For a moment I could only stare, a mixture of relief and confusion swirling within me. Michael met my gaze, his expression one of concern and urgency.
It was my neighbor who had come in through the back and to our rescue. His light green eyes were in earnest as he explained, “I heard yelling earlier, and saw her with a gun when I went by the window. Are they okay?” He gestured to Mama Jean and Jamal.
I nodded, still processing the turn of events. “Yeah, thanks to you.” My words were sincere.
Moving past him, I went to tie up Sunny before she came to. I didn’t know how long it took for fae to recover from injuries. Michael caught my shoulders in his strong hands and kissed me.
What the holy hell?
I wrenched away from him. “What are you doing?”
Why in the fuck nuggets was my near stranger of a neighbor pulling a move when my family had been attacked? It came from left field and made zero sense.
But maybe I’d lost my mind somewhere between Seth burning in fire and my family being in danger.
His hopeful smile faded only slightly. “I guess I’m just glad you are okay.”
“Cool, well maybe don’t show your gladness with your lips. It’s called consent, and you don’t have it.” My words came out harsher than maybe they should have. Apparently he thought we were something more, but I didn’t have time to molly-coddle him. Shit right now was far bigger than his apparent crush.
“Miranda,” Michael said, stepping closer, his voice turning husky. “You must know how I feel for you.”
I must have entered some kind of twilight zone.
A sun god was attacking my immortal allies, a fae gunwoman lay on my floor, my family was tied up, and my neighbor was trying to make a move on me in the midst of it all.
Everything felt a little too surreal. Like a puzzle with big chunks missing from its picture.
My brain couldn’t catch up to some important fact, even though I knew it was in grasping distance.
“Thank you but I need to tie—Shit!” I cried out.
I stepped around Michael and my gaze landed on the spot where Sunny collapsed. It was empty.
I cursed some more.
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you if she comes back,” Michael announced with far too much certainty. He rubbed my shoulder, but I shrugged him off.
My fury that she’d gotten away because of him simmered like bubbling water on a stove. “That won’t be necessary.”
Michael's smile faltered as I stepped back, creating distance between us. His eyes, once filled with concern, now sparked witha new intensity. “Miranda,” he pressed, his voice carrying an edge that sent a shiver down my spine. “Why can't you see we're meant to be together? I saved them.” He gestured towards my family, “For you.”
I shook my head, feeling Bob's vibrations as a silent warning in my hand. “Saving my family doesn't give you a claim over me. I don't owe you anything.”
Heinz, previously subdued and silent, erupted into a cacophony of barks and growls, his body tensed and hackles raised, directed not at the darkness outside, but at Michael.
My relief that the dog was okay was chased away by his outburst.
“What's gotten into him?” Michael feigned confusion, but the dog's reaction was unnervingly clear.
“Bob?” I whispered in my mind, seeking understanding from the only creature who could translate the immortal dog's alarm.
“That is no man.” Bob's voice was grave. “Heinz can smell his immortality.”
Michael’s olive eyes narrowed, as if realizing I knew too much.
The air in the room shifted, growing thick and heavy as if charged by a storm. Michael's demeanor changed and the neighborly façade melted away to reveal a being cloaked in blinding light.
His eyes blazed like twin suns, searing into me with an intensity that made my heart race. The air crackled with electricity as he extended his hand towards me, fingers tipped with glowing embers.
