but she lacked the Alpha muscle to keep her newly acquired subjects in check on her own. Some days, he wasn’t sure who was the ship and who was the barnacle, but either way, they had a borderline symbiotic relationship that neither of them wanted to be the one to wreck. As much as they hated each other, the alternative was worse.
Probably. Best-case scenario, they would break even and end up right back where they started. He hated Evelyn, but she was comfortable, like a shitty old chair with rips and stains in it, but you knew where all those stains had come from, and they were your stains.
“Twenty minutes,” he growled. “I play nice and wave like a beauty pageant contestant for twenty minutes and then I’m done.”
“Big plans with the pretty boy?” she asked, puckering her lips.
Colt grabbed his jacket off the bed as he brushed past her. Evelyn’s heels tapped on the stone as she ran to catch up with him. He heard that sound in his sleep.
“How is that going, anyway?” she asked cheerfully. “Does he still have to dig his nails in deep so you won’t eat him while you fuck?”
Colt shot her a death glare. That was what he got for confiding in Susan. She despised Evelyn as much as he did, but their sapphic love-hate relationship had rekindled ever since Colt had moved the Browns into the estate. It served both the purpose of keeping them safe now that there was no hiding the connection between them and there was no shortage of opportunistic ghouls who would use them to get to him, and ensuring that he wasn’t completely outnumbered by Evelyn’s goons.
“Poor Jason,” Evelyn said with a disingenuous sigh. “I can only imagine how he’d feel if he found out the very thing that killed his beloved brother right in front of his eyes is the same kind of monster as his booty call.”
“Probably about the same way Vincent felt when the coldhearted bitch who shared his bed for twelve years orchestrated his murder,” Colt said, painting a stiff smile on his face as they reached the foyer where the Hillyards were waiting to leave.
“There you are,” Nancy Hillyard cried, tottering over on her spindly heels. “Here Lee and I thought you were hiding on us.”
“Not at all,” Colt said, proud of just how good he’d gotten at lying. He still hated lying to Jason, but if he’d known just how much easier being a deceptive piece of shit would make dealing with assholes, he would have converted years ago. Maybe he could stomach politics. “Just another crisis this one needed me to step in on.” He shielded his mouth as he nodded to Evelyn. “You know how it is.”
“Finding underlings you can trust is always such a challenge,” Nancy said, caressing Colt’s arm with a sympathetic sigh.
Colt could feel Evelyn wishing death upon him as he turned to shake Lee’s hand. In the beginning, he’d struggled to figure out what to do and worried his “uncivilized” ways would cause some violation of the Kinship’s many rules and regulations that would bring the Council down on his head, but then, he’d found a shortcut. All he had to do was his best, most obnoxious impression of Jason’s father and they loved him.
“So glad you both came. Next time, I hope you’ll be able to stay longer, and bring the kids,” he said, giving the other ghoul’s hand a hardy, borderline violent shake.
“We certainly will,” Lee said, clearly buying the fake hospitality. “I have to admit, when I heard the Alpha of Providence had implemented an anti-hunting policy, I had my doubts about the man you’d be, but I’m quite impressed. I can’t say you’ve convinced me it’s the right decision for a larger state, but for a quaint little city like Providence, it’s an interesting idea--and I look forward to seeing how you implement it.”
“What my husband is trying to say in the most long-winded way possible is that you can count on our support at the Council, darling,” Nancy purred, taking Lee’s arm even though her eyes were only for Colt. He didn’t miss the way she raked her teeth over her bottom lip as she looked him over.
“I truly appreciate it,” Colt said warmly. If he didn’t stop smiling, he was sure he’d have a stroke. “Don’t be strangers now!” he called as they walked down the path to the car his valet had just pulled up to the curb.