Chapter 88

Persephone

I was trying to remain positive, but it wasn’t easy. I’d been looking forward to having lunch with Hades. Though I understood why he’d had to cancel, I still missed him. I was also horny, and my vibrator wasn’t doing a good job of keeping me sated. I needed Hades. Only one more day until I could see him. I wondered how long I’d be able to resist the temptation to rip his clothes off.

I’d changed into leggings and a sweatshirt, preparing for a night of takeout and television. When I heard the knock at my front door, I went to answer it.

“Who is it?” I asked through the door. My security screen was broken, so I couldn’t see out onto my front step. While I lived in a secure building, it was better to be safe than sorry.

“I’ve got your food order.” I immediately recognized the voice of my regular food delivery guy, proving I’d ordered far too much takeout since I’d moved to the witch community.

He greeted me with a smile when I opened the door. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Did you go on vacation?”

“Not exactly,” I replied. “I’ve been in Hell.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he replied. “Hopefully, it gets better for you soon.”

He hurried off before I could clarify what I meant. I’d just set my food on the table when there was another knock on the door. It was a busy night.

“Yes?” I called out once I reached the door.

“I’m from building maintenance,” the man on the other side of the door replied. “A notice was left on your door earlier today to let you know I need to check some of the heating vents.”

I’d seen the notice on my door and that of a few of my neighbors when I’d arrived home, so I let the warlock in. He was dressed in black overalls and a baseball cap. His dull brown eyes looked almost lifeless. I was tempted to ask him to leave before I caught myself. There was definitely something disturbing about him, but I’d seen him handling maintenance issues around the building since I’d moved in. We’d never spoken, and this was the first time I’d been close enough to see his disturbing eyes. Shaking off my worries, I forced a smile. “Do you need anything from me? If not, I’m going to eat my dinner while you work.”

“I need you to stay with me since the vents are in your bedroom,” he replied. “The last maintenance guy was accused of stealing from one of the tenants. Management wants to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

“That makes sense,” I replied.

“This shouldn’t take too long,” he assured me. “I just need to change the filter and check a few things.”

“Why are they having them checked?” I asked. “I assumed there was some sort of problem.”

“We had an unexpected problem with one apartment, so we want to get them all checked. It’s too cold to be without heat,” he explained as he set the ladder down under the grate that opened to the filters. “I already checked the unit outside and everything looks good.”

He continued talking as he changed the filter and banged around in the vents. I jumped when I heard a door slam. It sounded like my front door.

I turned toward the bedroom door. “Is it just me, or did that sound like my front door?

The warlock hurried down the ladder and put a hand on my arm to stop me. “It probably came from the apartment next door, but you should let me check it out to be on the safe side.”

“Do you think someone broke in?” I whispered.

He smiled and shook his head. With his eyes still looking dead, the smile was unnerving. “This is a very secure building. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

I nodded. “I’ll stay with you. I’m not nearly as helpless as I look. If someone broke in, I can help you deal with them.”

“You don’t need to do that,” he argued quietly. “I’ll be right back.”

I blew out a frustrated breath and headed toward the bedroom door. I didn’t like being treated like I was helpless. I crept out of the bedroom and found the front of my apartment empty.

“See?” he said with a smile. “Nothing to worry about.”

“I never noticed how thin these walls are before now,” I remarked. “Do you need to look at anything else?”

He shook his head as he grabbed his ladder and the old filter. “I’ll get out of your hair so you can eat.”

After seeing him to the door, I returned to my dinner.

“This is not the best rice bowl I’ve ever had,” I muttered. The sauce had a strange, bitter flavor. Thankfully, my groceries were arriving later that evening so I wouldn’t need to order more takeout.

Looking around, I realized that I was going to miss my bright and cozy apartment. I’d been excited about getting approved to live in the witch building. “I’m so tired.” I yawned before continuing. “I need to go to bed.”

When I turned, I nearly fell to the ground.

“Oh,” I uttered, feeling dizzy and breathless. “What’s wrong with me?”

I leaned against the wall for support, wondering if it was my dinner. My phone was still in the kitchen, and I was already in the living room, so I decided to leave it there.

Using the wall for support, I slowly moved toward my bedroom. Once in my room, I collapsed onto my bed. There was a lot to get done. I had two emails to respond to from people interested in taking over my lease, and I needed to finish submitting my application for my move to the Council of Witches. Everything would have to wait. I was too exhausted to do anything.