I take a deep breath. “Because he visited last night,” I say.
“He… visited you? Last night? Where?” he demands.
I close my eyes. This call is only going to get worse.
“My house.”
“Tell me what happened.” Judging from the way Eli’s voice is rumbling, I doubt he’s going to hold onto the phone conversation for much longer.
I look down at the chipped polish of my nails.
Just say it.
The only other person besides Des who knew about my debts was Temper. “I had three hundred and twenty-two favors I owed him. Now I have one less. He’s going to collect the rest starting tonight.”
“Three hundred and twenty-two favors?” Eli repeats. “Callie, the Bargainer would never—”
“He would—he did,” I insist.
The silence on the other end of the line is ominous.
He must be wondering what would make the Bargainer part from his business practices so thoroughly. And I know the moment he comes to his own conclusion.
I pull the phone away from my ear as Eli roars, and I hear something smash. “What were you thinking, making deals with the King of the Night?”
The King of the Night. Being the Bargainer was just a side gig for Desmond.
I don’t answer Eli. I can’t explain myself, not without unleashing more terrible secrets.
“What did he make you do?” A growl drowns out most of his words.
My dread mounts. My life is about to be flipped on its head. Knowing the Bargainer, whatever repayment he asks of me, it’s going to involve breaking the law at the very least.
Eli would never stand for that.
I have to tell him.
“Eli, I can’t be with you,” I whisper. The words have been echoing in my mind from the very beginning of our relationship. I’d just had so many reasons to not say them that I ignored the truth.
And now that they’re out in the open, relief washes through me. It’s the wrong reaction. Ending a relationship is sad; I should feel sad, not… free. But I do feel free. I’ve been leading this poor man along, desperately trying to fix my scarred, broken heart in the arms of someone who wasn’t right for me.
“Callie, you’re not serious, are you?” The wolf in him lets out a whine.
I close my eyes against the heartache I hear over the line; it’s a painful, broken sound, and it matches his voice.
Better this way.
“Eli,” I continue, “I don’t know what the Bargainer is going to ask me to do, and I have over three hundred favors I owe him.” My voice breaks.
I’m leaving Eli for what? Memories and dust. The man who broke my heart long ago, will make me do things at his behest, and the entire time I’ll have to remember that I brought this upon myself.
Long ago, I thought he was my savior, and like a fool I bought favor after favor from him, determined to keep him in my life, all the while falling for him.
I traded my life for a love that was nothing more than shadows and smokescreens.
“Callie, I’m not leaving you just because—”
“He kissed me.” I cut him off. “Last night, the Bargainer kissed me. That was the first debt he made me pay off.”
I meant to spare Eli’s feelings as much as possible because he’s a good man, but I also need him to stay away. I know the pack leader wants to protect me—to save me. And if he believes I want that as well, he will hunt Des down to the edges of the earth, and it won’t end until one of the two men is dead.
I can’t have that. Not when this situation is my fault, and these debts are my burden.
I force the rest my words out. “I don’t know what he’ll ask of me tonight, but whatever it is, I’ll have to do it. I’m so sorry,” I say. “I never meant for this to happen.”
I hear something like a whine from the other side of the receiver. Eli still hasn’t spoken, and I get the impression it’s because he can’t.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. Now for the especially unpleasant part.
“Eli,” I say, “if he makes me do something illegal, something that hurts someone, you might have to …” I trail off and rub my forehead.
As a supernatural bounty hunter, part of Eli’s job is to make paranormal bad guys disappear. And now I might become one of those bad guys.
“I don’t think you need to worry about hurting anyone,” Eli says, his voice rumbling menacingly. “The bastard has something else in store for you.”
Chapter 4
October, eight years ago
“Not you again,” the Bargainer says when he manifests in my dorm room.
I stumble back at the sight of him. This is the second time I’ve called on him, and I shouldn’t still be surprised that he can just appear at will, but I am.
I straighten. “Your magic is failing.” It’s supposed to sound like an accusation, but it comes out like a plea.
He eyes my cramped quarters. “I warned you it might,” he says, moving over to the window and glancing out at the rainy night.
I’ve already lost his attention.
“I want to ensure that it doesn’t.”
The Bargainer turns and assesses me. “So Baby Siren wants to make another deal?” he says, crossing his arms. “I didn’t manage to spook you enough the first time?”
My eyes move over his white hair and large, sculpted arms.
He spooked me all right. There’s something about him that looks a little feral. Feral and strange. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
“He… visited you? Last night? Where?” he demands.
I close my eyes. This call is only going to get worse.
“My house.”
“Tell me what happened.” Judging from the way Eli’s voice is rumbling, I doubt he’s going to hold onto the phone conversation for much longer.
I look down at the chipped polish of my nails.
Just say it.
The only other person besides Des who knew about my debts was Temper. “I had three hundred and twenty-two favors I owed him. Now I have one less. He’s going to collect the rest starting tonight.”
“Three hundred and twenty-two favors?” Eli repeats. “Callie, the Bargainer would never—”
“He would—he did,” I insist.
The silence on the other end of the line is ominous.
He must be wondering what would make the Bargainer part from his business practices so thoroughly. And I know the moment he comes to his own conclusion.
I pull the phone away from my ear as Eli roars, and I hear something smash. “What were you thinking, making deals with the King of the Night?”
The King of the Night. Being the Bargainer was just a side gig for Desmond.
I don’t answer Eli. I can’t explain myself, not without unleashing more terrible secrets.
“What did he make you do?” A growl drowns out most of his words.
My dread mounts. My life is about to be flipped on its head. Knowing the Bargainer, whatever repayment he asks of me, it’s going to involve breaking the law at the very least.
Eli would never stand for that.
I have to tell him.
“Eli, I can’t be with you,” I whisper. The words have been echoing in my mind from the very beginning of our relationship. I’d just had so many reasons to not say them that I ignored the truth.
And now that they’re out in the open, relief washes through me. It’s the wrong reaction. Ending a relationship is sad; I should feel sad, not… free. But I do feel free. I’ve been leading this poor man along, desperately trying to fix my scarred, broken heart in the arms of someone who wasn’t right for me.
“Callie, you’re not serious, are you?” The wolf in him lets out a whine.
I close my eyes against the heartache I hear over the line; it’s a painful, broken sound, and it matches his voice.
Better this way.
“Eli,” I continue, “I don’t know what the Bargainer is going to ask me to do, and I have over three hundred favors I owe him.” My voice breaks.
I’m leaving Eli for what? Memories and dust. The man who broke my heart long ago, will make me do things at his behest, and the entire time I’ll have to remember that I brought this upon myself.
Long ago, I thought he was my savior, and like a fool I bought favor after favor from him, determined to keep him in my life, all the while falling for him.
I traded my life for a love that was nothing more than shadows and smokescreens.
“Callie, I’m not leaving you just because—”
“He kissed me.” I cut him off. “Last night, the Bargainer kissed me. That was the first debt he made me pay off.”
I meant to spare Eli’s feelings as much as possible because he’s a good man, but I also need him to stay away. I know the pack leader wants to protect me—to save me. And if he believes I want that as well, he will hunt Des down to the edges of the earth, and it won’t end until one of the two men is dead.
I can’t have that. Not when this situation is my fault, and these debts are my burden.
I force the rest my words out. “I don’t know what he’ll ask of me tonight, but whatever it is, I’ll have to do it. I’m so sorry,” I say. “I never meant for this to happen.”
I hear something like a whine from the other side of the receiver. Eli still hasn’t spoken, and I get the impression it’s because he can’t.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. Now for the especially unpleasant part.
“Eli,” I say, “if he makes me do something illegal, something that hurts someone, you might have to …” I trail off and rub my forehead.
As a supernatural bounty hunter, part of Eli’s job is to make paranormal bad guys disappear. And now I might become one of those bad guys.
“I don’t think you need to worry about hurting anyone,” Eli says, his voice rumbling menacingly. “The bastard has something else in store for you.”
Chapter 4
October, eight years ago
“Not you again,” the Bargainer says when he manifests in my dorm room.
I stumble back at the sight of him. This is the second time I’ve called on him, and I shouldn’t still be surprised that he can just appear at will, but I am.
I straighten. “Your magic is failing.” It’s supposed to sound like an accusation, but it comes out like a plea.
He eyes my cramped quarters. “I warned you it might,” he says, moving over to the window and glancing out at the rainy night.
I’ve already lost his attention.
“I want to ensure that it doesn’t.”
The Bargainer turns and assesses me. “So Baby Siren wants to make another deal?” he says, crossing his arms. “I didn’t manage to spook you enough the first time?”
My eyes move over his white hair and large, sculpted arms.
He spooked me all right. There’s something about him that looks a little feral. Feral and strange. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
