“I’m leaving,” Ellison declares.
“You’re not leaving alone,” I say.
“I’m fine. I’m just going to my mother’s. I will be going alone.”
And off he goes.
“Are you going to stalk him?” Landon asks.
“I’m very much going to stalk him. But I need a car and my ferret,” I say as I hold my hand out.
Wyatt comes over and deposits the ferret in my hand, looking oddly glad to get rid of her, and Landon deposits some keys in my other hand.
“Take Valerie’s car. She doesn’t mind. She actually likes it when you take it without asking,” Landon says.
“Landon… please… heeeelp,” Brandon calls, which Landon continues to ignore.
“Where the fuck…” Valerie pats her pockets. “You little shit!”
“Thank you for your sacrifice,” I tell her.
“I’m not… I need that car!”
I turn invisible but the only problem is I can’t turn Pocket Lint the Third, Esquire invisible, so she floats beside me while I run for Valerie’s vehicle with the sound of Brandon’s pleas trailing after me.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ELLISON
I park outside my mother’s mansion and sit in the car for an uncomfortably long time. I’d rather go back into the mall and save five more rounds of hostages than get out and go inside. I would love to send one of my illusions in to deal with her but if she found out, I know I’d never escape her wrath.
I beat my head against the steering wheel a few times and consider telling her that I’m still too wounded to go inside. I do ache a bit after my mall experience but it’s nothing too severe. Since I’m part of Superheroes United, I have access to a super who can promote healing at a faster rate. I should be grateful for that, but at this moment, I kind of wish I could pretend to be too hurt and go home.
“Fuck.”
I smack my head against the steering wheel again before looking up and jumping as I realize my mother’s assistant is standing outside my car. She looks like she just got done sucking on two lemons, which has to be why my mother hired her.
Grudgingly, I exit the vehicle.
“Do you think Beatrice has all day to wait for you?” she scolds.
“She messaged me sixteen minutes ago. It takes ten minutes to drive here.”
Patty tsks and hurries off as I start after her. I have no interest in going inside. I trail behind and make it about halfway there before I hesitate.
I mean… there’s no way Asmodeus allowed me to come here alone, is there? He’s probably following me, which could be a good thing or a very horrible thing, depending on his ability to behave.
“Asmodeus, turn visible and just walk in with me,” I demand.
Patty turns and looks at me. “And now he’s speaking to invisible things. This is what happens when you don’t listen to Beatrice.”
I sigh and she leads me inside. Even though this is the house I grew up in, it feels like a stranger’s home. If Asmodeus thought my house was pristine and stuffy, he’s going to be blown away by this place. Everything is perfectly in its spot to the point that it looks more like a model home or something they’d use for magazines instead of a place people would live.
“You may have a seat right here,” she says, like I didn’t grow up here and am not welcome to walk around or sit in any spot of my choosing.
I rub my chest where I was wounded and feel uneasy, but I tamp it down. I hate this place. I hate it so much.
I sit down as Patty heads off to retrieve my mother. I end up waiting and waiting while my comfort level drops significantly. The longer I wait, the more ill at ease I feel. I’d honestly assumed Asmodeus would have followed me, but is there any way he could have resisted doingsomethingfor this long? I check my phone a couple of times before I watch as one of the perfectly styled pillows goes flying off the couch by an invisible force.
