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“She doesn’t have a cage yet. We’ve been just making do. I’ve been setting up an area for her with her perch next to wherever I sleep,” I explained. “Eamon was supposed to take me to the pet store to grab one in a bit.”
As if the demon had been summoned, the door to Eamon’s suite opened, and he stepped out. He’d taken a shower too, and his still-damp hair hung in his face in pieces, somehow looking perfectly styled.
“Oops. I’m not ready yet.” I got up reluctantly from the softest leather couch I’d ever sat on. “Let me dry my hair really quick.”
“Change of plans.” Eamon stopped in front of me, his huge body towering over me as if to block me from all harm. “I’ve got some good news and some bad news.”
Oh no.
“The good news is that we’re taking you on, so you can stay here until it’s safe for you to be on your own.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. That was what I’d worried about most. Redrock was my last hope. I had to stop Mother, and I knew I couldn’t do it alone. “What’s the bad news?”
Eamon dug into his pocket for his phone and showed me two photos. “Is either of these two Dean?”
“No. But I know them. They’re his friends, Ned and Ted.” More like his druggie goons who’d do anything for their next hit. Mother probably kept Dean’s friends around since they were useful.
“They’re scouring the streets of downtown Darlington looking for a woman with your description.” Eamon looked me up and down.
I was suddenly very aware of how much skin my tank top showed. It went indecently low at the décolletage and had the thinnest spaghetti straps. He must have noticed the extra skin because his eyes brightened with interest, and his tongue darted out to lick his lips. I tried to ignore the tingling that started in my belly.
Nugget took that moment to fly up and perch on my head. “Such a cutie. Ooooh.”
That broke the tension, and I flopped back down onto the couch. “I guess I’m not going anywhere.” I put my hand by my head, and Nugget hopped onto it. “Sorry, Little Nugget. I know you miss your safe space, but you’ll need to wait a little longer. Maybe they’ll give up soon.”
“I’ll pick something up for you,” Eamon offered. “Just tell me what type of cage you need. There’s a pet store nearby.”
“I need something small and portable.”
Eamon frowned. “Doesn’t she need something bigger? There’s room here for a bigger cage. We won’t mind.”
“I know it’s not ideal, but I don’t have a home base right now, and everything needs to be able to break down and fit in my suitcase.” I gestured to my tiny suitcase. “If we let her fly around the penthouse once in a while, she’ll be fine in something smaller at night. She just needs a place she can consider home.”
So did I. But that would have to wait.
“I’ll take some photos of what’s available and send them to you when I’m there.”
“Thank you.” I stood, grabbing his arm before he could turn to leave. “And thank you for agreeing to let me work off the debt. Who are you assigning to protect me?”
“Me,” he said, reaching down to grip my chin and tilt my head up so our eyes met. “I will protect you.”
Chapter 6
Eamon
Librarieswerenotmything. They were stuffy and full of books: two things I didn’t enjoy, mainly because they reminded me of my years trapped by the wizard who’d forced me to work for him. He’d often conjured me in his library full of magical texts.
It didn’t help that the books here were similar. We weren’t in a normal library; this one was curated by and for monsters and magical folks. It was one of only a handful in the entire world.
Darlington might be a full-fledged, world-class city now, but before the fall of The Wall, it had been mostly a monster and shifter town. It hadn’t even shown up on most maps and definitely not on any digital ones online. As a result, our Library of Magic & Other Esoterica was one of the best in the world. If we were to find out anything about Amrita and her weaknesses, it would be here.
Tansy sat across from me, poring over a giant tome. She’d insisted on starting her mission the very next morning after she’d arrived at Redrock, despite the two men still looking for her all over town.
“As long as we go straight to the library and stay there, we’ll be fine. Those two wouldn’t be caught dead in a library,” had been her reasoning.
And since the library was just around the corner and I wasn’t too worried about those two taking her from me, I’d agreed. The two men looked weak. I was more worried about Amrita showing up as a spirit and taking Tansy’s mind. We hadn’t picked up the ward from Sybil yet; we were seeing her this afternoon.
Since the two men were still looking for her, it must mean that Amrita didn’t know where Tansy was. And as long she was still set on finding a solution to her problem, I knew she was still herself.
