Wrath burned through me as she idly sucked on one of her front teeth. She’d been a child. And her father had put her in that danger.
Mere sighed, shoving her hands on her hips. “It was a warning. I guess he felt bad for a while, because he left me alone. But he’d always been a drunk and a gambler, and he started borrowing from the local lenders here in Durham. The interest…it was bad. Real bad. When I was fourteen, he asked me to do one favor. He promised it would just be the one time, and then his debts would be paid off. He’d get help for his addiction.”
Her lower lip trembled, and my heart stuttered in my chest. I would give almost anything to take this woman’s pain away.
“What did he ask you to do?”
“I had to shut down a group of radios and phones. For three minutes. When I asked why, he just told me it was so we could have our new start.”
Dread unfurled in my stomach, and I couldn’t help but get to my feet. I strode over to her and wiped away the tear rolling down her cheek. She touched her cheek and seemed surprised it was wet.
“I’d assumed it was a gang. Some kind of warfare. It wasn’t. I shut down all communications for a police raid. Seven cops died. And it was all my fault.”
“You know that’s not true. You were a kid.”
She ignored that. “I swore I’d never do anything for him again. Swore I’d never use my power. Just the thought of using it sickened me. Of course, my father borrowed more money. The local gangs broke his finger. Then his arm. I refused to help. He threatened to kick me out, and I packed my bags. Then he went traveling for a while and left me to run the bar. I guess he was in hiding. I was…good at it. I enjoyed it. Even though I was young, I understood how the bar worked. I began using my power occasionally if the payment system went down or the security cameras had a problem.”
I fisted my hands. She’d still been a teenager when her father had left her to deal with his debts. He left her alone to deal with the gangs who wanted their money. He was lucky they hadn’t killed his daughter in retribution. I wanted to rip his fucking heart out.
“My father was gone for five years. I managed to make the minimum payments on his debt while he was gone, and by the time he returned, I was twenty-two.”
“I’m guessing you weren’t expecting that.”
She shook her head. “He’d changed. He was somehow even worse than he’d ever been. He told me that he’d seen the world, learned more about what was out there, and we were perfectly positioned to take advantage of it. I had no idea what he was talking about. And then I hacked his email.
“He was running an auction. For me. He was going to sell me, so someone could use my powers to do all kinds of illegal things with them. I lost control. You saw what happened.”
I had seen it. Meredith had killed him.
“He deserved to die.”
She peered up at me, and I wanted to shake her for the uncertainty in her eyes. “He was dragging you toward the door. About to shove you into a car. I’m guessing he was about to deliver you to the buyers.”
She nodded. I’d seen the rest too. Her father had his gun tucked into the back of his pants. He’d smacked her across the face, dazing her so he could carry her into the car and deliver her to the buyer. She’d grabbed the gun when he’d attempted to throw her over his shoulder, shooting him in the lower back.
She’d hit something vital, and he’d bled out, cursing her the whole time.
I wished I’d known her then. Wished more than anything that I could go back in time and befriend her. Be there for her and protect her from the monster who was supposed to keep her safe.
I had one more question. “Where did you bury him?”
Mere’s face went stark white, and I cursed myself. She wasn’t a demon. Wasn’t used to seeing death. Killing her father had haunted her all these years.
“Why?” she managed to get out.
“Well, baby, as your bodyguard, it’s my job to know where your bodies are buried.”
She stared at me as if I’d grown another head. “There’s no ‘plural’ here. It’s just the one body. And…it’s safe.”
“Who else knows?”
She clamped her mouth shut, and I gave her a stern look. “This is important. I need to know everything there is to know about this situation.”
“Orin.”
I raised one eyebrow. “The bartender?”
She gave a stiff nod, and I scowled. Just how close was she to this bartender?
