When Rachael spoke again, her voice was colourless of emotion. She turned flat gray-green eyes on him, and said, without force, “Mihangel. Let me down. Now.”
Glaring, he set her on her feet, but kept an arm around her waist. Rachael locked one knee and willed herself not to waver. She [...]

“I want you to go away,” he replied, palming one of the wicked little weapons.
“No can do, little fighter. Came for him,” she jerked her head at Mihangel, “gonna leave with him. Contract.”
Mihangel shot out of his seat, hand clenched into a fist. “Someone put a contract out on /me/?”
Without looking, she [...]

Tevani arched a bushy eyebrow. “So you don’t believe what he says about his feelings for you?”
Rachael gulped from the new drink, coughing slightly. She thought maybe Tevani was putting less alcohol in now. “I do … but I don’t really … it’s me, you see, and so … I don’t know.”
“It’s [...]

An explosion of chatter outside the door warned her in time to hurriedly sit down and attempt to look nonchalant, before Butterfly burst into the suite, violet hair – yes, she’d decided to go with curls after all, Rachael noted – flying everywhere and gesticulating wildly.
“—that stone bitch, telling me I sh—um, good morning, Rachael,” [...]

“I’m not asking you to do anything,” he reminded her. “But I am going to take care of you, whether you like it or no.”
“That helps so very much,” she said bitterly.
“Stop telling yourself no!”
“I can’t!” she shouted, and burst into tears again, huge noisy tearing sobs that shredded at her throat and made [...]