“But Gemma.” She shook her head. “I chose her because she seemed the most suited to the siren lifestyle, but as soon as she turned, I knew we’d made a mistake. She’s too…” Penn seemed to be searching for the word before wearily deciding on “unbreakable.”
“You seem to have a lot of failed minions lately,” Daniel commented. “Lexi, Gemma, now Liv. Is this why you dragged me out here? So you could vent about your problems with your staff?”
“Isn’t that what boyfriends are for?” Penn reached out and touched his arm in a coy gesture and bit her lip.
Daniel rolled his eyes as he threw back his head and laughed. “I am not your boyfriend, Penn.”
All the good humor instantly disappeared from her expression, and she pulled her arm back. Daniel knew he’d done the wrong thing, but he couldn’t help himself.
“You don’t need to laugh. And you’ll be singing a different song come Wednesday.”
“Assuming you hold up your end of the bargain,” he reminded her.
Penn narrowed her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You have this time bomb, Liv, running around.” He motioned to the car, where Liv was pouting. “And you were going to have her stay with Harper? If she’d hurt Harper, this whole deal would be off.”
“You think you can back out of this?” Penn put one hand on his chest and pulled at the collar of his flannel shirt as she smiled up at him. “You think I’d just let you go?”
“Yes, I do,” Daniel growled. “This is our deal, Penn.” He gestured between himself and Penn. “You agreed to the rules. You’re the one who risks breaking it.”
“I don’t give a shit what Liv does.” She was still smiling as she spoke, but her tenor had gotten decidedly vicious, making his blood run cold. “She could kill Harper, your mom, your dad, your third cousin twice-removed. But as long as there’s one person left on this earth that you care about, then you’re mine.”
“Penn—”
“So if you even joke about canceling, I will rip Harper’s head off,” she said, cutting off his protests. “And then I will place it at the end of the bed, so she can watch it when I ravage you. Because if you don’t, then I’ll move on to the next thing you care about, and the next thing, and the next thing. Gemma, Alex, your parents, even the stupid waitress at that diner you love so much. I will destroy everything.”
Daniel swallowed hard, still staring down into her black eyes, and he knew she meant every word she said. “You do what you promised, Penn, and I’ll do whatever I need to do.”
“So, I’ll see you Wednesday?” Penn asked, and her voice returned to its usual silky cheer.
“At eight o’clock,” he replied without missing a beat.
“Good.” She moved away from him, walking backward to her car. “I should get Liv out of here before she decides she needs a little snack.”
“Penn!” Gemma called, and Daniel looked over to see her standing on the other side of the street with Thea. “Wait. I wanted to talk to you.”
Gemma jogged across the street, trying to stop Penn before she took off, and Thea followed at a much slower pace.
“We need to talk about this Liv problem,” Gemma said when she’d reached Penn.
“There is no Liv problem,” Penn said as she opened the car door. “Now get lost.”
“Penn!” Gemma yelled, but Penn just got in the car. Gemma hit the car window, trying to make her roll it down, but she refused to. “Come on, Penn.”
Penn waited just long enough for Thea to get in the passenger side, then she slammed on the gas and sped away. She nearly hit another car, but Daniel doubted that Penn was the kind of girl who ever looked where she was going anyway.
“Dammit.” Gemma groaned and walked down to where Daniel was standing. “Liv is out of control. Even Thea agrees.” She shook her head, as if trying to clear it, and when she looked up at him, he saw a strange suspicion in her golden eyes. “What was that about, by the way?”
“What?” Daniel asked, trying to play dumb.
“You and Penn.” Gemma raised her chin, inspecting him. “Why did she have you follow her? And what were you talking about?”
He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from her. “You know. Just Penn things.”
“No, I don’t know.” Gemma moved, so she was in his line of vision, and when he tried to look away, she moved again. She wasn’t letting him off the hook this time. “She’s always talking to you, but you never tell me what she says. Vague statements and shrugs are all I ever get from you. What’s going on?”
Ever since Penn had begun showing an interest in him, Daniel had been dreading this conversation. People—particularly Harper and Gemma—would demand to know the nature of his relationship with Penn, and he couldn’t explain it.
Well, he could, but he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to admit what was going on, not even to Gemma. Not just because he didn’t want to deal with the fallout but because he didn’t want to say it all aloud, to talk through all the dirty details while feeling shamed by Gemma’s scrutinizing gaze.