“Abraham.” I jogged the rest of the way. “What’s wrong? Did something happen? Where’s Hunter?”
The usual smile was there but subdued. Abraham cocked one eyebrow. “You don’t answer your phone is what’s wrong.”
I blinked and grabbed my phone. “Damn, I was at work so I, oh… it’s out of battery.” I looked up, meeting his eyes. “Sorry.”
“I was in the neighborhood. You gonna let me in.”
“Ah, sure.” I punched in the code and opened the door. We didn’t speak again until we entered my flat.
Abraham sniffed. “Clean. Someone’s been keeping busy.”
“I had time on my hands, I guess. You’ve seen Hunter?”
“Yes. He’s at Pinkie’s. Back to normal. Pissed at you for some reason.” He sank down onto the folded futon, his long arms stretching fully across the back. “Wouldn’t tell me why. I figured I’d come to the source.”
I didn’t look at him. “You want a drink?” I pulled out a bottle of Maker’s Mark and poured two glasses.
Abraham sipped his whiskey and looked at me. “Julian’s awake. I found him at the diner near the hotel. Took him to Pinkie’s. He says we only have a little time before the Jersey guys come down and find their boss gone. Cobb will keep it under wraps for as long as he can.”
“He’s alive? Wow.” I pressed my lips together. I wasn’t sure why he was telling me about the gangster who’d put everyone in danger.
“We need your skill set to get into Julian’s apartment. He’s lying low. The cartel will kill him if they learn he killed Cesar.”
“And why should we help that wanker?”
“Because the deed to the hotel is at his place. And I don’t need the mob snooping around, okay? I’d like to get a pack of wolves out of my warehouse space.”
“He has the deed to the hotel?”
“Westridge Unlimited is Julian’s company. It seems he was getting out of the crime business.”
“Or bringing the hotel into it.” I scoffed. I drank my whiskey, wincing as it burned its way down.
“Maybe.” Abraham shrugged. “About Hunter. You really did a number on him. You want to tell me what happened?”
I rose to reheat the Asian dumplings in the microwave, evading his gaze. “The corner store has these amazing dumplings. I’ll share.”
He chuckled. “You go ahead and avoid the subject, kid. I’ll be right here sipping my drink. Tell Cobb he owes you a bottle.”
I dumped the steaming dumplings on a plate. “I’m not about to ask Detective Cobb anything like that.”
“Probably a good idea.” He waited until I sat down. “Talk to me, Regge.”
I ate three dumplings before I spoke. “I was so worried about him. About Hunter. Everything seemed to happen at once—fighting, magic, and Hunter went down. I thought he was lost, that—” My voice threatened to break, so I popped another dumpling in my mouth. It was a solid few minutes before I could speak again.
“But we fixed things. Hunter is safe. He seems okay.”
“But he didn’t know what happened to him. Why didn’t you just tell the guy?” His words landed like velvet hammers on my chest.
I sucked in a breath, sliding the last dumpling around on my plate. “I was afraid of losing him. But that’s not all.” I finished my drink. “When he woke up last night, he was HB again. Really him. I was so happy, you know? And well, we had, ah, a moment or two. It was fine.” I chuffed out a laugh. “Who am I kidding, it was great. But then he woke up this morning and I…. Hunter is so good. And I am a mess. I can’t… I am so bloody fucked up.”
Abraham made a scoffing noise in his throat. “Who isn’t? We live in a fucked-up world. Portals and travelers, ghosts and necromancers, Elon Musk and social media. It’s a batshit crazy place.”
“Then I fit right in, don’t I? A pickpocket who whored on the streets of London.”
“That’s what you did, not who you are. You forget how old I am. I was on those same streets. Back then, London was a desperate and dangerous town for a lot of people. You survived when many didn’t.”
“Don’t forget I’m a murderer. And not just monsters, but men.” I thought of the man in my past, the one who’d killed Charlie. The satisfaction of his death still rippled through me.
