to a crime scene.
Tears flood down my cheeks and pool on the fabric beneath my chin.
I clutch at him as I cry, as all the horrors of the last few hours scream inside my skull. The protective bubble I put up at the sound of Khalid’s voice earlier, when he knocked at the door, the desperate glass house I erected to keep the real world out now shatters.
I can’t keep hiding from the truth in his arms.
Can’t pretend everything will be okay.
Can’t cling to my bubble of normality.
The truth is my ma is dead.
Werewolves are real and probably killed her.
AndDaniel.As much as I hated the both of them, their deaths don’t feel like karma. Their deaths justmake me feel guilty and terrified. How long until the werewolves come after me?
How long until Khalid is killed simply because I’m with him?
