Gypsy Freak (All The Pretty Monsters #2)(45)

“Her tree isn’t even in the right family of Portocale gypsies, but she can thread, so maybe her tree is wrong,” Damien says, tapping his chin.

“It is wrong,” comes Emit’s winded response as he walks toward us, completely naked. “Marta wasn’t even in the right line of Portocale gypsies, but you could smell the Portocale blood in her veins. It can’t be faked. Not to us. So the tree is wrong.”

The light flicks on, and I dart away. Vance rolls into the shadows. Damien vanishes into an illusion.

Emit turns to run, but a soft, feminine voice calls down, “Emit?”

He tenses, and I swear I hear Damien muffle some sort of choked sound when Emit nervously clears his throat, shuffling from foot to foot for a moment.

“Why are you naked in my yard?” Violet hisses, almost as though she’s just realized that.

“I was running,” he says without missing a beat.

“Naked?”

He shrugs as he turns to face her. “Wolf.”

She nods as though she understands that context completely, even though she sleepily rubs her eyes. “I heard voices, so I guess that means Damien is here as well.”

Damien is smiling up at her from just under the window when he turns visible.

“We’re not alone,” the bugger blabs.

She darts a wary look around, hesitating on Emit and blinking, and then looks around again.

Vance doesn’t come out of hiding, and neither do I.

I do smile when she rolls her eyes and looks back down at Damien. “Come up. I need to talk to you, since I’m apparently not getting any sleep.”

“All of us?” Emit asks, and Violet holds up her hands, nervously shaking her head.

“Just Damien.”

With that, she shuts the window and closes the curtains.

I stand slowly, as Damien grins like he’s winning at life, shooting a look at Vance that has the Van Helsing scowling.

“Guess you should have called her while you had your chance,” Damien quips to Vance as he walks by.

Vance just releases a frustrated breath. “You’re nothing but a fucking hypocrite if you do anything,” Vance calls.

“We’re all a bunch of fucking hypocrites,” Damien carelessly replies.

“Get rid of the male ghost,” I call to his back. “She’s a vulnerable little thing who’s too easily swayed.”

He doesn’t take me seriously as he walks inside.

“All this over a fucking ghost?” Emit asks on an agitated breath.

“Damn girl sees Emit naked in her yard and barely even bats an eye, has us all losing our minds over a damn male ghost, and the pervert watching her sleep gets invited into her room, while I hide on the bloody ground,” Vance mutters, slamming his door when he gets inside his car.

I just sit back, watching it all unfold, as if I’d put the pieces into play myself.

Emit’s eyes catch mine a few seconds before he shifts, and fur bursts forth before he even hits the ground. I roll my eyes behind closed lids when he throws snow in my face during his launch like it isn’t intentional.

My eyes flick to the window, and I simply watch Damien’s shadow pass by. I genuinely thought he’d be the hardest to lure. Not Emit.

I also thought Damien would be the hardest to sell, since I expected him to constantly let her forget him.

I turn and start walking through the snow that has stopped dropping in heaps in the past few hours.

Personally, I wouldn’t care if I had to move through sludge, so long as I can move. Violet is going to ensure they never put me underground again, so long as eternity forces me to remain a part of this world.





Chapter 18





VIOLET


Dad finishes packing up all his tools, and I smile tightly, feeling the greedy urge to ask him to stick around another four hours until midnight.

Since midnight is my birthday and all.

Idly, I notice Ian, one of Emit’s betas—as Damien has informed me—when he glances my way dismissively and walks into the rivaling gypsy store that just set up last week.

Jerks.

They charge a lot less than I do too, and have their doors already open to the public one week sooner than I do. Worst of all…they’re posers making more money off their fake stuff than I’m currently making on the real deal.

“Just when you settle into a rhythm and get the store almost open, a chain store comes into town,” Dad says on a sympathetic sigh.

“Well, thanks for helping me get all the product on the shelves. I may not ever have to restock it,” I tell him, smiling as I shrug a shoulder.

I don’t mention the big clients I doubt I’ll lose, since their orders have gotten slightly larger with the return of Arion, whom I’ve not seen since the vampire party I think he sort of kicked me out of.

Or maybe I’ve spent too much time overthinking everything, including them randomly showing up at my house, and then all disappearing again, aside from Damien, who pops in and possibly watches me for hours before I even realize he’s here.

I’m hyper aware of my surroundings when I need privacy.

“Happy birthday, kid,” Dad says a little awkwardly, dipping his head toward me in a cordial sort of way.

I nod back, like it’s the sort of farewell one gives the father they might not see for another eight or so months.