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With more effort than I’d like to admit, I tore my gaze away from the retreating angel and unlocked the back door. The apartment was exactly as I’d left it—glass end table by the door, armchair and couch both facing a TV that took up most of the right-hand wall, coffee table scattered with books and mail. The dining table seated four—not really enough for company, but it could accommodate Kylie and me each having a guest. There were two bedrooms, two bathrooms. Overall it was perfect for the two of us and had enough room for one or even both of us to move in a boyfriend.
But Nathaniel was not my boyfriend.
How was I going to explain him to Kylie? She wasn’t allowed to bring guys home without my approval, and here I was letting a stranger move in.
Dammit. I really didn’t think this through.
I dropped my keys on the table by the door and sank into the armchair, letting my head fall into my hands. I was breaking our most sacred apartment rule, and I didn’t have the faintest idea how to explain why I needed a twenty-something-year-old protector who looked more like a model than he did a bodyguard.
“What’s wrong?”
I looked up to find Nathaniel standing just inside the apartment. He was wearing the jean jacket from earlier and had a backpack slung over one shoulder.
“How did you know which apartment was mine?”
He shrugged. “I followed the bond to you.”
“What bond?”
“More questions.” He let his backpack fall from his shoulder to the carpeted floor and walked across the room to the kitchen. “I’m your guardian. You accepting that you need my help and letting me live in the same place as you makes my life easier and gives you a much higher chance of survival, but I was already bonded to you. I can find you no matter where you are, and I can feel it when you’re in trouble. I’m new to this whole thing, but it’s possible I’ll also be able to feel it if you’re in pain or feel an intense emotion like terror or heartbreak.”
“Oh wonderful,” I muttered. “That’s not creepy at all.”
I heard the sink turn on and then off again.
Nathaniel came back, holding a glass of water. “The bond works both ways. You might not be able to feel my emotions or pain, but if you try, you could use it to find me or call me to you.”
I stared at him, trying to wrap my brain around everything he was telling me. I felt like I’d just been dumped into an alternate reality, and I wasn’t sure how to navigate this world. “How?”
“Don’t know. I’ve never been bonded to a human before.”
“Right.” My head was starting to hurt. I reached up and massaged my temples.
Nathaniel placed his water glass on the coffee table and crouched in front of me. “Now that we’ve talked the bond subject to death, let me repeat, what’s wrong?”
“Kylie’s going to be home soon, and I don’t know how to explain you.”
“You’re twenty-one. Why can’t you bring a guy home?”
I wasn’t even going to touch the subject of him knowing my exact age. “I can’t bring a guy home because we have rules. Kylie’s track record with boys isn’t good—like, convinced me to get a gun license bad. The rule is that she can’t bring guys here until I’ve met them and give my okay. Just having you here is incredibly hypocritical of me.”
“I’m not your boyfriend, baby girl. This isn’t the same thing.”
“You’re still a stranger. And I still don’t know what to tell her.”
“Tell her the truth.”
I blinked at him. “You mean tell her that I stabbed a demon Thursday night and now I need an angelic bodyguard to protect me from all the other demons who want revenge?”
His expression didn’t change. “That’s exactly what I mean. You’re not going to do her any favors by lying to her.”
“Wait, is she in danger because she lives with me?” I should have thought of that already. It should have been my first question. “What about my family? Should I be worried about them?”
Nathaniel closed his eyes, and I had a feeling he was fighting the urge to strangle me. “They’re after you, not your loved ones. If that changes, we’ll deal with it then.”
“You’re not all that reassuring, you know that?”
His eyes opened and he stared directly into mine. “I’m not here to make you feel better or tell you pretty lies. My job is to keep you safe.”
