The Lying, the Witch, and the Werewolf (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services Book 4) by Kate Quinn (uplifting books for women .txt) 📗

an unworthy man. I asked her to join the community, where people are not so hung up on ideas of monogamy and marriage.”

“Brent cheated on Giselle?” I ask, the truth dawning. “And now she’s going to kill Brent? How? Tell me.”

“I don’t know. She just wanted us to create a little distraction, so I provided her with the chocolate.” She looks to the convention center entrance. “I don’t know how it’s going in there.”

“Shit, shit, shit,” I say, rushing to the double doors.

“Paige, are you sure you want to go in there?” Nico asks.

“I’ve got to save Brent,” I shout and I can’t believe those words have come out of my mouth.

“You’re not coming in here,” a security guard says. “Not with all that hullabaloo going on. This guy isn’t even wearing pants!” He points to Nico.

“You don’t like chocolate, do you?” Nico asks.

“Never touch the stuff,” the guard agrees. “Is that what all this is? Tainted chocolate?”

Nico nods and pats his chest in a weird way. It takes me a second to realize he’s reminding me about Seamus’ necklace. The one that glamours you to look like someone else. I hold it and think Giselle thoughts.

I walk toward the doors as the guard turns back. “Wait a minute!” he shouts. I tense, ready to get tackled but the guard reaches past me, grabbing the door handle. “Let me get that for you, Mrs. Anders.”

“Thank you,” I say tightly.

Inside, I pass a man staring at himself in the mirror, saying over and over that all he desires is himself.

I don’t have time to stop and make sure every person I pass is okay. I have to find Giselle.

I have to save my psycho ex’s life.

26

Brent was meant to give a speech, so I make my way to the stage. Sure enough he’s at the podium, but there are also about twenty women on the stage, including Giselle—the real Giselle.

“You think I wouldn’t find out?” she shouts. “Or do you think I’m that much of a doormat that I wouldn’t care?” All the women around her are attractive in the same way, short skirts and high heels. Are they models hired for the convention?

Brent wipes his mouth with his sleeve and I can clearly see he’s been at the chocolate. “What do you want from me?” he shouts. “I married you. I married you even though I desire another woman.”

“You seem to desire any woman with a pulse!”

“I want you, Brent,” one of the women says. A few of the women echo her statement. “I desire you.”

“You said you would marry me!” one of them shouts.

Another says, “Me too! Then I had to read about your wedding to someone else online!”

Oh shit. These are all the women that Brent has screwed on the side. This is turning into an episode of Jerry Springer. I make my way closer to the stage, trying to find an escape route for Brent.

“I don’t want any of you!” Brent shouts. “You’re all only good for a quick screw.”

That is not the right thing to say. The women start to close in, one gnashes her teeth. This is not looking good.

He turns to Giselle. “I only married you for my career. And that didn’t even work out. You have a half-sister who’s a witch in that stupid sex cult! You married me under false pretenses!”

“Oh, like when you lied about loving me and honoring me until death does us part? When I found out what Adorra was up to with the chocolate, I knew it was my chance.”

“The rally is a disaster. I’m never going to recover from this.”

“No, you’re not,” Giselle says. “Because I desire revenge.”

“Revenge,” a woman agrees. Then a few more chime in. “I desire revenge.”

I slowly make my way up the stairs to the stage. If I grab Brent’s attention now, we can make a run for it. But then he says something that stops me in my tracks.

“The only woman I’ve ever truly desired is Paige Harper,” he says. His mic makes my name echo through the conference center.

Giselle’s face turns to vinegar. “I know you’re weirdly attached to that cleaning lady piece of trash. I’ve never understood it! You wouldn’t even fuck me until after you guys broke up.” I always wondered if Brent had cheated on me. I guess in his own sick twisted way he really did love me. A sad, selfish love.

Brent nods. “I know, it never made sense to me either. On paper she wasn’t good enough for me. But I couldn’t get enough of her in bed.”

I wince as this is once again amplified by the microphone.

Giselle rolls her eyes. “I’m sure she was a demon between the sheets. Meanwhile, you treated me like shit. These are just the women I could track down that you’ve been with since we started dating. How could you do this to me?” she spits.

One of the women steps forward and smacks Brent across the face. He looks shocked, but quickly recovers, turning and pushing her to the ground, hard. She goes down like a sack of potatoes, her ankle twisting in her five-inch heels.

Shit, this is going downhill fast. I have no doubt that this many women can do some real harm to Brent, but he’s not going to go down without a fight. And as a one-time Navy Seal, he’s got a lot of fight in him.

I dash to his side. “Brent!”

He looks at me, confused. “Giselle?”

Oh shit, I still have my Giselle glamour on. I don’t have time to explain. I reach my hand up to the charm and drop the facade. “Come with me if you want to live!” I tell him.

He blinks hard. “Paige?”

An angry woman approaches, swinging her purse like a medieval mace. I push Brent out of the way, but he still gets a good smack to the temple. He stumbles back and I push him to keep going, heading off the stage and down the stairs.

“Paige, what are you doing