Page 18 of Hextreme Measures

“Probably. I won’t know until I understand the why of the attack.”

“Well, the only people scratched — and one swears it was a chair and not an angry woman who did it to her — were two shifters from my mother’s side of the family and two of your mother’s tea buddies. None of them have long enemies lists. You can go through their backgrounds over breakfast.”

“Right.” Ofelia turned her attention to the clock on the nightstand. “We should probably hit the showers if we expect to be on time for breakfast with Dad. You know how he gets when we’re late.”

“Yes, he reminds me of his daughter, who also hates when people are late.” Sully’s smile was playful as Ofelia rolled her eyes.

“It’s rude to point out the truth,” she mock scolded.

He yanked her against him and gave her a hard kiss. They had difficult times in front of them, but in this moment, he had everything he needed. He wanted to hold onto the moment when things took the obvious turn they were going to take. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She meant it with every fiber of her being.

“Good, because I was thinking we should hit the shower together to conserve water and time.”

“Ah.” Ofelia’s lips curved. “You’re smart that way. I’ve always appreciated that about you.”

“Oh, I know. I’ll show you in the shower if you’re fast.”

“I’ll get right on that.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

ANGELIQUE AND BEN WERE asleep when Ofelia checked on them. Figuring they hadn’t had the best night of sleep thanks to their anxiety; she just poked her head inside and looked at both of them before leaving.

Ben had shadows under his eyes, telling her he hadn’t slept for long. He needed whatever sleep he could get. Ofelia knew she would be checking in throughout the day, so she left him.

Angelique had her back to the door and was breathing deeply. From what Ofelia could see, her friend didn’t look any different. She took that as a good sign — for now at least — and headed downstairs to meet Sully. He was talking to Bernie on the sidewalk in front of the building.

“What are you doing up?” Ofelia asked Bernie. He kept odd hours thanks to his time on the street — he refused to stop hanging out with his old friends even though he had a roof over his head now — and she was surprised he wasn’t snoring away in his apartment.

“I decided to do a round last night,” Bernie replied. “You know, check on everybody. You said there were monsters out, so …” He trailed off and held out his hands.

“It’s okay,” Ofelia assured him. “They’re okay. Banshees normally don’t kill indiscriminately. They have specific targets.”

“I still wanted to check.”

“Yes, well, you should get some sleep.” Ofelia knew she wasn’t his mother, but she couldn’t help worrying about him. “Ben and Angelique are both down, and I don’t think they’ll be up for a little bit. You should take advantage of the lull and get some rest.”

Bernie made a face. “I’ve got it. I don’t need you to tell me when to sleep.”

“Sorry.” Ofelia flashed him a rueful smile. “I’m just agitated.”

“I get it.” Bernie relaxed his stance. “You don’t have to worry about your friend. I think she’s going to be fine.”

Ofelia hoped that was true because the alternative was more than she could bear to think about. “We’ll figure it out.”

They left Bernie to go to bed — Ofelia had no doubt that was where he was heading — and she slipped her hand into Sully’s for the short walk to Oceana. The restaurant was a mainstay on the corner of Bourbon and Conti. Tourists flooded it after a night of revelry. Locals tended to go elsewhere, except for a certain group.

Oceana had been Ofelia’s father’s favorite restaurant when she was younger, and she’d developed the same affinity for the place as he had. Now it was a regular stop — at least three days a week — for Ofelia and Sully. They met Oscar there, made sure he was doing well, and then separated for their days.

Per usual, Oscar was already seated when they walked into the restaurant. A group of locals, Oscar’s friends, sat one table over and everybody seemed to be having an animated conversation.

Oscar looked up when Sully pulled out a chair for Ofelia to sit in. “I was just telling them about the pack of angry women who broke up the party last night.”

Angry women? Ofelia had to consider it for a few moments before responding. “What makes you think they were angry?” she asked finally, genuinely curious what he would say.

“Because they wouldn’t stop screaming. They reminded me of your mother.” He said it with a straight face, but mischief lurked beneath the surface.