Her eyebrows rose.
“I’m not!” I insisted, but it sounded false to me. “I’m really not. More annoyed than anything.”
Evie nodded. “He can be really annoying sometimes. Let me guess. It’s drying up the nether region?”
I laughed. “You’re such an asshole sometimes. But yes. Total Sahara down there right now.”
“And you can’t stop thinking about Ethan?”
“Yes, but not in the way you’re thinking. I want him to be happy. Sarah made him happy. I guess I’m struggling with the morality of it all.”
“I get it. But that,” Evie said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder toward the corpse, “is an abomination. If Sarah’s life is dependent on that horror show, we both know the answer.”
“Yeah, but doing the right thing is hard, so I plan to wallow for a little while.”
Evie smiled and nudged me with her elbow. “Wallow away, friend. I’m going back to the house. Call me if you need me.”
She waved and jogged toward the main house. “Oh, and I’m taking the body with me, just in case you were concerned. Can’t have the kiddies coming out to see that in the morning!”
I sat there for a little while enjoying the cool night. Just as I got up and dusted off my pants, a tall, lean man with glowing golden eyes walked out of the woods.
Chapter
Twenty
He stood at the edge of Rowan’s wards, watching me with an unnerving intensity. My heartbeat skittered and thumped against my rib cage.
“You can step through the wards,” I said.
Ethan blinked in surprise. “No. Get Rowan.”
“Rowan already cleared you. Step over the barrier.” He didn’t remember his friendship with the other Lord. How much else had Mom wiped from his memories?
Ethan’s teeth pulled away from his lips. “Nice try, vampire.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” I growled. Shooting a glare his way, I stomped toward the wards, reached through the barrier and yanked him through.
Taken by surprise, Ethan let out an unmanly yelp and stumbled when I let him go.
“What the fuck?” he roared, quickly righting himself. His chest heaved and his eyes were wide. “What would you have done if those wards chopped me in half?”
“Like I said, Rowan authorized you entrance past the wards a long time ago.” I started walking toward my apartment. “I have a feeling you’re here to see me. If you want to talk, follow me.”
I didn’t glance over my shoulder to see if he was coming. He hadn’t moved since I started walking away.
My key was in the lock when Ethan appeared behind me. I put some coffee on and filled the kettle to heat.
“I’m not staying long enough for coffee,” Ethan said with a grunt.
I smiled at him. “I didn’t offer you any, did I?”
He stared at me, a golden ring around his midnight eyes. “Be careful how you speak to me, vampire.”
I ignored his threatening posture and pulled out some chocolate chip cookie dough from the fridge. While I preheated the oven and focused on putting a dozen on a sheet pan, I motioned for Ethan to sit down.
“Give me a few, and I’ll join you. Would you like some water?”
Ethan’s brow furrowed. His befuddled expression almost made me laugh.
