I lead her by the hand over to her curved counter, and she perches herself onto the top on the other side of the sink so she can watch me cook. I catch a glimpse of her bare thighs when she scoots back, the fingerprinted bruises both delighting and concerning me.
“How are you feeling?” I ask as I grab a pan from her open cabinet.
“Sore. Stretched. Safe.”
I catch her eye with the last word, and she smiles at me.
“I still can’t believe I slept that long, though. I haven’t made it past thirty minutes to sunrise in almost a year,” she adds.
“Why?”
“I go on a walk to the jetty every morning. It helps clear my head after any nightmares,” she answers.
“Do you get a lot of those?” I ask.
“Every now and then. I didn’t know you cooked,” she says, and I realize she’s just changing the subject.
“Don’t get your hopes up. Eggs are the bare minimum,” I mutter, turning on the stove.
She stands and comes around to the fridge, then grabs the salsa off the top shelf. I’m busy cracking the eggs into the pan when I hear her groan approvingly at the fact that there’s coffee already made.
As she makes her coffee and I eventually turn off the stove, I quickly go to the table by the door to check my phone to see if Blaze has texted. He’s been gone a while. And with the things we’ve seen the last couple of days, I’m mildly concerned for him.
However, when I pass the window, I have to backtrack.
Fuck.
There’s a troll outside.
A tall, ugly green creature that looks more like a booger than anything else.Clobbering fucking idiots.I curse under my breath. No wonder Blaze hasn’t come back. Sinking the dog into a shadow and getting her inside without her barking and charging the thing could prove tricky.
The troll tiptoes the edge of the yard, body illuminating each time it grazes my barrier. It should be enough to hold, though it doesn’t keep him from throwing something at the house again.
I need Blaze to get his shit together.
I could easily take care of this, but doing it so far from him isn’t as accurate, and the last thing I want is Juniper getting any wind that there’s something wrong.
My phone lights up, and I look down at it.
Blaze
Is it still there?
North, answer me.
It was trying to get in the back the last time we circled. I can’t get close with Pack, not without alerting Juniper at least.
“How long ago did Nick leave?” Juniper asks, making me jump.
Shit.
“Ah… Twenty minutes? I’ll text him. Did you want to shower?”
Juniper scratches her cat’s neck as she thinks about it. “Yeah. I might go do that now, actually.”
I try to pretend to be as normal as possible. “Would you like company? Sexy butler to bring you your towel. Scalp massage from your knees?”
Her jaw visibly tightens when she peers me over. “Tempting. I think I need to count my bruises first.”
