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“Listen carefully,” I told him. “This is what’s going to happen. You’re going to leave this house, and you’re never going to come back. Are you with me so far?”
He nodded jerkily. The cut above his eye had stopped bleeding. I was disappointed about that.
“And then you’re going to leave Rowan alone. You’re not going to call him. You’re not going to engineer an accidental meeting. You’re not even going to say his name. Are we clear on that score?”
“He’s my—”
“He’s nothing to you. You gave up any claim to him when you mistreated him.” I glided closer, forcing him to crane his neck to continue looking up at me. His pulse was already erratic but accelerated further as I loomed over him. “If you don’t leave him alone, I’m going to come and find you, and you will never know a moment’s peace again. There is nowhere you can hide from me. Do you understand that?”
Tyler nodded, the movement continuing for far longer than necessary. I grabbed his arm, yanking him off the sofa and dragging him up the stairs toward the bedroom. “What are we―? I don’t—”
“Get dressed and then pack a bag,” I demanded. “You have five minutes.”
He stared at me. “I’ve lived in this house for two years. I have a lot of stuff here.”
“Four minutes and fifty-six seconds.”
He almost ran to the wardrobe. After hastily pulling on a pair of trousers and a shirt, he dragged out a suitcase. What followed was a frenzied gathering of his belongings, all of which were thrown haphazardly into the suitcase. Once he’d finished in the bedroom, he went into the office and did the same there.
“Two minutes and thirty seconds,” I announced cheerily. “Whatever you don’t take, you don’t get.”
He shot me a glare, but was wise enough not to say anything. His restraint didn’t last long. “If I’d known he was into the occult, I would never have gone near him.”
“The occult?”
He dragged the suitcase down the stairs and started gathering items from the living room. “I assume he summoned you.”
“Oh, you think I’m a demon.”
“You have horns and a tail.”
“Let’s just say that many, many centuries ago, I may have had demonic cousins. But I’m not a demon. No summoning was required. I’m making that clear in case you think I’m going to disappear. I won’t. You’re lucky Rowan told me I couldn’t kill you.”
Tyler didn’t have an answer to that as I followed him into the kitchen.
“The microwave is mine,” he said.
“Can you carry it?”
“No.”
“Then Rowan gratefully accepts it as a gift.”
He shook his head. “This is—”
“I think the word you’re looking for is karma.” Then I added, “Thirty seconds.”
He fastened the suitcase and pulled it upright. “You realize it’s the middle of the night and I have nowhere to go.”
“Not my problem. Not Rowan’s problem. He gave you time to move out. You were the one stupid enough not to take it.” I waited until he started toward the door before adding, One more thing.”
Tyler stopped.
“When you get out there, you’re going to apologize to Rowan for being a piece of shit. You’re going to tell him he never deserved what you did to him, and if you’re not convincing enough, then you and I aren’t done. Do you understand?”
“I understand.” Tyler sounded as if he were about to cry.
Chapter Twenty
