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Maddox rolled his eyes. “Leave.” He snarled. Addressing Todd without looking at him.
I didn’t even need to turn to see that Todd had fled.
I tried to feel guilty that Maddox had frightened Todd, but I didn’t. I hadn’t realized until the moment that I was pressed into Maddox’s side. Close enough that I could smell the scent of his laundry detergent and the remnants of his cologne—cracked pepper, juniper, and some deceptively feminine and floral.
Was that another woman’s perfume?
A spear of jealousy sliced my belly and skewered me. I tried not to let it show on my face—confusing as the emotion was.
I stamped my foot. “I can protect myself,” I tilted my chin and met Maddox’s baby blue eyes. So light in color but shadowed with the kind of darkness that I had never really encountered before.
Maddox made me feel like a little girl that didn’t know shit about the world.
I didn’t know if I liked feeling that way.
“Heard Fletcher warning you to stay away from Gorge.” Maddox continued, looking down his nose at me. “By Gorge, he meant that guy.” Maddox jammed a thumb over his shoulder. “Everyone knows that Lobby Todd carries.”
I restrained my laugh at Maddox’s derisive name for Todd. “Fletcher could have just said that,” I pointed out, my eyes wide with anger.
Maddox scoffed. “As if you’ve listened to anyone a day in your life.”
I stepped forward until my chest brushed against his stomach. He was too tall for me to reach higher. “What is your problem with me?” I flung my hand out, gesturing to myself and my new body.
Maddox rolled his eyes. “As if I think about you, Princess.”
“Princess?” I spluttered.
“What else should I call you?” Maddox continued, heated. “Every word out of your mouth is laced with self-pity. Demanding, pleading, and waxing on about how you deserveempathy. Compassion. Time. All that bullshit.” His nose creased in disgust. “What I see is a little girl that doesn’t realize how good she’s got it. So what if you’re fucking dead. So many souls go down the crapshoot to Hell. They get tortured for eons, all for the enjoyment of the demons. You gotlucky. Your daddy signed away your soul, and the only reason you’re not being used as a footstool for the Devil himself is that he’s been MIA for the past two years.”
“As if being a Reaper is better,” I replied hotly.
Maddox bared his teeth. “Having a body that can feel. Touch. Eat. Fuck.” He rattled off a list. “It's a fucking blessing compared to what those souls go through.”
I clenched my fists, my nails dug into my palms. My nostrils flared in anger. “I didn’t ask for this,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Make the best of it.” He replied sardonically. “Millions, if not billions, of souls would happily take your place.”
Before I could formulate a response, Maddox turned on his heel and stalked away.
I pressed my trembling hand to my stomach. My heart was beating so hard it felt like I had run a marathon.
It took a few moments before I felt comfortable enough to walk back through the suite and to the bar. One of the stools on the end was free, and I slid into place. Jamal sidled up to me a moment later.
“Struck out?” I asked, glancing over his shoulder as I searched for his blonde ladyfriend.
Jamal didn’t answer but threw his head back and belted out a carefree laugh, showing off every one of his white teeth. “Something like that.” He said with a grin. “Having fun?”
I gave him a long look before I sighed, feeling my body deflate as I turned back to the bar and looked down at my hands. “Maddox hates me.”
“Maddox?” Jamal blinked in disbelief. “Our Maddox? Maddy, the picture of zen?”
My brow arched. “I don’t think we are talking about the same person.”
“Maddox doesn’t hate anyone,” Jamal assured me.
“Could have fooled me,” I sat forward in my stool and looked down the bar, but Fletcher had gone, and a stranger had taken his place.
“I think it had something to do with my rant earlier, back at HQ,” I admitted with a sniff. “He thinks I’m ungrateful.”
