Chapter 13

As soon as the words left her mouth, Nerissa felt her cheeks heat up a little. Ever since she left his place last time, her stomach had been aching for days. She'd just started to get better, and last night's mess had stirred things up again — now the pain was back, all too familiar.

Jace paused slightly, his eyes dropping toward her legs. "It's hurting again?"

She nodded, a bit embarrassed but honest. "Same kind of pain as before. It's kinda awful."

Jace pressed his lips together, something dark flickering in his gaze. He set the glass of water on the coffee table and tossed out two simple words. "Wait here."

A few minutes later, he came out of the bedroom holding two boxes of imported pills, which he dropped into her lap.

"Painkillers. Once a day after meals. If it still hurts in two days, come see me at the hospital."

Nerissa quickly stuffed the meds into her bag and said, "Thanks."

"Go on, then."

He turned back to the bedroom without another word — no attempt to keep her around.

They'd had a couple of pretty "close" encounters by now, and Nerissa had some sense of his dry, distant vibe. Their relationship was strictly transactional. The fact that he let her crash for a night was more than enough.

She slung her bag over her shoulder and reached for the door to leave.

"Ding-dong — ding-dong — "The doorbell suddenly rang — loud and unexpected.

Nerissa jumped, startled. Instinctively, she glanced at the screen by the entryway. A familiar face popped up.

It was Liam.

Her heart skipped a beat. She hurried back into the living room, her face flushed with panic, looking like she had no idea what to do.

"What's wrong?" Jace poked his head out and asked when he saw her acting weird.

"Your nephew's at the door," she said quickly, cheeks still burning. She remembered how respectful Liam had been last night, calling Jace "uncle" all proper. She never imagined he'd show up at Jace's place this early.

If Liam saw her here now, she'd probably want to curl up and disappear.

Jace seemed momentarily surprised, but he quickly pulled himself together. While tying the robe sash around his waist, he nodded toward the bedroom with a slight tilt of his chin.

"Go hide in there."

Nerissa instantly understood. Without thinking, she turned on her heel and darted toward the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Jace scanned the slightly messy living room before heading over to open the door.

"Uncle Jace, what took you so long? My dad asked me to drop off some documents..." Liam's voice floated in from the hallway.

Through the closed bedroom door, Nerissa could just barely catch the gist of what he was saying.

"The stuff's here. You can head out now." Jace took the file and didn't even bother being polite.

"Wait up, I've still got something to say," Liam said, sidling up with a grin. "It's about last night at the club. Can you just, like, not get involved?"

Jace frowned slightly, shooting him a sharp glance. "What exactly are you saying?"

Liam gave a sleazy chuckle. "That girl from last night? Sweet little thing, innocent as hell. I'd love to break her in."

Jace's expression didn't budge, but his eyes flicked briefly toward the bedroom. His voice stayed cold as ice. "No."

"Why not?" Liam looked puzzled.

It's not like Jace had ever stepped in before, even when he'd played dirtier games. Now all of a sudden he was acting the responsible uncle — it felt weird.

"She's not for you. You'll just mess it up," Jace shot back, firm and final.

Liam wasn't having it. "Don't tell me you think I'm ruining some good girl. Let me tell you something — she was selling her eggs for cash just a while ago. I overheard her on the phone. You think she's pure? Please. Half the guys on campus are drooling over her. If I don't take her, someone else will. In the end, it doesn't matter who does it first. She's getting ruined either way."

At that, Jace's gaze darkened, his eyes losing a few degrees of warmth. Thinking of Nerissa sobbing on his bed last night, and how others were eyeing her like vultures, Jace felt his head ache.

"Other people I won't bother about, but you?" He cut straight to the chase. "Keep it in your pants. If I catch you crossing any lines, you know exactly what'll happen."

Liam shivered a little despite himself. Just thinking about all the ruthless tricks his uncle had pulled over the years made his scalp tingle. "Alright, alright, I get it. I won't go after her, okay?"

Jace shot him a frosty look before turning toward the closet to change. "If there's nothing else, get lost. Stop hanging around here."

Watching his uncle disappear around the corner, Liam let out a sigh, half amused, half helpless.

He had just turned to leave when something caught his eye — a shadow by the bedroom door crack. Liam paused mid-step.

His usually empty and silent uncle's place... had someone inside? And hidden in the bedroom? Was it a girl?

His curiosity instantly kicked in. With a grin forming, he started walking toward the door.

Nerissa was pressed up silently against the back of the door, holding her breath to listen. Everything outside had gone quiet for a while now.

Then, out of nowhere — click — the doorknob started to turn.