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Great, Frank was a minion of Hell, and Sky was probably a demon. That was not better than a vampire. He needed to get the fuck out of there now.
Sky frowned at the towel. “Thanks, Frank,” he said flatly.
The little monster skipped to Sky, chittering and waving its hands.
“I don’t have cheesy puffs. You guys ate them all already. I’ve got dill pickle, cool ranch, or nothing.”
Frank replied and Sky handed over the cool ranch chips, which Frank tightly clutched to its chest like a child holding a beloved teddy bar. Sky moved to the counter, placed the last piece of bread on the sandwich, and handed the paper plate to Frank. The second the plate was in its hand, Frank and his prizes disappeared.
Now! He needed to escape now. Sky’s wicked helper was gone with his precious sandwich.
“There! I’m so sorry about that!” Sky approached, looking…harmless. But Sky always appeared sweet and harmless with his big eyes and adorable, round face. Or maybe it was his penchant for colorful vests.
But that was what demons were supposed to do, right? Lull you in with feelings of safety and harmlessness.
“Demon,” Nolan choked out, and Sky’s eyes widened.
“Frank?” His mouth dropped open. “Oh, you mean me. No! No! I’m not a demon. I’m just a witch.”
A witch? Sky was a witch. Holy fuck, Jennifer was right.
“Witch? Aren’t boy witches called warlocks or wizards?” Not the most important thing he could ask, but he was standing on a chair in a witch’s kitchen after seeing him summon a smoke monster whom he’d given a sandwich. His brain was officially broken and there was no fixing it.
Sky’s beautiful smile returned in a flash. “Nope. Witch is the term we use for my people. It’s inclusive of all genders. Why don’t you come down before you fall? I’ll make you another sandwich, and we can talk about your brother.”
Now that Frank was gone, Nolan was feeling silly about standing on the chair, but he definitely didn’t want a sandwich. He wanted out of there. The night had become too fucking weird. He didn’t need a drink or sandwich to sober him up. His mind was as clear as it was going to get.
While holding on to the back of the chair, Nolan climbed to the floor and edged toward the hallway. “No sandwich. Thanks. And thanks for bringing me here, but I think I’m just going to head home. I-I don’t want to bother you anymore.”
“It’s not a bother. I’m happy to help you, I swear.” Sky followed him to the door. He didn’t try to stop him and kept a respectful distance. “You still haven’t told me what’s going on with your brother and the vampires.”
“I…no, it’s okay. I can handle it.”
That, unfortunately, got Sky moving. The shorter man darted around him and placed his hand on the front door, keeping him from opening it.
“Nolan, listen to me. You’re human, and you cannot handle vampires on your own. This is very dangerous. I understand that you’re feeling overwhelmed, but you need help with this. You need an insider. That’s me.”
“But—” Sky held up a hand to stop him, and yeah, he needed stopping. He wasn’t even sure what his argument was going to be. He was completely overwhelmed, and Sky’s words sounded logical right now.
“Just promise that you won’t try to return to Phoenix tonight. Security won’t even let you in the door, and if you run into that Colette and Aldo outside the club, there’s a good chance you’re going to wind up dead,” Sky continued.
“My brother…”
“Tomorrow. It’s late. You’re exhausted and overwhelmed. Go home, get some sleep. Tomorrow I’ll pop by, and you can tell me everything. From there, we’ll make plans to save your brother, okay?”
It wasn’t until Sky uttered the words that it hit him. He was exhausted. Fatigue gnawed on his bones and pulled at his muscles. His eyes burned. He’d been running for the past three days almost nonstop to find some lead on what had happened to Owen. Phoenix and those vampires were the first solid bit of news in days. He’d dived in without question, giving in to frustration and desperation.
This was all so much bigger than he’d expected, and he was at a complete loss as to what to do next. Maybe Sky was right. Sleep. Tomorrow, they could talk. Sky knew more about the vampires than he did. It was possible he knew a friendly vampire who could help him locate Owen.
“Yeah. Okay,” he agreed.
“Good!” Sky reached out to place his hand on Nolan’s shoulder, but he couldn’t stop himself from flinching. Sky winced and pulled his hand back without touching him. “Good. Get some sleep. I’ll be by tomorrow morning, and we can figure this out together.”
Sky opened his door and Nolan was out in a flash, half stumbling across the street to his house. As he expected when he looked over his shoulder, Sky had stepped out on his front porch and watched him cross the street. Nolan fumbled with his keys, fighting to get his door unlocked, to get to the safety of his own home.
