“I promise, I’ll be back!” I grab my cell phone and thunder for the door, hearing her follow. Shit, I hate leaving like this.
“Okay, I get that,” She calls after me, “But–”
“I’m sorry, Red, I don’t have time.” The doors for the elevator open and I get inside the cart, hitting the button for the ground floor and the doors immediately start to close.
I manage to turn to see Willow opening her mouth to say something, but they close before I can hear whatever it is. Shit.
A minute later my phone is ringing in my hand, Willow’s name on the screen.
“Red?” I answer.
“I was trying to say–”
Her words are cut off and I snatch my hand away from my ear to stare at the black screen and the empty battery bar flashing in the center.
Shit.
I don’t have time to get back to her and find out what it was she wanted to tell me, but I’ll call her as soon as I have charge.
Hailing a cab as soon as I’m outside, one pulls up and I climb in, snapping my address at him so I can grab my car. It’s faster and will get me there in less than an hour.
Twenty minutes later I’m in my car and out of the city, taking the winding narrow roads fast as hills and forests roll by in a blur outside the windows.
With every mile that passes I feel a shutter come down, bar by bar, pushing the warmth from my system, eradicating the lightness the last couple days with Willow have left me with. With the wall that slowly edges down, it pushes it all away, forcing me to forget the feel of her, the taste and smell of her.
My cell lays dead in the center console, on charge but it’s not on yet nor will it be until this is over. I can’t have her distract me, so I choose not to call her back until I know it’s safe to do so.
Sometime later I’m finally pulling through the Estate gates, my car rolling up the tarmac toward the house right at the end. I had made it here in less than forty-five minutes, thanks to the quiet roads that lead here and the powerful engine of my car.
Letting myself in, I head through the house toward the drawing room at the back, where I can hear Malakai, Killian and Dean already talking. I should have been here hours ago. I plaster a fake as fuck smile on my face as I shove the door open like I’m not the fucker who’s late.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Malakai growls, his anger at my tardiness clear. These council meetings always put him on edge, and I get it, he has to put on a show as much as the rest of us.
“Errands,” I lie.
I feel a hard stare against the side of my face and turn to find Killian frowning at me. Both Killian and Dean have been my friends for years, as much brothers to me as Malakai is.
“The fuck is that on your face?” He blurts, standing to get a closer look.
Oh shit.
“It’s green!” Dean cringes, “Are you diseased? I toldyou, you needed to be careful where you put that mouth of yours.”
I wipe the hair on my face, smearing the crusty green skin mask over my hand. I didn’t get it all when I hastily washed my face. I yank my cell from my pocket, it’s still not on but at least it’s charged and look at myself in the reflection of the phone screen, seeing bits of crusty green face mask stuck in my beard and some around the creases of my nose.
Willow let me leave like this! I’m going to punish her for that.
I grab a couple of tissues from the box on the table and start wiping at the skin mask, pulling at my own hair where it’s fused like damn glue.
“What the hell is it?” Killian takes a step back like I might actually have a disease.
I roll my eyes, “Stop being fucking dramatic, it’s a skin mask.”
“A skin mask?” He narrows his eyes, “For what?”
“Fuck if I know,” I toss the used tissue toward the trash can, missing it entirely, “Willow made me put it on.”
I realize what I’ve said the moment the words are out of my mouth.
