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Chapter 1
Eva
“Okay, okay! Jeez, hold your horses, I’m coming!” I yelled, stomping down the stairs toward the incessant pounding on my door.
I didn’t know what Tony had against doorbells, but this was the second night in a row that my good-for-nothing asshat of a brother was waking me up after midnight by banging on my door. When I’d opened up yesterday, he’d rushed in like he’d stolen the flipping Mona Lisa. He wouldn’t tell me what was going on, and since I had work in the morning, I’d ignored him and gone right back to bed. When I woke up this morning, he’d already left.
And now he was back, pulling the same assholery? Fan-fucking-tastic.
This time, I wasn’t going to let him in until he told me what was going on. The last thing I needed was gangsters knocking on my door because they thought he lived here. The little shit was never up to any good.
The pounding started up again, this time with a sense of urgency. I got to the first landing and flipped on the lights. I winced at the sudden change in brightness, cursing at the unnatural cool tone of the power-saving bulbs. I really needed to get those things changed to something that gave off a warmer light.
If he thought pulling this stunt would get him a set of my keys so he could come and go anytime he wanted, he had another thing coming. Our parents had left the house to me for a reason. Tony would probably trash the place.
My cat Sriracha stood in front of the door, hissing and snarling. That was normal. I had named him Sriracha because he had a touch of spice for a Persian cat but was really quite mild when it came down to it. Kind of like the hot sauce. As a hobbyist cat groomer, I’d encountered my share of super spicy kitties.
Sriri had never liked Tony, and always hissed at him every time they met.
“I know, Sriri, baby. He’s annoying, isn’t he?” I scooped the not-so-little floof up into my arms before opening the door—
And found myself gawking at the massive stranger standing in front of me who most definitely was not my brother.
The man towered over me. He had to be at least six and a half feet tall, maybe more. He had sharp features and a strong jawline, with light brown eyes that almost looked to be gleaming yellow under the porch lights. His hair was slicked back off his face. He was good looking, but beneath his handsome features, there was a darkness lurking, just under the surface, itching to get out. I wasn’t sure if it was his intense glare or the hint of danger that surrounded him, but I was instantly on high alert. He had that look that screamed he could be your ruin if you let him.
Fuck. Why the hell didn’t I check to make sure it was Tony before I opened the door?
“Oh. I thought you were my brother.” I looked at the screen door that separated us to make sure it was locked, though I honestly had no idea what the flimsy door was going to do if this guy decided he wanted to knock it down. Well, I did know. It would do nothing. “Can I help you?” The words came out tougher and angrier than I felt. Which was a good thing, right?
He crossed his arms over his wide chest and raised his eyebrows at me in a way that sent shivers down my spine, but didn’t otherwise respond. There was a slight shimmer around him that I recognized as glamour, an illusion spell. If this was the way he decided to appear to the world, how much scarier was he without it?
Having lived most of my life in Darlington, I’d grown up knowing about magic and monsters, even before the magical Wall that prevented humans from seeing into the paranormal world had fallen. He must be a monster of some kind, but I didn’t know which.
There was an unmarked black SUV in the driveway. Law enforcement? Gangster? If Tony was involved, it could be either. But the stranger wasn’t in uniform, so I assumed the latter. He looked more like a club bouncer, or maybe security for the mob. Not a cop.
“I think you got the wrong house,” I said as I started to close the door.
There was a loud sound as the useless lock on my screen door gave way and a hand stopped me from closing the front door. Suddenly terrified, I shoved at the door as hard as I could, with Sriracha still hissing up a storm in my arms. But the door was not closing any time soon. The realization hit me that if this guy wanted into my house, he was getting in. Nothing would stop him.
Why, oh why, did I assume it was Tony? I was such an idiot! I could see the headline in tomorrow’s paper now: Really Dumb Fuck Opens Door for Axe Murderer.
“Calm down, woman. I just want to talk.” The man’s voice was low and rumbly. Given that he was currently forcing his way into my foyer, his words didn’t make me feel any better. Who the hell pounds on someone’s door after midnight because they “want to talk”?
I did the opposite of calm down: I panicked. I ran to the powder room and locked myself and Sriri inside. I dug in my robe pocket for my phone. Fuck! It was still on the bedside table in my room.
“Get out of my house!” I yelled. “I’m calling the police.” He didn’t need to know my phone was upstairs.
“Relax. I’m here investigating a theft.”
He wanted me to believe that he was here with the police investigating something at midnight? Sure, and I was a monkey’s uncle.
“Go away.”
“You opened the door for me.”
“I thought you were someone else.” Oh! Maybe this guy was looking for Tony. “If this is about Tony, I’ve got nothing to do with it.”
He let out an exaggerated sigh. “I’m done playing nice. Come out, woman. You know I can break that door down if I want to. And I can do it long before the cops get here.”
