Page 96 of Hell on Wheels
“Hey,” she says softly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you face something you didn’t want to. I’m angry at our parents for fucking with both of us and maybe I was too… harsh.”
“No, the problem is… I haven’t been harsh enough, Dragonfly. I think they would have ditched me based on that thought process if they could have found a suitable heir. It’s probably why they’ve been ice cold my entire life. It’s just a brick to the face to admit, you know?”
“Yeah, I know. Reb’s admission tonight isn’t great for me, either.” Her gaze falls and she sighs. “I always thought at least he was getting love, then one of us was okay. But I was mistaken, obviously.”
“I have love!”
Reb’s protest makes me grin a bit and Rogue looks back at him again. “You do, huh?”
“Yes. My beautiful step-sister loves me and that’s enough forever. She’s perfect and I’ve loved her my whole life, but not like a sister, which is why I kept a big, big secret.”
Rogue bursts into giggles at the childishly hushed tone Rebel uses in his drunken stupor. “Yes, Reb. I’ve always cared about you and I will not leave you.”
“Good. Because you aremo dhochas?1,” he says with a sappy grin, “and no one will ever take you away from me and our family. They are myteaghlach.?2”
I look at our girl, waiting for her to explain. She smiles more softly than I think I’ve ever seen before as she says, “He says I’m his fated and you guys are his family.”
That’s pretty sweet and Reb’s going to be pissed when he finds out he said it—I can’t wait.
Scars
The sound of Reb’s snoring woke me up enough times that I started pinching his nose shut until he choked and woke up. I’d feel bad, but Archie and Javier thought it was hysterical. Angelo almost set him on fire once and Damon buried himself under the sheets, burrowing in like he was trying to get to Hell itself from their depths.
Note to self: Rebel sleeps in his own fucking room when he gets trashed.
Yawning, I wiggle my ass out of the pile of dudes to head for the bathroom. I need to clean up a bit before they wake up and decide they want something to eat before breakfast. I grin a little as they keep snoozing, grabbing my phone off the nightstand as I go. Swiping my screen open, I frown. There’s an email from the Council about a group of supes coming in from the Southern enclave area. It says one is on ‘furlough’ with monitoring, and the other five are royals and supe legacies. All the Guardians in the area are to be on high alert for chatter about assassins and snatch teams.
“That’sjustwhat we needed right now,” I mutter to myself. “A fucking felon with a bunch of high-profile targets rolling into town for fuck knows what at Samhain time, with an Apalachin going on. What dumbass thought this was a good plan?”
Probably a man, that’s who. They never think of things in three-dimensions and it fucks shit up constantly. Sighing as I set the damn thing on the counter, I turn the shower on first, then use the restroom. Once the stall steams up, I hop in and groan happily as the hot water coasts over me. Taking this shower by myself means I get to do all my ‘maintenance’ without someone slobbering all over me while I try to hop on one leg to shave certain areas.
Thank fuck. I need a touch-up and as much as I love sex; I want to feel sexy while doing it.
“And now we feel all deliciously smooth and moisturized,” I say to the mirror as I finish my skin care. Smiling with fresh breath,I put my hands under my wet hair, using magic to blow hot air through it until it dries. Tying off fat twin braids on either side of my face, I pick up my phone to check what’s come in since I started.
Damn. More messages about these damn visitors. Reb’s going to shit a brick.
Wrapped in my robe, I step into my room to find everyonebutmy stepbrother staring at me as they lounge on the bed in sexy poses. “Oh, no. No fun for you. I’m clean and fresh for the day, boys.”
Archie pouts, stacking his hands behind his head and making his muscles ripple deliciously. “Man, I hate when Reb keeps us up with his fucking deviated septum. He’s getting an ass kicking when he finally rouses.”
Damon groans, nodding against his thigh. “No shit. He’sneverallowed in the pile after he drinks that much again. Today’s meetings with Luca are going to be a bitch when we’re exhausted.”
“Luckily, Javi is going to make some serious energy drinks with the breakfast you’re cooking, bro,” Angelo yawns. “Then we’ll get our shit together and go kiss the ring.”
I frown. “Should I be going to this?”
“No,” Damon says adamantly. “Definitely not. This is whatever Luca’s doing to get ready for the meeting, so until you’re farther into the family, you won’t need to attend. But you need to nurse Rebel back to consciousness.”
“And hang with me until the delivery from Guillermo arrives. It’s gorgeous, so we can lounge by the pool.” Archie bobs his brows and I roll my eyes.
That’s not all he wants, but I’m not arguing that right now.
“We can do that. I need to dig into these Council emails I—and probably Rebel—got this morning. Some pack of freaks from the Southern enclave are coming in within the next few days and the shit is hinky.” I pull up the message, showing it to Angelo. “Feels weird that they’re coming here near the holidayandthe big meeting, right?”
My demon twins look at one another, then back at me in their eerie twin thing, saying, “Very sus. We’ll poke around.”
“I have no idea how you guys do that and I don’t want to know,” I grumble to myself. “But thank you. I’ll ask around the Guardian network about the Southern players and this convicted murderess, too. Reb and I stay about as distant as we can until our charge emerges, so we’re not in on a lot of the Society gossip.”