mentioned her earlier he hadn’t thought of Bethany at all. He had been too consumed with figuring out ways to thwart Ami’s determination to serve as his Second.
Seth smiled smugly and gave him a mocking bow, arms out to the side. “You’re welcome. I assume my check is in the mail.”
Marcus stared at him, pissed because Seth’s plan had worked and torn between guilt and relief that Bethany’s memory for once had faded into the background.
“You needed a distraction, Marcus. Something to shake you up and throw a little chaos into your routine.” Seth’s face darkened. “But I didn’t just do this for you. I did it for Ami, too.” He looked in the direction of Marcus’s home.
For Ami, who had told Seth Marcus had been civil to her when she could just as easily have tattled and told him Marcus had avoided her at every turn and spoken sharply to her when he hadn’t succeeded.
“Look, at the risk of ending up a pile of ashes on the pavement, I have to admit I still don’t understand why you’re so upset. Even Ami told you I haven’t harmed her in any way.”
Seth’s eyes flashed to golden flames. “She isn’t sleeping!” he bellowed.
Marcus’s jaw dropped. “You’re pissed at me because she isn’t getting enough beauty sleep?” Unbelievable. “That’s her choice, not mine. Yes, I changed my sleep schedule in an attempt to avoid her. Call it childish if you like. I really don’t care. But I have no control over the fact that she altered hers to match mine so she could keep hounding me. If she isn’t getting the requisite eight hours—”
“Listen. Very. Closely,” Seth annunciated carefully as he strolled forward. “I didn’t say she isn’t getting enough sleep. I said. She. Isn’t. Sleeping. Period. She hasn’t so much as nodded off since the night before I brought her to you.”
“She told you that?”
“Yes, reluctantly, when I specifically asked her about it.”
“She’s lying.”
Seth stopped no more than two feet away. “Again, if you would get your head out of your ass, you would notice that Ami can’t lie worth a damn and very rarely even tries.”
Marcus stared up at him. “But that would mean she hasn’t slept in—”
“Six days.”
“That’s impossible. My attempts to evade her all failed, and I haven’t noticed any mood swings or hallucinations or problems with concentration or short-term memory.”
“Nor will you. When Ami is sleep deprived, the only physical manifestation you will see is shadowing beneath her eyes.”
Well, she did have that. “This has happened before?” Marcus asked, puzzled.
“Yes.”
“Then why do you think I’m responsible?” Her insomnia could have been triggered by an illness, though Marcus had neither sensed nor scented the presence of anything.
Seth stared at him for a long moment, the glow in his eyes diminishing, then turned and strolled away. “Ami has had a difficult life, Marcus.” A mirthless laugh emerged as he shook his head. “Difficult,” he repeated, making a mockery of the word. “In truth, she has suffered more in the past two years alone than you have in the entirety of your existence.”
Something unpleasant burrowed its way into Marcus’s gut. Seth did not exaggerate. “What happened to her?”
“That is not my story to tell.”
Both cryptic and disturbing.
“Perhaps in time”—he shot Marcus a disgusted look—“ if you stop being such a prick, she will entrust you with it. All I will tell you is that, though externally she is perfect ...”
Another disturbing facet Marcus had struggled to ignore. Ami was a very appealing amalgamation of cute and beautiful.
“Internally, her trials have driven her to develop a rather unique subconscious self-defense mechanism that she is helpless to control.”
“Chronic insomnia?” Marcus had never heard of such a thing.
Seth nodded. “She can’t sleep if she doesn’t feel safe.”
Guilt slithered through Marcus’s insides, leaving a
Seth smiled smugly and gave him a mocking bow, arms out to the side. “You’re welcome. I assume my check is in the mail.”
Marcus stared at him, pissed because Seth’s plan had worked and torn between guilt and relief that Bethany’s memory for once had faded into the background.
“You needed a distraction, Marcus. Something to shake you up and throw a little chaos into your routine.” Seth’s face darkened. “But I didn’t just do this for you. I did it for Ami, too.” He looked in the direction of Marcus’s home.
For Ami, who had told Seth Marcus had been civil to her when she could just as easily have tattled and told him Marcus had avoided her at every turn and spoken sharply to her when he hadn’t succeeded.
“Look, at the risk of ending up a pile of ashes on the pavement, I have to admit I still don’t understand why you’re so upset. Even Ami told you I haven’t harmed her in any way.”
Seth’s eyes flashed to golden flames. “She isn’t sleeping!” he bellowed.
Marcus’s jaw dropped. “You’re pissed at me because she isn’t getting enough beauty sleep?” Unbelievable. “That’s her choice, not mine. Yes, I changed my sleep schedule in an attempt to avoid her. Call it childish if you like. I really don’t care. But I have no control over the fact that she altered hers to match mine so she could keep hounding me. If she isn’t getting the requisite eight hours—”
“Listen. Very. Closely,” Seth annunciated carefully as he strolled forward. “I didn’t say she isn’t getting enough sleep. I said. She. Isn’t. Sleeping. Period. She hasn’t so much as nodded off since the night before I brought her to you.”
“She told you that?”
“Yes, reluctantly, when I specifically asked her about it.”
“She’s lying.”
Seth stopped no more than two feet away. “Again, if you would get your head out of your ass, you would notice that Ami can’t lie worth a damn and very rarely even tries.”
Marcus stared up at him. “But that would mean she hasn’t slept in—”
“Six days.”
“That’s impossible. My attempts to evade her all failed, and I haven’t noticed any mood swings or hallucinations or problems with concentration or short-term memory.”
“Nor will you. When Ami is sleep deprived, the only physical manifestation you will see is shadowing beneath her eyes.”
Well, she did have that. “This has happened before?” Marcus asked, puzzled.
“Yes.”
“Then why do you think I’m responsible?” Her insomnia could have been triggered by an illness, though Marcus had neither sensed nor scented the presence of anything.
Seth stared at him for a long moment, the glow in his eyes diminishing, then turned and strolled away. “Ami has had a difficult life, Marcus.” A mirthless laugh emerged as he shook his head. “Difficult,” he repeated, making a mockery of the word. “In truth, she has suffered more in the past two years alone than you have in the entirety of your existence.”
Something unpleasant burrowed its way into Marcus’s gut. Seth did not exaggerate. “What happened to her?”
“That is not my story to tell.”
Both cryptic and disturbing.
“Perhaps in time”—he shot Marcus a disgusted look—“ if you stop being such a prick, she will entrust you with it. All I will tell you is that, though externally she is perfect ...”
Another disturbing facet Marcus had struggled to ignore. Ami was a very appealing amalgamation of cute and beautiful.
“Internally, her trials have driven her to develop a rather unique subconscious self-defense mechanism that she is helpless to control.”
“Chronic insomnia?” Marcus had never heard of such a thing.
Seth nodded. “She can’t sleep if she doesn’t feel safe.”
Guilt slithered through Marcus’s insides, leaving a
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