Page 90 of Lust

“I’ll come with you,” he says, following me towards the stairs. “Did you hear about what happened to Dade?”

I pause. “I saw the alert,” I say as nonchalantly as possible. “Why? What did you hear?”

“I saw those two big guys of Noémi’s dragging him into the elevator that takes them down into the demon floor,” Remy explains. “I wonder what he did?”

My heart begins to pound. “When did you see them take him?”

He shrugs. “A few hours ago. Why?”

If he’s been taken to the lower floor, there’s nothing I can do. I can’t get down without a key and he’s the only non demon person I know with one except Twila and she’s still MIA.

“Quinn.” He takes my hand, spinning me to face him. After what he said in the Earthery. I can barely bear to look at him. “Can we get over what I said? I’m sorry. You know I am.”

I look at Remy, torn by conflicting emotions. “Remy, I—” I begin, but he stops me, his finger gently pressing against my lips, silencing my words.

“I know, I know. I was an ass. I’m sorry. I should have stayed with you last night. I shouldn’t have taken no for an answer.” He steps towards me and kisses my lips, so delicately. As he does, all I can think of is Dade and the promise I made to him. The one I can’t keep.

Revulsion fills my senses and I pull back quickly. “I can’t be your girlfriend, Remy, not after what you said.”

His face falls slightly, but he recovers quickly. He takes a step back and puts his hands up. “I get it. I wouldn’t want to date me either, but I can’t let us finish like this.”

Growing irritation simmers within me. “It's news to me that we had anything worth finishing, Remy,” I retort, my tone sharp. “We've had a handful of dates since descending to this level, and then you casually told Candice I was beneath your consideration.”

A flicker of hurt crosses his expression, and I find a twisted satisfaction in his reaction. “I suppose I earned that,” he concedes, his hand brushing his chin's stubble. “But I don't want things to fester between us. Even if we can't date, can't we at least be friends?”

I shake my head, resolute. “Friends don’t tell other people that they don’t care about them,” I remind him, sidestepping him as I begin descending the stairs. He keeps pace, matching my stride.

“It was a mistake, Quinn,” he insists, his urgency evident as he grasps my hand, forcing me to halt. “Let me make it right. I can't bear the thought of you despising me.”

His contrition is palpable and though I’m irritated, I soften. “Alright, we can try being amiable to each other, but friends is pushing it. I’m still fucking angry with you.”

“It’s a start,” he says. “And maybe in the future, you’ll change your mind about dating me?”

“Remy…” I respond under my breath.

“Just think about it.”

“That’s just it, Remy. I don’t want to think about it. I just want to get through this…” I gesture to the meeting place. “Whatever this meeting is.”

Noémi appears distressed as we take our places on the sofas. I hear Dade's name being whispered around, and my heart tightens, anxiously awaiting Noémi's explanation.

“We finally figured out what ‘appened in ze Earthery,” Noémi announces, and I exhale in relief. It seems this meeting isn't about Dade after all.

“It was Dade, wasn't it?” someone accuses. “We all saw the alert. We know what a monster he is.”

A surge of panic courses through me as I glance toward the origin of the questions. It's a guy I've never had a conversation with. One I didn’t know before coming down to Lust. I don’t even remember his name.

“He’s not a monster,” I blurt out, causing everyone to turn my way. “He didn’t do anything.”

Noémi calmly shakes her head. “Dade ‘as nothing to do with this. Zat was a different matter entirely.”

The guy turns his eyes from me to Noémi. Anger radiates from his features. “Really? So what’s this then?”

He presses a button on his Hell Cell and holds it up so everyone can see. My heart almost combusts when I see what it is he’s showing everyone. It’s the video Remy showed me of Dade killing Michael and Lucia.

“He murdered two people in the last circle,” someone else shouts out.

It feels like everything is falling apart. “That's bullshit,” I shout, standing up. “It’s fake. Someone made that to frame him.”

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