“What do you mean again?” Kristy asks, taking her plate into the dining room. “Something was messing with it before?”“I’m not sure,” I confess, looking at Binx. “We went for a run and it felt weird. But then it went back to normal, and I had all three of my familiars canvas the woods. They found nothing, making me think it was an influx of power from the recent Solstice.”Binx meows, reminding me that he, Freya, and Pandora have continued to patrol the woods and paid extra attention to the Ley line since then and haven’t felt anything weird since.“You know how the Ley line ebbs and flows. Sometimes it gets a little extra power and you can feel it in the air.”“It’s been rather calm for a while.” Naomi stabs her fork through a piece of broccoli. “We’re due for a little influx, actually. I should have brought my crystals to charge. The Ley line runs right through your downtown, doesn’t it?”“Yeah, almost directly under the main road,” Kristy answers. “Which at first was done to keep n
“That’s ridiculous,” I spit. “I didn’t make a deal with the Devil, nor would I ever. I’ll admit I’m reckless and impulsive, but I don’t have a death wish.”Kristy twists the ties to her cloak around her fingers. “I hate to admit that this has any validity, but it does. I mean, if you look at it from their point of view.” Her blue eyes meet mine, and she frowns apologetically. “The demon was after twenty-five-year-old Virgos, which you are, and then you were able to fight it off. We know that’s not how things went down, but from an outsider looking in…”“Fucking hell, I see it too.” My eyes fall shut, and I shake my head. “What do I do now?”“Leave,” Evander says. “Dessert is optional, and many have already left. The Grand Coven has a sentencing tomorrow, and I know Ruth and Albert will be leaving tonight. Go before they have a chance to question you about it, because we both know the punishment for being found guilty of Satanism.”“I’ll go too,” Kristy says. “Make it look not as obvio
The harrowing sound of metal on metal jolts me from my sleep. I sit up with a start, comforted instantly by Lucas’s embrace.“I was wondering if you’d startle again,” he says, cradling me against his chest. “What is it about the automatic blinds that does that to you?”I inhale, hearing the echoing of the see-through door opening. My heart speeds up, knowing what’s coming next. I hate leaving this room almost as much as I hate being in it.“It’s something from my childhood,” I blurt. “Something associated with a bad memory.”He runs his fingers through my hair. “Repressing these memories is doing you no favor, Callie.”He’s right, but dammit, I’ve worked hard to store these memories away and never let them rise to the surface again.“Your father and brother were cruel to you because you were different, but there’s more to it than that, isn’t there?”“A lot more.”Lucas lays us back down, bringing me onto his chest. He turned on the heated blanket before he got into bed, and the warmth
I come to a dead stop. “What do you mean, my brother?”“Scott Martin is your brother, right?”“Yeah, he is.”“He’s on the city council and pulled a favor or something and got a friend from the Health Department to come to the bar. Thank fucking God I was here late last night and was waiting out the sun in the back. It’s like a bloody raid, and we’ve been tagged with a shit ton of health code violations that don’t exist. They say we have rats. Rats! There aren’t even any rats in the fucking basement! I’d smell them if there were.”I close my eyes, heart racing as anger surges through me. “He’s going after Lucas to try and get to me.”“No shit, you witch-bitch.”“That’s not helping,” I snap. “Are they still there?”“Yes, in the kitchen throwing stuff around as they look for messes that aren’t fucking there,” she yells so the Health Department workers hear her. “And I’m starting to get real hungry.”“Don’t even draw your fangs,” I warn. “That’s what Scott wants. He’s not there, is he?”“
“Hey,” I say, fully knowing the look of terror on my face is giving everything away. Ella stares at me, jaw still hanging open. Fuck. “So, I, ummm.” I look back at the cat—at my brother—and then back at Ella. I let out a nervous laugh. Should I try and grab Ella’s wrist, hoping to feel her heart beating before she can scream? I’m so shaken I don’t know if I’ll be able to get into her mind anyway.“And for my next act,” I start, and rush forward, grabbing Scott-Cat by the scruff. He yowls and tries to get out of my arms, scratching me in the process.“Keep that up and I’ll head straight to the vet for a neuter,” I say through gritted teeth. He goes limp in my arms but continues to growl. “Nice seeing you again,” I say to Ella and dash past her, down the hall and into the elevator. The doors close right as she screams.“See?” I say, looking down at Scott. “This is what happens when you cross me.” I’m trying to sound tough, but I know the shock in my eyes is anything but menacing. I have
I wave my hand over the door to magically unlock it. I’m balancing the box against my hip, regretting turning Scott into anything weighing over ten pounds. Before I even reach for the door knob, the front door opens.“Callie,” Lucas says, throwing the door back. Sunlight burns his skin, but he doesn’t so much as flinch. Binx darts in first, and I hurry along behind him, shutting the door with my foot. Part of Lucas’s face is charred, but that’s not the most jarring thing about him. His eyes are wide and full of worry. It’s the closest I’ve seen him to looking scared, but it’s not for himself. He’s terrified of losing me. “You should have called me right away.”I set Scott-cat down, and Lucas pulls me into an embrace.“I didn’t want to wake you,” I confess, looking up at him. His skin is healing already. “I knew you hadn’t gotten much sleep lately.”“That doesn’t matter.” He cups my face in his large hands, tipping my chin up to him. “You matter.”He called Eliza right as I was leaving
Lucas turns his head to mine, eyes wide. “The man who sold you like livestock and left you to be tortured? Let him come in.”“The ‘no murder’ plan needs to stand.”“Death will be welcome after I’m done with him.” Lucas’s fangs come down, and he reaches for the door.“Wait,” I say and grab Lucas’s wrist. He stops, moving away from the door and turning toward me. “He won’t be able to get through the warding. It protects the house against the unwanted, and he’s definitely unwanted.”“Will it burn him like it burned the vampires?” Lucas asks hopefully.“No, I set it up so it won’t harm humans, you know, in case little miss annoying Girl Scout and her mother comes skipping down the sidewalk.”“That’s probably for the best.”“Right?” My heart hammers faster and faster, and my stomach churns. Kristy puts her hand on my shoulder.“You okay?”I suck in a breath and nod. “Getting there.”“I’ll make him leave,” Lucas says and goes out the door before I have a chance to stop him.“And I’ll lock y
“Are you all right, my love?” Lucas pulls his shirt over his head, muscles flexing.“It’s been a long day.”“That’s an understatement.” Lucas tosses his shirt on a chair by my closet. He starts undoing his belt next, and I watch, transfixed, as he strips himself bare. No one should be that pretty, though I’m sure his body used to be bruised and scarred in his human life.“I still can’t get over the fact you were a gladiator,” I blurt.“With everything that happened today, that’s what you’re thinking of?” Chuckling, he gets into bed next to me. I’ve stripped down to a t-shirt and panties, yet suddenly I’m feeling very overdressed now that I’m next to Lucas’s glorious naked body.“It’s just…a gladiator.” I shake my head. “Is it weird to say that turns me on?”“When it comes to what turns you on, there are very few things I’m going to say are weird.”“And you said vampires aren’t all about sex.” I raise my eyebrows and laugh.“We’re not all about sex. We both know I’m good in bed and rar