“You’re still a friend, Emit. We’re cool,” I assure him, returning my attention to the wall.

His hair falls over my shoulder, and I stiffen when he shoves his nose against my neck and inhales me.

“Why is it your scent continues to get weaker and weaker? I can’t smell Portocale in your blood anymore, Violet.”

A very unbidden tremble runs through me, because just that touch is enough to remind me how good it feels to be owned by Emit when he’s in barbarian mode.

“I’m so jealous right now. You look so horny,” Anna chimes in, causing Emit’s smile to form against my neck.

I need salt. Also, I need a more supportive best friend. However, the living seem to be crazier than the dead, most days.

Emit’s hands come down around me, gripping the arms of the chair, as he surrounds me and steals all my space. His lips brush my neck as he speaks.

“Why does it feel like you’re flirting with me today?” I ask on a shaky breath instead of using the composure I meant to have while asking that question.

“I was waiting until Idun was sorted before making my move, so that I could dedicate all my attention to you. But you’re too impatient for that, and clearly you’re not going to bend here.”

He runs his finger all the way down my arm, his gaze following its path that elicits small chills in the wake of his calloused touch.

His lips brush my ear as he adds, “I’ll pick you up at five.”

He stands abruptly and turns to walk out. I hold my breath, mostly because I’m afraid I’ll melt like goo if I exhale right now.

As soon as the door shuts, Anna whispers, “I want to tell you that you’re underestimating her. But I watched you get hit by that Van Helsing flogger two hundred times, and you stood back up.”

“She could kick my ass in any fight,” I assure her, remembering that last hit she delivered. “But it’s tiring to keep breaking things that can’t stay broken. She’ll get bored with the same sessions over and over.”

“What happens when she wants another Simpleton to tear apart and study like a science project? She’s focused on her ex-quad for now, but eventually she’ll want to play with all the new toys she can use in her fucked up experiments,” she says very seriously.

I smile a little. “Do you really think my mother will ever let that happen?”

“Your mother is a horrible person, according to most everyone,” Anna primly adds. “I’m not fond of her either.”

“You stood in a room full of alphas who saw you that close to all those Portocales, and you didn’t turn to salt. Stop being so brazen.”

“Stop making this about me,” she counters.

“Stop trying to make Idun my problem.”

“You took a beating from the bitch feared by all and smiled about it. Who do you think is drawing more attention?” she goads.

I cut my eyes to her. “Do you really think they’ll overestimate what I’m capable of?”

She hesitates, and I see her sigh in defeat.

“Oh, good grief. Let them see you stake a vampire one time, and they’ll know for sure you’re not much to watch,” Anna groans with a shudder. “It’s so sad. I wish I could unsee it.”

I cut my tired eyes to her. “I hate you so hard.”

She starts shaking her ass in her inappropriate underwear as she sashays through a wall.

“I hate you harder,” she says from the other side. Then she squeals like she’s excited. “Oh! Someone left the porn channel on in here! Score!”

A chainsaw revs just before someone screams, as the volume increases, and I groan. No doubt someone is getting sawed to pieces right now.

“If I had real fingers and a vagina, I could totally masturbate right now!” she adds in excitement.

“Crazy fucking ghost,” I mumble to myself while massaging my temples.

Walking out to go find her, I pause, because I spot Jerome at the end of the stairs, leaning against the wall as he grins up at me.

“When did you get here?” I ask as I hurry down the stairs toward him.

“Just a minute ago. Shera said you had some free time, and I thought we’d get some coffee. Tom let me in, which is weird, since I thought this was going to be a hotel. Usually there’s easy public access.”

Idun’s being punished, so she’s not around, from what I gather…

The timing’s good enough, and then I can usher him out of town before he sees anything.

Dad is smiling as he walks by the stairs and toward the back, a little more pep in his step than usual.

“Nice to see you again, Tom,” Jerome calls out.

“Happy to see you two talking,” Dad says back, which just causes me to roll my eyes, because my father is delusional.

Jerome needs to be anywhere but Shadow Hills…or any other town full of immortals. Dad is a little desensitized to the threat, because he thinks his ex-wife and daughter are the most brutal monsters the world has to offer. He’s overconfident.

I don’t have it in me to explain the truth. Yet.

“Sure,” I say, smiling tightly, hoping he’s just passing through. “I’m actually about to acquire some new land, and I was wondering how hard it would be to put in some security measures. You have good timing.”