Hideaway (Devil's Night 2)

“No problem,” he finally answered.

Why did he keep looking at her? What the hell was going on?

I looked at them both, perplexed and forgetting I’d just agreed to buy a multi-million-dollar hotel.

Licking my lips, I twirled the staff in my hand in a circle, musing. “You know, when I was fourteen, Gabriel told Damon and me something I’ll never forget. ‘Women’ he said, ‘are either toys or tools. They’re good for play or good for pay.’” I spun the staff slowly and watched them carefully. “In all the years I was friends with Damon, I noticed a striking difference between his home and mine. My mother has never been a docile woman, while any woman I encountered in the Torrance house was either for sex or a servant. Toy or tool.”

“And?” the man asked.

“And I’m not sure which category she fits into,” I said, pointing the staff at Banks. “Every time I ask you a question, you look to her for the answer. It’s odd for a woman to have that kind of power, given what I know of Gabriel Torrance.”

He glanced at her again, appearing to look for direction.

She was the one in charge.

Not him.

That’s it.

How interesting.

I held the weapon at my side and approached her, staring down. “Let’s cut through the shit and deal direct, huh?” I said, my patience now gone.

As I entered her space, the man approached quickly, probably on guard, and I shot out the pole, hitting him in the chest and stopping him. “And if I remember correctly,” I said, looking over at him, “she knows how to do her own fighting, so go wait in the car.”

His jaw flexed, his body stiffened, and he was ready for a fight. But he glanced at her, waiting for the order.

She hesitated a moment, finally giving him a nod and dismissing him. He shot me a glare before turning on his heel and storming out of the dojo.

Banks fixed her eyes back on me, cocking her head.

“Are you scared of me now, kid?” I asked. “Can’t do your own talking anymore?”

I wanted to make her uncomfortable as payback for playing with me today, but I didn’t want her to lose her spine, either.

But instead of answering, she just turned her head away, seemingly bored.

I chuckled to myself, walking to the wall and placing the weapon back on the rack.

“So, what impression did you gather today to pass on to Damon’s father?” I inquired. I wanted to know what we said in that room that gav

e her assurance when we thought it was only a servant eavesdropping.

“Whatever it was,” she replied, “he liked what he heard, because he has a proposition for you. I’m here with his authority.”

My hand shook, and I pulled it away from the wall. Her voice. She’d only said a few words earlier today, but now…. That same smooth taunt I remembered showed itself, bringing me back. I walked around, facing her and folding my arms across my chest.

She was a good six inches shorter than me, but with the cocky glint in her eye, she might as well have been six inches taller.

“Kai, is everything okay?” Rika asked behind me.

“It’s fine,” I said, not looking at her.

Judging from all the chatter in the distance and the sound of locker room doors swinging open and closed down the hallway, Rika must’ve been done with her class.

“Rika?” I called over my shoulder, catching her before she walked off. “Would you get Will and Michael and meet us in the office, please?”

I didn’t see her face but heard her hesitant, “Sure.”