On the outside he looked completely healthy, but I could see that the suit hung oddly on his thinning frame and there were bags under his eyes that I’d never noticed before.
It must be the drugs that I had no idea that he was taking,I told myself.
Anger sparked in my chest, replacing the bolt of fear that I’d initially felt when he came into the shop.
“You are not welcome here,” I told him, pretending like his presence hadn’t shaken me to my core.
“I’d beg to differ,” a different voice said from behind Mike. I’d been so focused on him that I didn’t see the even more imposing presence just behind his shoulder.
The voice belonged to a creature that was human in shape, but one look at the shimmering glamour and his lavender eyes that seemed to hold thousands of years of knowledge, and I knew that this was Mayor Arsenio. He had hair the color of spun gold that was perfectly coiffed around a chiseled tan face. He looked to be around thirty, but I knew that he’d been alive much, much longer.
The desire to curl in on myself and agree with anything they asked for fear of being punished rode up my spine, like an invisible hand pressing into my back encouraging me to ruin two months of work in thirty seconds.
“So do I,” my voice squeaked as I spoke, but I still managed to get the words out. “You must have gotten my papers earlier, the ones that included my request for a divorceanda restraining order signed by a judge.”
Mike’s lips puckered as if he’d just sucked on a sour lemon, and he opened his mouth to say something but Arsenio stepped in, smoothly interrupting him before he could say something stupid.
“An order that has since been rescinded, the judge didn’t have all of the facts of the case and felt that you didn’t have enough for an order of protection, Mrs. Campbell.”
The use of my married last name was like a slap in the face and suddenly Daphne Clarke disappeared, replaced once again by the weak-willed Mina Campbell.
“Her name is Daphne Clarke now.” As if reading my thoughts, Cash’s voice came from behind me, low and dangerous.
I wasn’t sure when he’d come up to the front, but the relief I felt at seeing his looming form and silver eyes was instantaneous and I melted back into my seat.
“And who might you be?” Mike asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Cashiel, this has nothing to do with you,” Arsenio said, unbuttoning his suit jacket like he was gearing up for a fight.
“Everything with my mate has everything to do with me,” Cash growled, crossing his arms over his chest.
Last night as we sat together on the couch with the dogs curled around us, Cash explained that mates held a heavy weight in supernatural society. He was hoping that because we were mates, it would overshadow Mike’s claim.
Judging by the way Arsenio’s eyebrows rose at the mention of the word, I knew he was right.
“When did this development come about?” the mayor asked slowly, glancing between Cash and Mike and seeming to weigh just how much he wanted to support a human, no matter how blessed he was.
“She isnotyour mate, she’s my wife!” Mike sputtered, his face scrunching with disgust. Every single disparaging comment that he’d made about monsters and supernaturals rose in my mind. In New Hampshire, humans reigned supreme, but in California it was a totally different world. Mike’s prejudice wouldn’t win him any favors here. “She would never willingly fuck a monster.”
I’d had enough. I didn’t know where I summoned the courage, but I stood from my seat and slapped my hands on the desk in front of me. The noise drew the attention of all three men in the room. “Your soon-to-be ex-wife. You should have just let me run away, Mike. It’s not like you ever even really liked me.”
Saying it out loud made me realize just how true that statement was. I was a payday for Mike, and once he’d used up my inheritance he treated me like a servant.
Mike had seemingly had enough of behaving himself. He stepped forward, as if to tower over me the same as he always did when he was about to scold me like a child. “It doesn’t matter. You belong tome, Mina, you can’t just unilaterally decide to end the marriage.”
That was the crux of it all. Mike thought of me like a piece of his property, a doll that he could whip out for his friends and make dance on command. Someone who he viewed as moldable enough to turn into a miniature version of his mother. Gag.
Cash’s growl filled the room, a subtle warning for Mike to take a step back.
“Actually, Mike, that is exactly what I can do. Both California and New Hampshire are no-fault states, meaning I can dissolve our sham of a marriage whenever I want to. I don’t want any of your assets, so it should be simple. Sign the papers, Mike, and get the hell out of my life,” I said, feeling braver than I ever had before. The seven-foot-tall gargoyle at my back definitely helped with that.
“Then I’ll just have to have you arrested for attempted murder. The gash you gave me on my head can attest to that,” Mike spat, his face tomato red with rage.
Then my view was blocked by a broad, flannel-cladded back. Cash had seemingly had enough. “Try it, human, and I will make you wish you were never born.”
“And we will help him,” Dallan’s voice came from the hallway as he and the rest of the Monstrous Ink employees, sans Ambrose, stepped into the waiting room.
Arsenio, who had taken a step back at the mention of mates, put a hand on Mike’s shoulder. “We should go for today.”
