Devil's Plaything

Lover's Quarrel

Noah exhaled sharply, his jaw clenched. If she kept pushing him, he would either give up or leave. She had to risk the potential consequences. "I can set up a place for you to hide out if that would make you more comfortable," he told her.

"We're not going into hiding, Noah." She took a breath, trying to quickly calculate the best way to appeal to his better self. "I know I can do something to stop this, so just tell me where he is. Now."

He paused, and hope began to build inside her. She could sense Marci and Charlie silently watching their exchange. "No," he finally said.

Her hands clenched into fists, and her face heated with anger. "Fine. I'm sure I can have a conversation with Aiden in my next dream," she said dismissively.

Noah didn't look bothered by Mira's threat. "He won't be getting into your dreams anymore." He spoke so confidently that Mira almost didn't understand the implication of his statement.

"What the fuck are they talking about?" She heard Charlie whisper to Marci.

"Why?" Mira asked Noah, her voice cautious. He just shook his head, unwilling to offer any more details. Mira wanted to scream at him, to force him to tell her. Her mind was swarming with anger and growing desperation. It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to think in coherent sentences. "You are so selfish," she managed to get out.

He nodded, as if her insult needed his confirmation. "Remember what I said about how it's better to be an alive asshole than a dead hero? That's pretty much my motto."

Charlie cut into their conversation with a humorless laugh, which startled Mira into turning to face her. She still sat next to Marci on her bed with her head leaning on the wall behind her. She was examining them through hooded eyes. "Sometimes being an asshole is what gets you killed," she told him, and Mira looked down at the gun she now held more firmly in her hand.

Mira was about to ask for Charlie to put the gun down, but Noah spoke first. "I'm in no mood for your shit, Charlotte."

"And I'm in no mood for your lover's quarrel," she retorted. "It's like you two skipped past the Honeymoon phase and landed straight in divorce territory. Save it for later. For now, let's backtrack so that we can find out when the fuck you two started fucking."

Mira's face turned a deep shade of red that must have made her seem even more culpable. "We are not," she stopped prematurely, searching for a less inflammatory word. "Doing that. With each other." Charlie looked down at her shirtless torso pointedly. Mira raised her hands, trying to stop suspicion from growing. "We were using a water gun."

Once again, everyone in the room struggled to find words. "Wow, Mira," Charlie finally spoke. "That's some pretty kinky shit."

Noah had the nerve to let out a loud, unrestrained laugh. Then, Charlie's lips pursed as if she was keeping in laughter of her own. To an outsider, it would seem that the two were friends. But Charlie still had a gun aimed in his direction, and he was still unwilling to do much to save Charlie's life. Marci took a break from her silent anger to look at Mira with great concern and confusion.

"So, you're fighting but not sleeping together?" Charlie confirmed. Mira stared at her, willing her to shut up with the force of her unspoken annoyance. Naturally, Charlie was undeterred. "Is it because you were going to sleep with Aiden, but then he turned out to be evil, so now you're being careful?"

Mira could feel Noah's curious gaze boring into the back of her head. She swallowed down the lump in her throat. "No. I was not going to sleep with Aiden. And for that matter, I'm not going to sleep with anyone. Ever again." She lifted a hand to stop Charlie from continuing. Mira turned to face Noah. He managed to make his expression somber again, but she noticed him glance behind her a few times with an amused expression. He had dimples, Mira realized, and they blew his cover when he was trying to pretend to be serious. "I'm going to find out where you're keeping Aiden," she told him seriously. The humor in his eyes faded quickly. "Or you're going to tell me."