Free Grimm Consequences by Kate Serine Page A

come through to the afterlife, I told Benedict we had to have you among us.”
    Benedict.
    I hadn’t heard that name in years—not since taking on my assignment with the Tales. He had recruited me when I died, had saved me from the torment that awaited me in the afterlife—only to introduce me to a new kind of hell.
    â€œAnd you were magnificent!” Demetrius beamed, his eyes gleaming with a disturbing zealousness. “We all envied you, wished to be you, longed for the approval that you never sought but were the first to receive.” He shook his head in awe. “Oh, the glory of the Death Bringer.” Here he turned to Tess. “So much devastation laid at his feet . . . He was swift, merciless. A virtuoso of death.”
    I couldn’t deny it. Not any of it. Killing was all I’d known. It was all I’d been good at, the only thing I cared about, even after death claimed me. Until robins’-egg blue eyes saw me in the woods of Make Believe and offered me something I’d never been able to offer myself—forgiveness.
    Unfortunately, needing to plead for her forgiveness seemed to be a running theme in our relationship. I lifted my eyes and met her gaze, seeing the confusion there. But there was also pity. And some other emotion I couldn’t quite place.
    â€œI wanted to tell you,” I assured her. “I just didn’t know how.”
    â€œI know, baby,” she said, nodding. “I know.”
    My throat tightened at the look she gave me, the wariness that was creeping in as she attempted to absorb what she was hearing. I could tell she was hurt that I’d withheld the rest of my story from her, that she was no longer certain of anything about me, but she had to know the rest. I needed her to know the rest, to love me—or leave me—knowing the whole truth. “Tess, the things I did in my lifetime . . . and after—”
    â€œYou’re not that man anymore, Nate,” she interrupted. Although grateful for her insistence, I wasn’t sure if she was attempting to convince me or herself.
    â€œAwww,” Demetrius interrupted, pushing out his bottom lip in a pout. “So touching. I almost hate to interrupt. But I will.” He took hold of my jaw in a punishing grip, his face twisting with rage. “Even though you reported to me, were supposed to take orders from me, you met this bitch and suddenly started to piss on every order I gave you. You made me look like a fucking idiot over and over again!”
    I frowned up at him. “Are you shitting me? All this is about you resenting Tess?” I tried to jerk my chin from his grasp, but his fingers dug in harder.
    He stuck his face closer to mine, his eyes crazed with fury. “I finally had the power over you, Maximus. I was finally the one in charge. And that whore ruined everything!”
    I blinked at Demetrius, stunned by the depth of his jealousy—and his insanity. It was no secret that he relished the job more than any of us, to the point that his madness had made him a liability, and Benedict had transferred him to the Judges. But Demetrius clearly was more unstable than anyone had realized. He was totally off his fucking nut.
    â€œThis is crazy, Demetrius,” I said, trying to keep my voice level. “You have a score to settle with me. I get that. But leave Tess out of it. She’s innocent in all of this.”
    â€œOh, I’ll settle my score with you,” Demetrius hissed. “Make no mistake about that.”
    He made a casual gesture with his hand toward the shadows, summoning another Judge I hadn’t seen yet. The barrel-chested wall of muscle who emerged strode toward me, rolling his shaved, square head on the block of bulk that substituted for a neck, his massive arms straining the material of his tight black T-shirt.
    Ah, shit. This was gonna hurt like a bitch.
    â€œWell, aren’t you a big fella?” I drawled, offering him a