“Yes, Chloe”—Skyla glares at the demon who’s found an unwanted home on the ceiling—“everybody knows how you feel about Logan Oliver. Now, get the hell off the ceiling. You’re causing ascene.”
Chloe falls face-first into the table below, and Skyla rolls her off and gets back to work without giving it anotherthought.
“I hate this old house,” Chloe grumbles as she scrambles to her feet and dusts herself off. “And what are you staring at?” she hisses my way. “Get that deconstruction crew you hired to build that Shangri-la-la land you gifted your ex-wife and fix up this haunted hovel or bulldoze the damn thing. It’s a wreck, and the décor leaves a hell of a lot to be desired.” She scowls at the table as if it personally offended her. And judging by that bloodied nose of hers, it did. “You’ll have to get Lex out here.” She snarls over at Skyla. “Just pray she can wield hermagic.”
“I don’t need Lexy Bakova or her magic arts.” Skyla lifts her gaze to me a moment and scoffs. It’s clear Skyla thinks there’s something going on between Lex and me. There’s not. There never will be, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that having her around didn’t kill the sting of silence in the air. Ezrina and Nev are mostly subterranean at thispoint.
Skyla taps her pencil in front of the resident stoner in order to garner his attention. “Ellis—why don’t you take Chloe to the restroom and help her cleanup?”
“I’m fine.” Chloe cradles her nose in her hand for a few seconds, and the mess disappears right along with the swelling. She struts over to Skyla and peers over her shoulder at the plans she’s working on. “What do we have here—more bullshit to sidestep Wesley?” She lets out a huge sigh as if sidestepping that idiot husband of hers were impossible. And it might be. For starters, Wesley Edinger is unfortunately noidiot.
“Ellis thinks we need bona fide employment for them all.” Skyla shakes her head at the thought. “But the unemployment rate on the island stands at thirty percent. I say they can work for Logan and Dr.Oliver.”
“You need to mix it up.” Ellis jabs his finger at the paper in front of Skyla. “You need a few entrepreneurs in the mix. I’ve got a handful of recruits willing to break their back at the weedfarm.”
“No reefer farmers.” I take a seat next to Skyla just as Giselle comes bubbling in withexcitement.
“This is so fantastic, Skyla!” She beams as she hugs Ellis from behind. “It’s like old home week. I never thought I’d see these people again—at least not until I bite the big one again. Speaking of which, can you put in a good word for me with your mother? I’d rather not land under a tire again. I was thinking of having a house fall on me this time. That’s terriblyromantic.”
“Giselle!” Skyla’s eyes expand with a flash of fire. Skyla has the most beautiful eyes known to man. If there were a color to describe them, it would be stardust. “Having a house fall on you is about as far away from romantic as you canget.”
“Oh,Skyla.” Giselle brushes her off with a flick of her wrist. “I saw it in a movie. It’s totally romantic. A cyclone will hit the island, and it’ll pick up all sorts of things, men in boats and cute little dogs—and Chloe, you can be the mean old crotchety woman on her bicycle!” Chloe growls over at her, and Giselle cowers behind Ellis a moment. “And finally, the wind will pick up the rattiest old house on the island—most likely this one—and it’ll fall right on top of me! Then some nice soul will come along and steal my shiny red slippers and have a grand adventure of herown!”
Ellis nods into this ludicrous theory. “G lovesThe Wizard of Oz. We watch it every night before we get to bed.” His mouth falls open as he catches himself, and I shake my head athim.
The urge to kick some Harrison ass sets in strong. “Get out of here, Ellis, before I throw youout.”
“Cool.” He jumps to his feet and stretches his arms to the ceiling. “Dudley wanted to see me about something anyway. I’ll go hang out where I’mwanted.”
“I’m not going with you!” Giselle is quick to protest as he heads for the door. “Darnell Woodley was just about to tell us what happened when a steam engine was coming his way and his shoe caught on thetrack!”
Chloe burps a short-lived laugh. “Spoiler alert! Hedies!”
“Chloe,” Giselle whines as the crowd swallows both Ellis andher.
“You are a killjoy,” Skyla muses, still keeping her eyes peeled to the map of resurrected humanity beforeher.
I wrap my hands over her shoulders and offer up an impromptu massage. “She’s akiller, Skyla,” I say as Chloe takes Ellis’ seat, and I fall in next to Skyla. “Chloe, why don’t you go ahead and play in Dudley’s supernatural sandbox, too? I’m sure there’s another dimension he’d be happy to shove you in.” That ring on Skyla’s finger catches my attention. Its deep blue stone set in that old-world filigree reminds me a lot of the protective hedge. Speaking of which, Skyla has the Eye of Refuge tucked safely around her neck. She had taken it off for a time, but I’m glad to see it where it rightfully belongs. But that ring—something about it—the way it catches the light. It seems more of a magical treasure, something far more superior than a simple piece of jewelry. I hate to say it, but it makes the protective hedge look like something out of a cheap coin machine. I run my finger over the peacock blue ring just to quell the urge to fondle it, and the stone lights up bright aslightning.
“Whoa.” Skyla holds her hand out. “Did you see that?” she asks Chloe without missing abeat.
I tap my knuckles in front of her. “Yes,Isaw that.” It frustrates me that she just put Chloe before me. I’m not sure what the hell is going on between the two of them, but I want answers, dammit. “Skyla”—I give a quick glance around—“this is Chloe Bishop you’ve befriended. She’s a fucking nut in the event you needreminding.”
Chloe offers up a swift kick to my shin from underneath the table. “A fucking nut that’s sittingrighthere.”
“See? She’s not afraid to admit it.” I shake my head pleadingly to Skyla as I latch onto her hand. “Come to your senses. I promise you, this will not endwell.”
“That’s because it won’t end.” She extracts her fingers from mine. “Chloe belongs to me. She’smine. What I choose to do with her ismybusiness. How many times do we need to go over this? Honestly, it’s gettingold.”
A moment of silence thumps by, and I cast a quick glance to Chloe to size up how much she might appreciate being touted as one of Skyla’s possessions, and oddly enough, she doesn’t seem fazed by this.Amusing.
“Skyla owns you, Chloe?” I tip my head to the livingdemon.
Skyla slaps her hand down over her notebook and tips her head back with a reserved level of boredom only Dudley seemed to have mastered until now. “That’s right, Logan.” Her gaze digs into mine as her budding annoyance with me shines right through. “Do you have a problem with this? Because if you do, I suggest you keep it to yourself. Neither Chloe nor I oweyouor anyone else an explanation of our true intentions.” She leans in with those eyes of hers glowing like ice. “Do you hear me, Logan Oliver?” Pure wrath exudes from her—spelling out the fact it’s none of my damnbusiness.
Like a reflex, my own hand slams over the table just a hair away from hers. “Itismy damn business, Skyla.Youare my damn business. Everything concerningyouconcernsme.” Our eyes hook into one another, and I can feel her anger, her ripe discontent roaring like an invisible fire between us. For a moment, it feels as if she might pull a knife to my throat. “So, pardon me if I don’t apologize for scrutinizing this false friendship the two of you are touting. Which by the way, not a soul alive or dead is buying. The only two lost in this delusion would be her and you—and sadly, I’m afraid it’s just reallyyou.”
Her pretty pink lips part as her anger gives way to hurt. But deep in her eyes, that rage she has for me still simmers. I don’t need for her to outline the reasons why. I get it. I betrayed her by keeping Gage’s secrets safe. She thinks I chose Gage over her, and in a sad reality I think I did, too. Protecting her is how I love her. Shielding her from the truth is ironically how I’ve disrespected her most. It’s how Skyla believes I may have even hatedher.
