Iniquitous (The Marked #3)(55)

Dominic’s back straightened as Trace’s warning sank in. “Well that’s quite an unfortunate turn of events.”

“Only for you,” said Trace. “The only reason you’re still standing right now is because I promised Jemma I’d let her try this her way. But don’t get comfortable,” he said, taking another step to Dominic. “You’re on borrowed time.”

“And I thank you for it, love.” Dominic bowed his head to me as he flashed one of his signature smirks.

My gaze got caught on his mouth as a searing image of his fangs breaking through my skin flashed through my mind.

Stupid brain. Stupid bloodbonded brain!

His little smirk turned into a full, seductive grin. “A penny for your thoughts, love?” he asked slyly as though he knew exactly were my mind had gone.

“You’re so going to burn in Hell for this.” I glowered at him before blowing past him on the way to the den.

Honestly, there was no point going back and forth about it with him. It was done, solidified in blood, and stomping my feet about it would only get him all riled up. And I didn’t need Dominic all riled up.

My focus would be better much spent fixing the problem and not crying about it because the sooner we found those witches, the sooner I’d get my freewill and emotions back. And that’s exactly what I intended to do.

“Tell me you have something on the sisters,” I said as I plopped down on the red sofa, anxious to get this thing started. My hands were getting clammy again and I really wasn’t looking for a sweaty repeat of last night.

“As always, love, your wish is my command,” said Dominic as he took the chair across from me. He was enjoying this way too much. “I put the word out for us and made a few calls last night. It just so happens that they’re doing a job less than two hours away from here. If we leave now—”

Trace scoffed again.

“Problem, Romeo?”

“Yeah. Your whole shtick sounds a little too convenient.” Suspicion darkened his Adonis features.

“I didn’t say they agreed to help us. Only that I knew their whereabouts. What comes after that is up in the air.”

Trace didn’t answer, but I could see he still didn’t trust him.

I, on the other hand, wasn’t willing to let go of what little hope we had. “It’s a start, Trace, and right now it’s the only thing we got.” I turned back to Dominic. “When do we leave?”

“As soon as you’d like, angel. I take it Romeo will be joining us this time around?”

“What do you think, dead boy?” Trace clenched his jaw, his dimples igniting on both sides as the muscles flexed.

Before Dominic could respond to him, our attention turned to the sound of the front door opening. My gaze snapped to Dominic to see if he was expecting someone, but his face gave no inclination of it.

“Shh!” I hushed them even though neither one of them were talking. My heart was pounding so fast and hard in my ears, I could barely hear my own thoughts. “It’s a Rev.”

I had no idea why I said that or what made me think it was a Revenant, but I did.

I felt it.

After a few brisk footsteps from the hallway, Gabriel Huntington appeared in the doorway, confirming I wasn’t batshit crazy. He was wearing dark jeans and a dark burgundy t-shirt topped off with his black leather jacket and absolutely no hint of a smile. His eyes immediately fell on me and remained there until Dominic finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

“Nice of you to join us, brother.” He sank back in his seat and crossed his legs, gearing himself up to ruffle Gabriel’s feathers as usual. “I see you’re taking full advantage of that pesky day-walking conundrum.”

Gabriel didn’t respond. He just continued staring at me like a deer caught in the headlights. There were so many emotions swirling in his eyes, it was making me dizzy trying to figure them all out.

“Wait. Day-walking?” I was sure I heard that wrong. But then, how did Gabriel just stroll into here in the middle of the day without self-combusting?

Holy shit on a stick.

There had to be another explanation…some kind of Bat Mobile and UV protection gear. Okay, so I had no idea what I was talking about.

“It appears that spell did a lot more than just color the sky, love,” said Dominic not even bothering to hide the fact that he was reveling in this unexpected consequence. And by the looks on everyone’s faces, that only made one of us.

“I was worried sick about you,” said Gabriel. His eyes hadn’t strayed even an inch from mine. There was no avoiding the anchor of disappointment weighing them down.

I stood up from the couch, fiddling with my fingers as I tried to find the right words to explain why he wasn’t one of the very first calls I made as soon as I got back. I came up empty.

“I’m an ass.” I shrugged my shoulder as a pile of lame excuses came bubbling out of my mouth. “It was late when we got back, and I was so tired from everything that happened, and—”

“I thought you were dead.” He took a step into the room, driving his point right into my heart.

“Nope. Not dead. You know me, nine lives and all,” I offered in a joking manner, but his serious expression didn’t falter. I realized I wasn’t going to be able to joke my way out of this. He was worried and hurt and I owed him a galactic-sized apology. “I’m sorry, Gabriel. I meant to call you—I should have called.”