Free Katie's Hellion (Rhyn Trilogy, Book One) by Lizzy Ford Page B

eyes.
    "No shit, Ully," the man named Jade
responded.
    "I went through the shadow world?" she asked,
brow furrowing.
    "Technically, you may have died," Ileana said
with a sip of wine. "Death gets pissed when mortals go through the
shadow world."
    Built more like the beauties her sister
surrounded herself with, Ileana was a natural bombshell with
pillowed lips and large eyes.
    "Hey, we’re alike now!" Ully said, handing
her two glasses of whiskey.
    She took the glasses from him and downed them
one at a time, then handed them back.
    "Glad to see you’re taking this so well,"
Kris said.
    Fury lit her insides at his calm words, as if
he wasn’t responsible for destroying her life! She rose, wobbled,
and pulled off her heels. She looked around until her eyes met
those of the death dealer.
    "Gabriel, you’re taking me home," she
ordered.
    The death dealer rose.
    "Sit, Gabriel," Kris responded.
    Gabriel obeyed, and Katie flung a shoe at the
domineering man with the jewel-toned eyes. He caught it with
reflexes too fast for her to follow.
    "You will send me home, and you’ll
remove Toby, Gabriel, and every other interference you placed in my
life, down to the scuff marks in the hallway, which I know weren’t
there on Tuesday! No more dead doctors, no more kidnappings, no
more blood draws, nothing!"
    The angrier she got, the calmer Kris looked.
His eyes went from emerald to tanzanite again.
    "When you calm down, we’ll --" he
started.
    "No. Now. I’m going home now . Back to
my boring life, my horrible job, my tiny apartment. Now, Kris!"
    She saw the white of his knuckles as he
gripped her shoe hard and sensed she was pushing a wild animal. His
jaw was clenched and ticking as the muscles jumped.
    He wasn’t going to budge. Neither was
she.
    "Let’s take a step back, shall we?" Andre
said, stepping in front of her. "We shouldn’t take you through the
shadow world to return you. If Kris didn’t kill you on the way
here, he might on the way back. I’m going to send Kris away and
bring you a bottle of whiskey. Then we’ll talk. Is that okay?"
    His presence and words were as soothing as
Kris’s were not. She felt herself relaxing at his even tone and the
words that seemed logical enough. She didn’t want to be dead, and
she definitely needed more whiskey. At her hesitation, he motioned
for her to sit again and turned, continuing to block Kris from
sight.
    "Brother," he said with gentle command.
"Jade, you, too. Gabriel, do whatever you do."
    The death dealer disappeared. She heard Kris
stir, and the cocoa-skinned Jade followed. Andre relaxed and sat on
the couch near her while Ileana drew close as well. Ully reappeared
with a carafe of whiskey and set it down, taking Andre’s head nod
as a cue to leave.
    Andre poured her whiskey and sat back. She
sipped it, rubbing the back of her neck.
    "You are handling this well," he said.
    She eyed him. His words appeared genuine,
unlike Kris’s.
    "You’d have to be pretty mentally tough to go
through all this without cracking."
    "Oh, I’m cracking."
    He chuckled. Despite her fury and fear, she
found his presence oddly calming, like sitting in a spa surrounded
by incense with her feet in a salt bath. The air around her felt
heavy and still.
    He was doing something to her. Even with her
precious whiskey, she shouldn’t feel like she did. She shook her
head, trying to clear it of the fog he’d placed there.
    "I don’t need you to placate me!"
    He leaned forward, curiosity flaring in his
tanzanite eyes. Whatever fog gripped her dissipated suddenly, and
she breathed a sigh at the palpable release. She tossed back the
whiskey, meeting his gaze only when he placed his hand across the
top of the carafe.
    "You’ve had enough," he said with genuine
concern. "I apologize. I won’t do it again."
    She pulled the carafe from his hand and
poured herself another two shots. He pursed his lips then poured
himself a shot and sat back to sip it. They gazed at each other for
a long moment.
    "Did I