The sharp knock on my office door made me jump. My head smacked against the hanging overhead lamp and I cursed under my breath. Things were crazy since the Horsemen had shown up, and Bandit wasn’t with me today, making me instinctively edgy. I set aside the drawing I was working on and called, “Come in.”
A wave of green hair fell through my office door as Moira pushed past it and closed the door behind her. Her dark green eyes scanned me, her forest colored brows drawn together in what appeared to be worry, but I couldn’t feel it. My empath gifts only extended so far, and while I could usually guess when Bandit got up in arms about something, Moira was more complicated than that.
“Something wrong?” I asked, motioning to the chair in front of my desk. She ignored my offer and walked around to my side. Pushing the papers into a pile, she slid back onto my desk, letting her legs dangle a few inches from the ground.
“I’m worried about you.”
“Okay,” I drawled out, taking a loose breath. “Is this about the Horsemen?”
“Possibly,” Moira said, biting her lip. She glanced at me, looking up and down like she was searching for something. I was the same Ruby I’ve always been: ripped up jeans and unbrushed hair, pulled back to hide my general laziness. “I just feel like there’s something you’re not telling me. Did something happen with them?”
I let out a sigh, considering my answer. Apart from last Friday, when Laran took me to a bar that gave me some kind of demonic high, not much had happened. Sure, the guys were still following me everywhere, showing up at the oddest of times, but I was beginning to settle into a routine with it. Typically, Rysten came first, then Laran, followed by Allistair. I’d only seen Julian a handful of times; unlike the other three, who were giving me subtly stronger fuck-me-vibes with every day that passed. I wasn’t sure how much of their spending time with me was for my actual protection, and how much was them attempting to sink their claws into me.
Moira coughed, and I blinked once. Shit.
“So,” she said with narrowed eyes, “there is something that happened, isn’t there?”
I leaned back in my chair and kicked my feet up beside her on the thick glass surface. I tilted my head back in my chair, relaxing my spine as I stared up at the ceiling, counting the flecks of dust.
“Not something specific, per se. It’s just been a long few days.”
“The Horsemen are getting possessive.”
Well that wasn’t what I expected to come out of her mouth. She hadn’t been around us all that much, and I hadn’t mentioned it. I cracked my knuckles absentmindedly while I asked, “What makes you say that?”
I couldn’t see her face, but I suspected she was giving me a look along the lines of are you kidding me? She huffed under her breath and I smirked just a little, waiting for her answer.
“Josh came by the house before you got home yesterday, as per his usual Sunday groveling routine. I tried to chase him off, but Laran showed up. I think Josh just about shit bricks when Laran told him that you’re theirs and he’ll feed him to the hounds of Hell if he comes near you again.”
I facepalmed as I let out a heavy sigh. Feed him to Hell hounds? Very creative.
“Well, that sounds unpleasant,” I said lamely. Moira didn’t reply. I raised my head from the back of my chair to see her watching me. She was not amused.
“They’ve taken a liking to you, Ruby.”
“You don’t know that for certain…” My words fell short when she gave me the look. The Moira look. She wasn’t buying it. I let out the most unflattering of noises, somewhere between a sigh and a groan, as I slouched back into my chair.
“Yes, I do.”
“Admitting it doesn’t change anything. It just makes the current situation even more messed up,” I muttered, throwing an arm over my eyes.
“Maybe it’s just because they think they need to protect you; maybe it’s more. On the bright side, if it is a passing obsession, they should get over it eventually—” She stopped mid-sentence and examined me carefully. “I’m not helping, am I?”
I didn’t want to be rude. It wasn’t her fault her own anxiety was leaking over into me and made my slightly cautious brain light up like a police siren telling me I should run like hell. I’d been taking on others’ emotions long enough, I knew how to tell the difference between what I was feeling and what they unintentionally pushed on me. With Moira, it just seemed that I was more in tune and struggled on where to draw the line.
“Not really. I know you mean well, but the best I can do is to just roll with it for now. It’s not like I have a lot of choice in getting them to leave me alone. Besides,” I said, placing a gentle hand on her knee, “they really aren’t that bad. Julian is a bit standoffish, and Allistair likes to push my buttons. Laran’s pretty cool when he’s not being all ‘War smash’, and Rysten is—” Her soft smile went sour and she swatted my hand away.
“Don’t do that! You know I don’t like it when you mess with my emotions. It’s weird,” she said. I raised an eyebrow. “It’s weird if I try to help you feel better, but it’s not weird when you make people’s eardrums explode?” I asked, fighting a grin. She nodded without a trace of humor. “Whatever.” I rolled my eyes and stood to gather my things.
“I actually came to tell you Rysten’s here. I just wanted to talk with you before you left. You can tell him, and the rest of his cohort, that I’m taking you out this Friday, and no, they’re not invited.” I slung my bag over my shoulder and grabbed my keys.
“It’s my birthday. Shouldn’t I be the one that says who’s invited?” I asked absentmindedly. I already knew the answer. It was Moira I was talking to, and normal people logic wouldn’t work here. She was just as possessive as the Horsemen and didn’t give a single fuck.
“Nope, they’ve been hogging you since they showed up, and you only turn twenty-three once. I’ve made plans for us. They can find someone else to stalk for the night,” she said as she hopped off my desk and opened the door. I followed her out into the lobby where Rysten was standing off to the side, both eyebrows raised as he watched us approach.
“It took you that long to tell her I’m here?”
She bristled instantly, and he grinned like a fool. Out of all the Horsemen, he was the only one that truly seemed to take pleasure in tormenting her. Not that she was all that innocent either.
“It makes sense that you’re Pestilence. You’re more of a pest than the other three,” Moira responded icily. It wasn’t even very funny, but the venom with which she said it made Rysten let out a dark chuckle.
“I’ve heard that one a time or two. You might want to get some new jokes, banshee,” he said holding his hand out for me. I ignored the invitation and proceeded towards the door.
“I’ll see you tonight,” I called over my shoulder without waiting for a reply. The chill in the autumn air hit me full force and swept the strands of my messy bun away from my face. The sky was a dull shade of black that matched the city cement, but the wind howled as it sent dead leaves tunneling down the alleys of Portland.
“What’s on the evening agenda today, love?” Rysten asked, strolling up beside me, his footsteps silent as the grave.
“I’m tired. I think I’m going to go home and watch How to Get Away with Murder with Bandit,” I said.
Rysten frowned. “You’re a demon. I don’t think it’s that difficult figuring out how to get away with murder, but if you need someone taken care of, I can do it for you…” His voice started to trail off as I let out the first true laugh I’d had this past week. I had to put a hand against my car to steady myself as water pricked my eyes.
“I don’t need someone killed, Rysten.” I said hoarsely.
“But you said—”