by Jen Pretty
I pulled out of my dark thoughts and back into the room. “Okay, sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Nick had a hotel room on the same floor as us, but I wasn't sure which one it was. There was a growing gap between Nick and me. I had felt so close to him in New York, but maybe that wasn’t real. Maybe it was just the intensity of the situation we were in.
“I’ll come back in the morning, too,” Celia said.
I waved goodbye as they shuffled out the door then I curled up on the couch. The cool leather felt nice on my face. My eyes slid shut, and I just let myself drift for a while. I knew that when we finally went after Collin, it would be a shit show. I just hoped we all walked out of it alive.
It occurred to me that I hadn’t seen any gargoyles in this city. Except for in the sculptor's studio, there weren't any on buildings that I could remember. I tried to think back to when we were driving around, but still not a single gargoyle on a single building.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Julian's voice startled me, and I shot up from the couch.
“Shit, you scared me.” I rubbed my eyes. “I was thinking; have you seen any gargoyles here?”
Julian nodded. “Yeah, the local hunters have fled. All their gargoyles have gone missing, and it's dangerous for them here right now with Collin controlling the half-demons.”
“Where are the gargoyles, then? Does Collin have them?” A terrible thought occurred to me then. “Oh, crap.”
Julian sat down beside me on the couch. “That is my thought exactly. Some half-demons under his control seemed to be a little vacant.”
“You have to be kidding me. Would he purposely free the demons? How would he prevent them from taking over himself?”
“If he wasn't around when they broke the gargoyles, the demons would latch onto whoever was closest.” Julian's arm slid around my shoulders, and I leaned into him.
“So, we have a lunatic half-demon, and demon possessed half-demons, and potentially full demons to deal with?”
Julian sighed. “Probably.”
“This sucks.”
There was a knock at the door and I tensed automatically.
“I’ll get it,” Julian said.
He checked the peephole and then unlocked the door and pulled it open. The scent of Chinese food wafted in and I hopped up to grab the bags of food from him while he paid the delivery man. The door clicked shut and I heard the lock clink while I was taking the Styrofoam bowls of food out of the bag. Julian sat across from me and I handed him some chopsticks.
“So, you eat Chinese food?” I asked as he picked up some moo shoo pork and expertly delivered it to his mouth with the chopsticks.
“Mhmm.” He said, chewing his food. Once he swallowed, he said, “At least it has vegetables.”
I laughed. Even I had to admit that Chinese food vegetables were edible. All greasy and yummy. It was the best way to eat vegetables.
I ate all the egg rolls and half the chicken balls before I was completely stuffed and had to roll myself to the shower. I didn't have the energy to have a bath, though I stared at the tub longingly while the shower was heating up. My eyes were too heavy. I'd definitely fall asleep and drown.
I stepped into the shower and scrubbed my hair until it was a bit tamer.
“You know,” Julian said from right outside the shower stall.
“Jesus! Julian, get out of here!”
He continued as if I hadn't just squeaked. “Nick might have a point about defending yourself.”
“No, he doesn't, and I am in the shower, Julian. You have to get out.”
“If demons possess the half-demons, they will be even stronger and faster than normal half-demons which are typically pretty fast and strong.”
I turned off the water, giving up on the rest of my shower. I was clean, that was enough. “Hand me a towel,” I said, sticking my arm out of the shower stall.
When he handed me a big white towel, I wrapped it around myself and tucked the end in. It covered me from armpits to knees, but my hair was still dripping wet. I stepped out and glared at him.
“This could have waited till I was out of the shower,” I said.
“I think you are underestimating the army that Collin has built,” he said, ignoring my logic.
“Maybe I am. But I am not the kind of person who goes all commando and attacks people. There are good people in that place. Like the woman who helped me save you.”
“So maybe you don’t hate all half-demons?” he asked with a small smile.
God, he was a dork. “You are so obvious,” I said.
He stepped into my space, his hands coming up to rub up and down my arms.
“I'm not. I’m dark and mysterious.” He blanked his face, displaying no emotion.
“I hate that look,” I said.
“I know, I can tell. You get this crease in your forehead.” He ran his finger between my eyebrows.
“Great, you are giving me premature wrinkles.”
He laughed, and the sound echoed in the bathroom, making me grin.
“I love it when you smile,” he whispered pressing a light kiss to my lips.
I melted into him, and he scooped me up, carrying me into the bedroom and setting me on the bed. He laughed when he set me down and I wouldn’t let go, but then pried my hands away from him. He returned to the bathroom and came back with another towel then dried my hair with it, stopping the constant drips.
“Do you have a hairbrush?” he asked, eying my overflowing messy suitcase.
“No, I forgot to bring one.”
He shook his head and went back into the bathroom, returning with a paper-wrapped comb.
He slid in behind me on the bed, so I sat between his legs, and he sectioned off my hair, combing it until it was knot-free, and my eyes were so heavy I couldn't keep them open.
Julian knocked me over and tucked me into the blankets. I was asleep a moment later.
When I woke up, the towel I had wrapped around me was bunched up under me uncomfortably, but luckily the blankets were still covering me. I yanked on the towel, pulling and twisting until I finally got it out from under me. I threw it to the floor and secured the blankets to keep my heat in. Finally, as I settled into the warmth, a soft masculine chuckle rang out behind me.
I rolled over to find Julian in his standard position — sitting up in bed with a newspaper, wearing only pyjama pants. I sighed, eying his broad chest and narrow waist decorated with abs and pecs. He was delicious for a half-demon. I was glad he didn't have scales or horns, though that might have been a racist thing to think. I thought about it for a few more minutes. It wasn't the scales and horns that made a demon bad. Celia was nice, and she had horns.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” he asked, folding his newspaper and setting it aside.
“Demons,” I replied honestly.
His face sobered. “I’ll be glad when this business with Collin is over.”
That reminded me of what he said on the phone yesterday about me being under his thumb. I wanted to ask him again about it, but I also didn't want this moment to end. The peacefulness of the early morning with Julian was like a drug, and I had missed it.
“Breakfast should be here soon,” He leaned down to kiss me, but I covered my mouth. I had definite morning breath, and there was no way he was kissing me.
He laughed and got up. “Get dressed, and we can head out after breakfast,” he said, walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.
I lay in the bed for a few minutes longer, considering my situation with Julian and Nick and the evil Collin. Thinking wouldn't fix this situation. It was a situation where I needed to get in there and hope for the best. I shuffled out of bed and pulled on some good hunter gear. I would let Nick have today to do his training, and then I was done waiting. It was time to be the tough super-powered, super-hero I was meant to be. Or at least I could be if I closed my eyes and pretended.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
That d
ay at the gym, I tried to stay focused on self-defense training. Nick was picking up skills much faster than I was and getting as good with the knife as I was with my net. Maybe better.
I got the hang of self-defense moves, and Julian helped me practice while Nick and Kirk worked on knife things. Going into that tunnel with knives strapped to me was still a firm ‘no’ since I would never stab someone, but I saw the benefit of being able to disarm someone or escape if someone got a hold of me. I couldn't freeze everyone. Saving my strength for Collin, and any potential demons he had, would be important. At lunchtime, we crossed the street to a diner and collapsed into a booth in a back corner far away from the rest of the humans.
“I saw some of your moves, Harlow,” Nick said as he scanned the menu. “You are getting better.”
“It’s not as hard as I thought it would be. My speed helps, but without extra strength I thought I wouldn't be able to manage most of the moves he was showing us.”
Julian's hand took mine under the table and he squeezed. He had a soft smile on his face and his eyes twinkled. He had enjoyed pinning me to the mats too much, I had noticed. But I rolled him off me and got away in the end with careful instruction from Kirk.
I was looking at Julian so when his face went blank I glanced around until I noticed a man walking towards us.
“Good afternoon, Julian. The Division asked me to introduce myself to you. I am the proper leader of this city. My name is Edward Fireside.”
I chuckled at his name. A half-demon with the last name Fireside? Okay, maybe only I thought it was funny.
“Mr. Fireside, won’t you join us?” Julian said, sliding towards me in the circular booth. I moved over closer to Nick, and we were one big happy family.
The waitress showed up and took our orders, then hustled off again.
“So, are you planning to take over again once we have Collin under control?” I asked Ed.
“Yes, that’s the plan. I wasn't able to fight him off when he arrived. He’s a very powerful half-demon.”
I still hadn’t seen an expression from him or Julian. It was like some half-demon game. Who can stay blank the longest? I had my bets on Julian. He was hardcore.
The waitress returned with our food a while later. Julian and Ed spent time talking about some members of the Demons Division, but I knew nothing about them except for Darla. Not that I knew anything about her beyond the fact she could heal people. I ate my burger and fries with extra ketchup and slurped down my cola.
“That's settled then. You will join us in the raid and hopefully take over for Collin as soon as we have neutralized him,” Julian said, setting his credit card down on the bill and waiving to the waitress.
“Wait, what's happening?” I asked.
“Edward will join us. He has strength and can assist in the recovery of his people,” Julian said.
“Great. We need sculptors, too,” I said. If we had a bunch of demons on the loose, someone besides Nick and I needed to be collecting them in the sculptor's stones. The half-demons couldn't do it since the sculptor stones burned them.
“That’s a good idea,” Nick said, pulling out his phone.
While everyone was talking about logistics and other commando stuff, I took out my phone and called Lincoln. It rang through to voice mail four times before he finally picked up.
“Hey, Linc. It’s me!” I yelled into the phone.
“Harlow. You don't have to yell,” Linc said with a chuckle.
“I thought you might be deaf now since you took so long to answer,” I replied in a normal voice. “Listen, we need sculptors here to collect baddies. Can you come and bring a few more guys?”
“Sure. When do you need us?”
I covered the phone with my hand and interrupted the guys. “When are we doing this thing?” I asked.
“We have settled on the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow we can rest and get as much intel as possible, then go in hot on Friday,” Julian said like we were in the military.
I relayed the information to Linc in regular human terms, and he agreed to come ASAP with a couple of buddies. Hopefully, we would have enough sculptors and stones to gather all the loose demons.
My thoughts flew back to the asshole demon who possessed me so long ago — the one who had been missing from his perch all these months. I had to assume he was here. At least I hoped he was here. If he wasn’t here, where else could he possibly be?
When I finally got my hands on that demon, I would freeze him permanently and keep him in my garden as a gargoyle. It brought my thoughts back to old lady Gertrude back home in Humber Falls and all her gnomes. She had tons of them. It was weird actually. Maybe I would just put the frozen demon in my closet with all the boxes.
I glanced at Julian. He was still doing his impersonation of an army general. His brow furrowed and the line of his mouth severe. What the heck had he sent me in those boxes?
Resting my head back in the booth, I closed my eyes and let my mind wander to Len and the pizza shop. He was probably slinging dough into the oven right now. I could picture him in my mind, his old man muscles flexing and sweat beading on his forehead. His easy-going nature was a calming force in my life. I knew where I stood with him and felt safe. This city was a dangerous place with people I didn't know how to deal with.
“Harlow.”
I flicked my eyes open to see Nick had left and Julian was standing in front of me. His hair was messy as if he had been running his hands through it.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“You ready to go?”
I rubbed my eyes and rose to my feet. Julian didn’t back up, so I was almost chest to chest with him… well, face to chest since he was significantly taller than me.
His hand came up to cup my cheek. “I want to take you out tonight.”
“Is that a good idea?” I asked. I didn't want to meet up with Collin somewhere before we had all our people in place.
“We will be safe where we are going.” He reached out for my hand, and I let him lead me away from the booth.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
He smiled at me, and I tripped over my feet. “You will see.”
We walked out of the diner, and the limo was waiting. I slid in expecting to find Nick and the former leader of Jackson, but they were gone.
“Where is everyone else?”
The limo pulled away from the curb, and Julian turned to face me. “They’re going to enlist the local sculptors and hunters in our efforts.” His hand came up to cup the side of my face. “You and I will have a night to ourselves before the shit storm that is coming.”
I couldn't remember if I had ever heard him swear before. He definitely hadn't used a phrase like ‘shit storm’ before.
“All right, but will there be food?” I asked. It didn't matter that I had just eaten less than an hour ago, I needed to be fully fuelled up to kick demon ass.
He chuckled. “Yes, there will be food.”
Julian slung his arm across my shoulders and tucked me in beside him on the leather seat as the city rushed by outside the tinted window. Jackson was a pretty city, what I saw of it. There were lots of grand old buildings mixed with newer flashy high rises. If I didn't have a lunatic to capture, I’d have liked to see the touristy places.
The limo stopped back at the hotel, and I raised a brow at Julian.
“We need to change and maybe shower,” he said.
I gave myself a sniff. Yeah, I could use a shower. “What kind of clothes should I wear? Or tell me where we are going so I know how to dress.”
“Something fun,” he said before slipping out of the limo.
Something fun. I didn't have fun clothes. I went through the list of things I had bought in New York. Leather pants and t-shirts. Then I remembered I had brought a small red silk dress from home since it was one of the few clean things left in my suitcase. I guess that was fun.
I followed Julian to the elevator and then to our room. I grabbed the dress out of my suitca
se and disappeared in the bathroom to shower and change. My hair was getting long again, almost time for a haircut, but I got it clean and combed and then blow-dried it straight. I’d brought little makeup with me, so eyeliner and lip gloss would have to do.
When I slipped into the silk dress, I immediately regretted even bringing it. It hardly covered anything and was so light it felt like I was naked.
I swung open the bathroom door and stepped out, still barefoot, but otherwise glamorous.
Julian's soft gasp pulled my eyes up, and the look on his face was almost worth the exposed feeling of the tiny clothes. His eyes were wide and his mouth open.
“Hello,” I said in a saucy voice. I had to wipe the drool off my chin when I took in his appearance. He was wearing worn jeans and a tight white t-shirt that displayed his muscles perfectly. He had motorcycle boots on his feet, and a leather jacket hung from his hand. “You ready to go?” I asked.
Julian pulled himself together. “Yes.” He took out his phone and dialed. “I won't take the bike. Get me a car.” He glanced back at me. “A red one.” He hung up and took my hand, tucking it into the crook of his arm.
“I could change if you’d rather,” I said
“I would not rather,” he said, then led me out of the suite and down to the lobby.
When we stepped out into the cooler night air, I regretted not bringing a jacket, but Julian slipped his leather jacket over my shoulders and led me to the passenger side of a fast, little sports car. It was red.
He handed cash to a man standing at the driver's door and then got in, and we took off for our night on the town.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The car rolled up to a restaurant, but it wasn't like any I’d eaten at before. This one had a literal red carpet and paparazzi. Julian came around and opened my door, helping me out of the car. Good thing, too; since the car hugged the ground, it made the chance of me flashing my undies pretty high. My hand tucked into Julian's arm, and we walked together down the freaking red carpet to the click and the flash of cameras. It was surreal.
“Why were they taking pictures of us?” I asked once we stepped beyond the doors.
