I nodded, and she slowly let go of my ankle. Her hand hovered over it just in case I freaked out again.
The emotions I’d been feeling weren’t gone exactly. They were still there, a bubbling brew of soul-sucking nastiness. But this time, I knew that wasn’t how I felt. Astaroth was making me feel this way so that I’d be easier to take down. Giving into the emotions was as good as letting him win. And that so wasn’t fucking happening.
Better? Dastien asked.
I think so. Yeah.
I can still feel you—
I know. But that’s not me. That’s the tie to Astaroth. And I’m stronger than the tie.
Good. Dastien pulled me fully into his lap and rested his chin on my shoulder. “Thank you, Samantha.”
“No problem. But I’m assuming we’re heading to the airport?”
“Yes,” Lucas said. “I think it’d be good if you came back to Texas with us.”
“I second that,” I said. “We need you.”
“No. I can’t…”
“Is it because of me?” Claudia asked.
“No. It’s because of me. I…” She was quiet for a second. “I come with a whole truck load of baggage. The kind that will make your fight harder.”
“Harder? How?” From all I could tell, she was only helping.
She pressed her lips together as she thought. “It’s a long story, and none of it’s important right now. But just know that wherever I am, demons find me. From the sounds of things, you’ve got enough of those. So, I’m going to keep my distance.” She sighed. “I’m really trying to keep away from demon drama.”
“And how’s that going for you?” Chris asked.
Samantha settled back against the seat. “Some days are better than others.”
“You helped us. We’ve got a lot of friends with a lot of different skills,” Adrian said. “Maybe we can help you? Why don’t you come with us and find out?”
She closed her eyes for a second. “Nah. I’ve tried a bunch of different things, and you know, sometimes you just have to be what you are. I’m cool with it now. But thanks for the offer.”
“If there is ever anything we can do to help?” Claudia said.
“You’ll be my first call, cuz. For sure.”
“Good.”
“Not to interrupt,” the driver said. “But I heard you say that you were going to the airport?”
“LAX,” Lucas said. “Plane should be ready shortly.”
The driver didn’t say anything or let out a sigh, but his shoulders loosened a little. He was going to be glad when we left, and I couldn’t blame him. He’d had a brush with Astaroth, and that was enough to scare even the toughest of Alphas.
I leaned my head against the window. The tie wasn’t broken, and I’d had a series of completely messed-up visions. I hadn’t gotten what I’d come for, but I wasn’t leaving empty handed either.
It was now clearer than ever that I had to find a way to take Astaroth down or things were about to get a whole lot worse.
Thirteen
The driver got out and opened the door for us as we pulled up to the private terminal. This time the door fell off the hinges.
He looked at it like I would look at someone who took my last donut.