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Welp. That explained the phantom pains in her throat.
Lifting her hand, Tabby proved Shea right. There weren’t any gashes or bites left behind, but it still hurt—and there was no way she was going to tell Shea that.
No. She was way more interested in what Shea said about Adam.
“He… saved me?”
Shea raised her eyebrows. “You sound so surprised.”
Tabby decided it was worth the shrug. When a fresh bout of pain emanating from her throat exploded behind her eyes at the sudden movement, she had to bite her lip to stifle her cry.
Bad idea. Very bad idea.
Yee-ouch.
“That hurt?”
“No.”
“Mm-hmm.” Shea reached for Tabby’s neck, the level of heat against her skin increasing as the magenta glow surrounding Shea’s hand deepened.
The pain faded away like, well, magic.
“Better?”
Begrudgingly, Tabby told the truth. “Yeah, actually. Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. Adam’s a good friend. A good man, too. If all he asks of me is to make sure you’re okay, I’ll do it gladly. Just don’t be the tough guy, alright? You don’t have to do that with me. If it hurts, say so. I promise to keep it between just us girls.”
Tabby grinned. For the first time all night, she actually grinned. “In that case, my ass and hip are killing me.”
“You hit the asphalt hard when Priscilla tossed you. Your right side, right?” At Tabby’s nod, Shea lowered her hands to that same side. “I’m starting to run on fumes, but this should help a little. If anything, Adam can bring you back around for a tune-up.”
“I won’t have to do that. It’s already feeling better… thanks for that, by the way… and it’s not like I’m going to be hanging around Adam much anymore. Tonight was kinda like a one-off. My big mouth got everyone into this mess. Of course I had to help if I could.” As Shea tamped down the flickering magenta glow, proving she was almost out of healing energy, Tabby flexed her hip, satisfied with the twinge. It wasn’t so bad and, hey, it could’ve always been worse. “Not like I did much. Sure, I got in two kills, but then I was almost vamp chow myself. If Boone saw that, he’d pull me back in for another round of training.”
“Well, I don’t know anything about all of that, but I was there tonight. You didn’t do anything wrong. If it wasn’t you that Priscilla targeted, it would’ve just been another one of us. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
She had a point. “Yeah, but—”
“And, since I’m still in healer mode, I’m going to harp a little bit more. When it comes to Adam… maybe I’m sticking my nose in where it doesn’t belong, but I’d cut the guy a little slack. Whatever’s going on between you two, he spent the last few hours convinced you were going to die on him.”
“Really?” Huh. That was another surprise. “But why?”
Shea was kind. Sweet. She’d lost a touch of her color by using some of her own power to heal Tabby, and despite the tired, wan expression on her pretty face, Tabby was shocked to see steel shining back at her from behind Shea’s purple eyes.
“That’s a good question. Sit tight, Tabby. I’ll go grab Adam. Let him answer it for you. And do me a favor? Give him a chance. He deserves it.”
Tabby was a slayer and, when she wasn’t allowing herself to get distracted, she was a pretty good one. There wasn’t much in this world that she feared, and after surviving a witch’s blast and a Nightwalker’s bite all in the same night, she felt almost invincible.
Until she saw the steel in Shea’s gaze and the determination in her smile and she knew—just knew—that the sweet witch might be the most dangerous creature around for miles.
And that was a pretty amazing feat, Tabby admitted, considering there was at least a Nightwalker and an alpha wolf shifter nearby.
Oh, boy.
She didn’t even try to point out that it wasn’t up to her. Adam was the one who called everything off. He was the one who was mad at her. Something warned Tabby that Shea wouldn’t buy it.
So, calling up the innocent grin that she often saved for her uncle, she said, “Sure thing.”
