She stroked his dark hair back from his forehead. “I’m okay with it, actually. That freak was going to cut my nose off. How am I supposed to make a living as an exotic dancer without a nose?”
He traced a line down the nose in question with his index finger. “It would be difficult, but I have a feeling you could make it work.”
“Yeah, sure.” She exhaled shakily. She was putting on a good front but the run-in with the drifter had scared her deeply. “I wasn’t so thrilled with the death threat, either.”
“Drifters are tricksters and opportunists but they’re rarely murderers. I think this asshole was just saying that to scare you and get a rise out of me.”
She felt a small bit of relief. “He got it.”
“He did.” He scowled. “He’s probably laughing at me right now.”
“And bleeding.”
“That, too.”
It helped ease her mind a little bit to learn this additional fact about drifters. She wondered if she should start keeping notes on all of the Others she was meeting. It might be a good idea.
She suddenly realized that she and Darrak were so close they were practically embracing. Even though he was a demon, and a weakened one at that, she felt safe with him, especially when his arms were around her.
“Uh…” She forced herself to move away from him. He broke his hold on her with no argument. “Let’s go back to Triple-A. I can call Fay and give her the news. Actually, I’m surprised that since she’s Otherworldly herself she wasn’t able to tell there was something up with her husband.”
He leaned against the brick wall. “Drifters are hard to detect. They’re like con men, easily able to adapt and thrive in their human camouflage. But the good news is that as a fairy she’ll have the right contacts to exorcise the drifter right out of him — even if she doesn’t want to dip into her own magic to do it.”
“So you’re saying I shouldn’t recommend Malcolm and Rosa’s services to her?”
He shook his head. “That’s a bad idea.”
“I was kidding.”
His lips twitched into a half smile. “I figured.”
She fished into her purse for her cell phone. She had a text message from Andy asking her to come back to the office as soon as possible. He’d left it two hours ago.
“Maybe Andy has some news on your elusive witch,” she said, tucking the phone back into her purse.
“I hope so.”
She put a hand on her hip, waiting for the remnants of her afternoon fear-fest to leave her. “Then again, if everyone is possessed these days, maybe it’s the latest fashion. Maybe I should keep you as an accessory.”
He eyed her. “Kidding again?”
“Oh, yes. Completely.”
She drove back to the office, struggling to keep her attention on the road. She was still shaken by the events of the long day. Between figuring out what Darrak was trying to hide from her to being attacked by another possessed person, it was a bit too much to process. So she focused exclusively on the demon.
He’d protected her. Fiercely. Did he do that because he was defending his current host? Or for other reasons? Last night he’d admitted to being fond of her. Was that the truth?
She hadn’t been lying when she told him she believed he wasn’t evil. He’d been a pain in her ass so far, but he hadn’t done anything to make her feel overly threatened. And he was her guardian angel, although she agreed there was probably a better term for it.
Eden didn’t think he was evil, but he still scared her. The last time she’d had this much drama in her life was when she’d gone out with Zack in college. She’d repressed most of those memories but they’d all come flooding back when talking to Vanessa about her situation.
If there was one guy in the world who had the ability to hurt her in more ways than one, it was Darrak. Good or not, he was a literal demon, while Zack had only been one in theory.
Was he fond of her? Maybe.
Was she growing fond of him in return?
She couldn’t help it — she was.
But no matter how much he tried to protect her, at the end of the day she knew he was using her. How could he not? This was his chance after so many years to finally break his curse. If she was in his position, she’d do whatever it took to find the answers she needed.
And how much did he trust her in return? He wouldn’t tell her his real name because that would give her power over him. He wouldn’t tell her how to dampen his presence because ditto on the power. He wouldn’t admit to using any kind of glamour to make himself more attractive and disarming, but she had a strange and chilling feeling that he did.
So what did that leave her with?
The man she’d been passionately kissing and attempting to undress that morning so they could do more than just kiss? Or an energy-draining creature of darkness who was using her to get what he wanted?
Place your bets, she thought.
— They arrived back at Triple-A and Eden was surprised to see that the small parking lot outside of the Hot Stuff coffee bar and the detective agency was busier than she’d ever seen it before. Two people brushed past her as she entered through the front door with Darrak right behind her.
“Hi there,” a balding man said. “It’s so wonderful to know you’re here for us. We appreciate it more than you can imagine.”
Before she knew what was happening, he grabbed her into a tight hug. She didn’t hug him back, instead opting for feeling awkward and confused.
“Uh… great,” she managed when he released her. “Thanks, I guess.”
Before she could ask who he was, or who the beaming woman next to him who gave her a big thumbs-up was, he left and they made their way to the VW Beetle parked next to Eden’s Toyota.
She looked at Darrak, who was frowning deeply. “What?” she asked.
“That’s strange.”
“What?” she repeated.
“Nothing.” He shook his head. “I’m sure I’m just imagining things, but…”
“But what?”
“I could have sworn those were a couple of werewolves.”
“Were—?” She clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from shouting. Then she whispered, “Werewolves don’t exist.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not slipping into denial all of a sudden, are you?”
“No, I wish. But werewolves?”