“We’ve kept everyone out of the site since we found the Hurra tentacle,” Nikolas told Hamid. “Based on the condition of the human’s body, the summoning happened less than twelve hours ago.”
I could practically feel the warlocks’ excitement at the opportunity to examine a fresh site. I, on the other hand, had zero interest in seeing another one of those.
“I’m going to wait outside,” I said when Hamid noticed I wasn’t going with them. “I’ve been exposed to enough magic to last me a lifetime.”
The air outside the restaurant didn’t smell the best, but it was an improvement over the sickening smells inside. I chatted with two of the warriors on guard and started a slow sweep of the area, mainly for something to do. Nikolas and Chris were thorough. If there was anything of interest out here, they would have found it.
The sound of coughing led me to an elderly homeless man huddled on a bench half a block away from the restaurant. My lips pressed together at the sight of his frail body and the thin coat that was no protection against the cold. I’d only spent a few weeks on the street, but I would never forget the constant hunger, the worrying about where my next meal would come from. It was no way to live.
There was a convenience store nearby, so I went in and bought a couple of their pre-made sandwiches and a large coffee. It wasn’t a nice hot meal, but it was food, and the coffee would help warm him for a little while.
As I approached him, I made enough noise so he wouldn’t be startled. It was scary enough on the street without someone sneaking up on you while you were asleep.
The man jerked awake and sat up with some difficulty. His face was gaunt and ashen, and his eyes looked feverish as he watched me warily. I had to bite my lip to keep from swearing. What was wrong with society that they would allow an old man to suffer? It was times like this that I wondered why I fought so hard to protect humans when they wouldn’t help their own.
“It’s pretty cold out here today. I thought you might like something hot to drink,” I said as I set the coffee and sandwiches down on the end of the bench farthest from him.
He didn’t speak or move to take the food, not that I expected him to. Kindness from strangers probably wasn’t something he saw much, and he was most likely wondering what I was up to.
I walked away and made it five feet before a shuffling sound alerted me he was behind me. I turned to see what he wanted and caught him as he lunged at me, eyes crazed and mouth foaming.
He was surprisingly strong for the shape he was in, but still no match for me. I easily subdued him, pushing him back and down on the bench as I wondered what to do with him. He was obviously suffering from some form of dementia, and I couldn’t leave him here alone.
Distracted by my thoughts, I loosened my grip on him and paid for it when he sank his teeth into my hand. I had to pry his mouth open to force him to let go, and he snapped at me like a rabid dog.
I looked at the crescent-shaped bite mark on my hand and shook my head. I’d fought countless vampires without one of them getting a single bite, and one little old man had managed to get the drop on me.
“What am I going to do with you?” I asked, more to myself than to him.
The only thing I could think of was to take him to the nearest hospital and let them care for him. I held him with one arm and tried not to breathe in his rank odor as I pulled out my phone to call for a pickup.
The man grunted and tried to buck out of my hold.
“Damn, you’re a slippery old guy.” I adjusted my grip on him.
He growled.
It was such an unhuman sound I nearly dropped my phone in surprise. I turned him until I could see his face and sucked in a breath. The eyes that had been a watery gray a minute ago were now solid black. Something told me I’d just found the Hurra demon that was missing a tentacle.
I held him down while I dialed Hamid’s number.
“I think I might have found your Hurra demon,” I said when he answered.
Surprise filled his voice. “Where?”
“About half a block away from there.” I gave him directions to where I was.
“Why did you leave the building?” he asked harshly. “You should not be –”
“Doing my job? Walking around in broad daylight?” I countered dryly. “Can’t you just once say ‘Good job, Jordan’ and leave it at that?”
I hung up, grumbling.
The man growled.
I nodded. “You can say that again.”
I didn’t have long to wait for Hamid. He showed up less than a minute later with Nikolas, and I was quite happy to hand the man off to Hamid as I filled them in on what had happened.
Nikolas called for a pickup, and we took the old guy to the command center. They strapped him down in the medical ward, and Xavier, a blond healer with a polite British accent, went to work on him. We had to confirm there was a demon inside him before we could take any actions to remove it.
“It’s a Hurra demon,” Xavier said when he’d finished his examination. “Unfortunately, the man’s body is too frail to survive the extraction. I can try, but I don’t want to put him through that if he’s only going to die.”
I looked at the old man, who was lying on the exam table, growling at the ceiling. “What about Sara?”
Hamid looked at me in confusion. “Sara?”
“She can kill a Vamhir demon without hurting the host. Can’t be much different from a Hurra demon.”
Nikolas shook his head. “She’s pregnant and –”
“And?” Sara asked from the doorway. She smiled at me as she entered the room. “Welcome back.”
Nikolas walked over and put a protective arm around her. “And you passed out the two times you did that. You shouldn’t take any risks with the baby.”
“He’s right. I wasn’t thinking.” I was sorry the man wouldn’t make it, but I wouldn’t put Sara or her baby in danger for anyone.
Sara laughed and shrugged off Nikolas’s arm. “I think you guys are forgetting I’m growing a Fae baby. Between her power and mine, I could light up a stadium right now.”
She walked over to the table. As soon as she got within two feet of the man, he started to make a strange screeching sound and struggle violently against his binds.
“You poor thing,” she murmured soothingly as she took in the man’s condition. “Let’s see if we can’t make you feel better.” Reaching out, she barely grazed his hand with one fingertip.
The man seized like he’d been electrocuted. His mouth stretched wide, and without warning, the demon shot out of his body.
And straight at me. Seriously, what was it with me and these things?
Before I could react, Hamid was in front of me. He caught the demon in one hand, mindless of the claws that embedded themselves in his forearm.
Nikolas came over with a glass specimen canister, and Hamid deposited the demon inside after he’d pried it from his arm. It was a totally badass move and a bit of a turn-on. Not that I’d ever admit that to anyone.
“How is he?” Sara asked Xavier, who was checking on the man.
Xavier smiled. “Unconscious, but alive. I think he’ll make it. Good job, Sara.”
I gave Hamid a pointed look. “See how he did that? He told her she did a good job, and his head didn’t explode. Try it sometime. You might like it.”
“She did not go off on her own the minute my back was turned,” he said, sounding more exasperated than angry.
Sara and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. Nikolas shook his head before he went back to studying the Hurra demon squirming in the canister.
Hamid scowled, but all it did was make us laugh harder.
Sara wiped her eyes. “I’m so glad you’re back. I missed you.”
“Missed you, too. Westhorne is not the same without you.”
“I want to hear all about it.” She started for the door. “I was just about to have lunch. Hungry?”
I followed her. “God, yes. We left before I could finish breakfast."
“Good thing I made extra.”
We entered the living area, and the smell of tacos made my mouth water. Instead of sitting at the table, we ate at the island where everything was laid out.
“This is so good,” I mumbled around my first mouthful. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”
Sara grinned. “I could stand to hear it again.”
It wasn’t until I devoured my second taco that I slowed down enough to tell Sara all about my visit home. We’d texted while I was gone, but I’d saved all the good stuff to tell her and Beth in person.
“I miss Hugo and Woolf,” she said longingly after we’d laughed at my story of Hamid’s first encounter with them.
“Why not go home then?”
She drank some water. “Because I get to hang out with you and Beth here. And I want to finish this job. Once the baby comes, we don’t plan to take any big jobs for a few years.”
“Speaking of Beth, where is she today?” I asked, reaching for my fourth taco.
“She’s at the wrakk, doing the self-defense class. She should be back soon.”
I was surprised to feel a little jealous that Beth was teaching the class I had planned to give. Before Hamid had shown up and changed everything, I’d actually been looking forward to training the Vrell boys. Maybe I could teach the class with her for as long as I was here.
Sara pushed away her plate with a happy sigh. “That was good. I’ve been craving tacos all week.”
I made her go sit in the living room while I cleaned up from our lunch. I couldn’t sense Hamid, so I figured he and Nikolas had gone back to the restaurant.
Sara was watching me with a curious expression when I joined her in the living room. “So,” she began after I made myself comfortable. “You and Hamid seem to be getting along a lot better. Did anything happen that you haven’t told me about?”
I snorted. “You call that getting along a lot better?”
She shrugged. “When you left here, you could barely stand to be in the same room with him.”
“Well, being magically bound to someone twenty-four-seven will do that. It’s too exhausting being angry all the time. My face started to cramp from all the scowling.” I made a face, and she laughed.
“Admit it, though, you like him.”
I thought about it. “I will say that there’s more to him than I saw in L.A., and he can be nice when he wants to be. I respect him, but I wouldn’t exactly call us friends.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Will the real Jordan please come out now?”
“What?”
“He’s nice? You respect him?” She rolled her eyes. “I know you. Tell me you didn’t think once about hooking up with him while you were there.”
My mind immediately conjured an image of Hamid coming out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel on our third day sharing a room. I’d stared at him for a good ten seconds before I came to my senses. If it hadn’t meant giving up my freedom and binding myself to a mate for life, I would have given that man a night he’d never forget.