Ruthless Creatures (Queens & Monsters, #1)(74)

I sit on the bed where he left me, listening to his footsteps recede through the house. The front door opens and closes, and he’s gone.

Knowing a future of little heartbreaks like this one awaits me, I struggle not to let the tears fall. Then I take a deep breath and throw the covers off, stand and straighten my shoulders, and head to the shower to start my day.

There’s no use wallowing in misery. It serves no purpose and changes nothing in the end.

If anyone knows that well, it’s me.





I do all the laundry. I clean the house from top to bottom. I take a brisk walk around the block. By the time five o’clock rolls around, I’m feeling better, certain it won’t be long before Kage comes back and this sour little knot in my stomach can unwind.

When my cell rings, I’m in the kitchen, pouring myself a glass of wine. I grab the phone from where it’s charging on the countertop. When I see the number on the readout, I’m overjoyed.

“Sloane! You’re alive!”

She laughs. “Of course I’m alive, ding-a-ling. Just because we haven’t talked in ten days doesn’t mean I’m lying in a ditch somewhere.”

“How was I supposed to know that? You didn’t call me to wish me a happy New Year. Or Christmas.”

She laughs again. “Hello, kettle, meet the pot. You didn’t call me, either.”

Grinning, I say, “I was kinda busy.”

“Oh, really? Do tell. Has your vadge fallen out yet from all the pounding it’s been taking?”

“You first. How’s Stavros? Where are you now? Africa? Belize?”

I hear the smile in her voice when she answers. “Closer. Come to the front door.”

I whirl around and hustle through the house, throwing open the front door to find her standing on my porch with her phone to her ear, grinning at me.

Wearing a dazzling hot-pink ski outfit complete with white fur-lined boots and a matching furry white hat, she looks like she just returned from winning a gold medal in the Winter Olympics.

We throw our arms around each other and start laughing.

“I missed you!”

Still laughing, she pulls away. “I know. It’s terrible without me around. But I’m sure you must’ve been keeping yourself busy with your stud.” She glances behind me, looking into the house through the open door.

My face falls. “He left this morning.”

She says drily, “Not without marking his territory first, I see.”

Reaching up to touch the tender spot on my neck she’s looking at, I blush. “He, um, sometimes gets a little carried away.”

She beams at me. “Of course he does. You’re delish. Now crack open the wine, because we’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

“Great minds think alike. I’ve already got the bottle open.”

We go inside. When we get to the kitchen, I grab another glass and the bottle from the counter, and we sit at the table. Mojo wanders in from the living room and throws himself at Sloane’s feet. Within seconds, he’s snoring.

Smiling down at him, she gently nudges him with her boot. “Still a ball of fire, I see.”

Pouring her wine, I chuckle. “I’ve been screaming to wake the dead for over a week straight, and it hasn’t budged him. You’d think he was brought up in a haunted house. No matter how much groaning and wall shaking goes on, this dog sleeps like a baby.”

Sloane lifts her glass to me. “Here’s to getting stuffed with premium sausage.”

“You’re such a hopeless romantic.”

We smile at each other and drink.

When we set our glasses down, Sloane says, “So. You’re in love.”

“Don’t make it sound like I’ve got cancer. And how do you know, anyway?”

“It’s written all over your face, Juliet. Mafia Romeo has sexed you on every horizontal surface in the house, and now you’re glowing with happiness.”

My face flushes with pleasure, remembering exactly how well I’ve been “sexed.” And not only on the horizontal surfaces.

“What about you? Are you in love with Stavros?”

She almost spits her mouthful of wine out through her nostrils. “Girl, seriously? Who do you think you’re talking to here? I was bored out of my mind after three days at sea with him. I’ve never met a man who worries so much. It was like living with my grandmother. Pacing and hand-wringing are his two favorite things. Thank god they had to go back to New York for the meeting, or I’d have jumped overboard.”

My heart skips a beat. “New York? Meeting?”

She’s surprised. “Kage didn’t tell you?”

“I didn’t ask.”

“I didn’t, either.”

“How do you know, then?”

“One of my ninja skills is eavesdropping. Plus, after a few days, Stavros’s crew forgot I was around. Or they assumed I was okay because I was with him. Either way, I got to overhear a lot of stuff I probably shouldn’t have.”

My heart starts to pound. I lean closer to her, gripping my wineglass so hard, I’m sure it will shatter. “Like what?”

“Like…there’s a war brewing.”

My stomach drops. “Oh god. War’s not good.”