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But was he really? Lachlan might not have been pure evil, but he was more than capable of getting his hands dirty.
“Fine.” I was going to regret this. Maybe he’d known I wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation, but it was more than that, more than seeing my own actions in his. It was about Ciara. I knew what it was like to have no control over my life, to have others making decisions for me. Even if Ciara had agreed, I doubted she felt like she had a choice. Maybe I could show her that she did. Maybe I could help her find a way out, and she could do the same for me.
He relaxed, his shoulders softening, and I realized for the first time how rigid he’d been until this moment. As if he couldn’t have just forced me to do what he wanted. “I’ll need you to stay here for the next month, of course.”
“Here?” I blurted out. I hadn’t heard him correctly.
“Why do you think I informed the hospital that you’d accepted a private position?”
My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my head. Arrogant, selfish, lying fae prick. “Do you need medical care, or do I get the pleasure of seeing that you do?”
His lips twitched. “I thought we were on the same page about your homicidal urges.”
“I can inflict plenty of pain without killing you,” I promised.
He had the good sense to look concerned. “I need you here.”
“And I need electricity and data. You freed up my schedule.” A dubious claim, to be sure. “But I can’t just take a vacation to the Otherworld. I need to be reachable.”
He considered for a moment, and I braced myself for him to say no, for him to remind me that I had no one in my world who would even notice. The hospital didn’t need me. He’d seen to that. The closest thing I had to friendships was with my overworked colleagues, who would have been told about my new position by Garcia. And if Channing didn’t want to speak to me now, he’d be even less inclined when he was released into police custody.
“You make a good point,” he said, surprising me. “There’s an easy solution. You’ll move into the Avalon with us. I assume you can suffer staying in a five-star hotel.”
“Does it have internet?” I wasn’t agreeing to anything that easily. Not with his track record.
“And electricity and running water,” he said dryly.
I was about to cave when I processed the rest of what he’d said. “Wait. What do you mean, move into the Avalon with us?”
“We don’t live in the Otherworld.” He sounded amused at the idea. “No electricity, remember? It might kill Ciara and Roark if their phones died.”
My mouth fell open. “You don’t even live in the Otherworld?” I cursed under my breath. “But you made me sleep here.”
“I thought it was better if you remained in the Otherworld the first few nights. No data, remember?” He unscrewed the cap of his flask and refilled the glass. He handed it to me. “I didn’t need you calling the police on me.”
And I might have tried to do just that. “That’s what Roark started to say at breakfast.” I clutched the glass to my chest.
“He has a big mouth.”
I made a mental note of that. If Roark was the other person who knew him, I needed to get to know him as well.
Lachlan kissed like a god, but the devil ran through him. He might not be evil, but he was ruthless. If he was willing to use his favorite sister as leverage, it was only a matter of time before he turned our bargain to his advantage.
“So, I don’t have to stay in the Otherworld every night,” I said slowly.
He rubbed his temples like I was giving him a headache. “I just want you…nearby.”
And the Otherworld was nearby in his eyes. I’d spent the last two nights sleeping in a chair in front of the door, and the bastard hadn’t even been in the same world as me.
“The Avalon is directly over the Nether Court, which means it’s nearly as secure. We can draw from our magic more easily there,” he admitted, “and there’s your blessed electricity. Any more objections?”
At least the Avalon was in my world.
“What should I pack?” I asked, wringing my hands together.
“Obviously, your wardrobe is being arranged.” He gestured toward where I’d been poked for the last several hours. “Bring whatever you like, but feel free to leave your attitude at home.”
“I’m afraid that’s part of the package,” I said sweetly.