Free Grim Offerings (Aisling Grimlock Book 2) by Amanda M. Lee

I said carefully.
    “Why does that name sound familiar?” Griffin asked.
    “Um … well … do you remember the night that Jerry, Aidan and I were arrested for the brawl at the gay club?”
    Griffin chuckled. “Yeah. That’s the morning I realized I couldn’t get enough of you. You were so … feisty. You kept going after that woman in the lobby … what was her name?”
    I pursed my lips. “Angelina Davenport.”
    “Oh.”
    Maya’s face was conflicted. “You were arrested for fighting with Angelina?”
    “No, I was arrested for kicking her ass,” I corrected.
    Angelina Davenport was my mortal enemy. No, I’m not being dramatic. She’d tortured me in high school, constantly making fun of my hoodies and Converse, and then she’d gone after Cillian the minute she developed boobs. After dating her for a few months, despite the nasty insults I hurled at her whenever she was in our house, Cillian discovered she was cheating on him and dumped her.
    Angelina had spent the intervening years trying to get Cillian back. Since I loved my brother, that forced me to beat the crap out of her every chance I got. What? No one hurts a member of my family, especially a guttersnipe like Angelina Davenport. “So, what did Angelina say about me?”
    “She said you were … spirited,” Maya said.
    “I’m betting she used more colorful language than that,” I pressed. “I’ve ripped entire chunks of her hair out at one time or another, and I once cut a big hole in the seat of her jeans during gym and she walked around for an hour with her ass hanging out until someone finally told her.”
    “She said you were an evil bitch and that I should get my brother away from you as soon as possible,” Maya admitted. “I wanted to meet you for myself to see if that was true. The stories she told me were … troubling.”
    “And?”
    “I haven’t decided yet,” Maya said.
    That seemed fair.
    Griffin grabbed my hand. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “We’re not having this discussion again. I’ve met Angelina Davenport, and she’s a horrible person. I don’t care what she says about Aisling.”
    “I didn’t mean anything by it,” Maya protested.
    “Well, then you shouldn’t have brought it up.”
    “It’s fine,” I said. “I can guess the things Angelina said about me. I’d like to say it all stems from her breakup with Cillian, but it started long before then. We’ve hated each other since we laid eyes on each other in middle school.”
    “May I ask why?” Maya asked.
    “She used to terrorize my friend Jerry,” I said. “She made fun of him for being … different.”
    “Because he’s gay?”
    I nodded. “She went after Aidan in high school, too. There’s really no love lost between us. I hate her.”
    “Well, at least you’re honest,” Maya said. “She’s been really nice to me, though.”
    “Was that before or after she found out you were Griffin’s sister?”
    “What does that matter?”
    “Just wait.”
    “I’m not sure I like what you’re insinuating,” Maya said. “Angelina is a friend of mine. I’m loyal to my friends.”
    “Then you’re going to have to learn the hard way,” I said. “And you will.”
    Griffin rubbed his forehead and sighed. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but it couldn’t be good. “Where is that waitress with our drinks?” he asked.
    Where indeed?

Nine
    “Are you going to say anything?”
    “Nope.” I inserted the key into the lock and pushed open the door of the townhouse.
    Griffin followed me inside, contemplative. “Are you sure?”
    “There’s nothing to say,” I said, shrugging out of my coat. “It went pretty much as I expected.”
    “I’m really sorry,” Griffin said. “I had no idea she knew Angelina. She never mentioned it.”
    “It doesn’t matter,” I said wearily, removing the clip from the back of my hair and letting the long tresses fall down my back. I rubbed the sore spot where the barrette had been digging in for