Gypsy Moon (All The Pretty Monsters #4)(82)

A little bit of relief fills me with her hidden answers to my asked and unasked questions.

“You’re damn right it’s a bloody record. It shouldn’t be possible, and it breaks all the rules,” Vance snaps, the three of them moving in closer to Arion and me.

“If you can all promise not to touch my daughter anymore, I’ll share what I know, and trust me, you’ll want to know what I know,” she baits them.

Arion snorts, Damien rolls his eyes, and Vance smiles tightly, as Emit makes no expression at all, eyes on my side that he can’t even see. It’s fine now. Mostly.

Arion’s hand is on the side that isn’t hurt, but that side feels tightly gripped and will also be bruised if he decides to throw me over his shoulder with it.

“How about they not touch me in front of you?” I suggest in compromise, earning another incensed look from my mother.

It’s weird to call her that when this version of her barely looks my age. And she’s prettier than she was before. Anna really will miss all the cruel jokes she could be making right now.

Mom’s going to make me argue with her as punishment. I really hate the arguing-talks we do.

Leashing all my emotions so I don’t accidentally set off the room, I take a fortifying breath, and Mom mimics the action.

She won’t ever let me be more badass than her, so she’s in twice as much control as I am right now.

“Can the four of you agree to this and know that it’s only a temporary bandage on an upcoming fallout?” Mom asks in a way that makes me want to palm my face.

I only thought it was complex up to now. I strongly underestimated just how bad this would be when she got back and found me quite literally sleeping with the enemy I didn’t know we had.

Her eyes cut to Emit.

“We’ll discuss the bruise on her at a later date as—”

“Don’t make him feel guiltier than he already does,” I cut in, causing my mother to release a humorless laugh.

“My poor dear. Did I leave you this vulnerable? You’re not this na?ve, Violet,” she snaps.

“Stow. It,” I remind her. “Or we’ll start this conversation at the beginning. Not the end.”

Her jaw grinds, but I’m so not having this conversation with them present and she knows it. I do have boundaries.

“You’ve already told them too much about you. What were you thinking?” she predictably prattles on, already starting the arguing-talk.

“I was thinking they were monsters and I’m a monster, and Anna suggested we put our monster parts together.”

I think Emit swallows a bug or something, given the sound he makes from behind me. Mom glares at me.

“Who the bloody fucking hell is Anna?” she gripes. “Why do you keep talking to her and about her today?”

“Ha! You eavesdropped on me and knew I was alone when Arion went to make a call. Why didn’t you come out then?” I say as I point a finger at her, practically dancing like I’m excited I caught her. “That was private between me and a dead ghost you killed with that spirit thingy you put on me without my permission!”

Vance runs a frustrated hand through his hair, muttering something about not understanding what’s going on right now.

Damien just shoots me a disbelieving look, like he can’t believe I’m actually yelling. Mom’s shoulders sag in relief that I’m giving her this weird shit she needs when there’s hard stuff to talk about.

“You were talking to someone, Violet. I assumed you were either out of your mind or speaking in metaphors I didn’t understand. Possibly even on the phone. I’m not up to my full strength just this moment, so my hearing has been affected. The pipes interfered with some of the specifics, and I didn’t know what to say to your babbling. I also didn’t want to risk the vampire spotting me too soon.”

She heaves in air after finishing all that on just one breath, like she’s been holding it in and waiting to use it.

“And I didn’t know how long he’d be gone and didn’t want to have to act on my feet. Plus, I assumed they’d be along shortly,” she snaps, gesturing toward the guys.

“Monstar quad, Violet? Fucking really?” she adds like she’s embarrassed by me.

Ah, so she heard that too. I grin on that one. The less emotional horror on her face is priceless.

They all step back from us, as Mom tosses Vance a phone. “Everything I have so far is on there. Leave us be. We’re going to be a while,” she says to them.

Vance stares down at the phone after catching it, and then his eyes bounce back up at us.

“We should go somewhere less public for these sorts of conversations,” Vance finally says, and Mom gets that look in her eyes that means she can’t believe someone thought of something obvious that she missed.

That’s why the guys have been so quiet.

“Violet can ride with me,” Mom says tightly. “The four of you can meet us at this location. It’s neutral,” she assures them, handing them a card she pulls from her pocket. “And only because we have a common problem on the loose after a thousand years of getting really pissed off, from what I’ve heard.”

“We’ve spent the last several hours chasing. We’d like a rest, so we’ll ride with you,” Damien chirps, as Arion’s hand finally slips off me completely, following through with the no-touching.