I set a towel on the toilet and helped her to sit, then used a second towel to pat her dry as gently as I could. Watery blood welled from the worst of the burns. “Don’t move. I’m going to put aloe cream on those burns and get them bandaged.”
“You’re going to make me look like a fucking mummy.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll use only the best, most stylish bandages, direct from Paris.” I began dabbing cream onto the burns on her neck. “What happened to those kids? Are we going to get an angry call from Duke about you leaving dead bodies outside his bar?”
“They ran off. I’m not sure how.” She hissed and jerked away. “I didn’t want to kill kids, but they wanted me dead, Jen. I had to put them down fast and hard. One should have had a full set of broken ribs. I elbowed another hard enough to knock him out for the night. But they just shook it off and bounced back.”
“Were they human?”
She nodded.
Meaning they were either on drugs or packing magical power-ups. Either way, Annette was lucky it hadn’t been worse.
“I got a name from Duke,” she said. “Our guest this morning was Ronald Kensington. Drives a black van. Duke gave me the license plate number and everything.”
“Good.” I taped a bandage into place. “Where did you park tonight when you went to the Gauntlet?”
“Across from—” She stopped. “Why do you want to know?”
I forced myself to speak calmly. “You did your detective thing. It’s my turn. I’ll start by tracking the kids. Their scent is on your clothes. If that trail goes dead, I’ll hunt Ronnie. His name and vehicle should be enough for me to find him.”
“We don’t know if those three have any connection to Ronnie.”
“You think it’s a coincidence?”
“No, but I work with facts, not feelings. Sherlock Holmes-style. And you...This isn’t what you do anymore. You had damn good reasons for leaving that life behind. My grandson might not understand, but I do.”
She didn’t realize how angry I was or how scared. They’d tried to kill my friend. The urge to hunt and punish was overwhelming.
I hid my struggle behind a smile as I moved to the burns on her shoulder. “You heard that conversation with Morgan?”
“I’m very observant.”
“You mean you snoop.”
“Potato, potahto.” Her pulse continued to ease, though she remained pale and sweaty.
I must not have hidden my feelings as well as I thought, because Annette caught my wrist and turned serious. “Hey, look at me. I’m all right. You don’t have to worry, okay? Believe me, I’ve had worse.”
“That’s not exactly reassuring.” I tore open the next package of gauze. Annette healed quicker than humans, and her skin was immune to scars or other blemishes, but she’d be hurting and messed up for most of the week. “How do you think they found you? Were they just waiting around outside the Gauntlet for the first demon to walk out?”
“Shit. I didn’t even think about that. I must have gotten holy water on the brain. Stupid!” She tried to stand. Her legs wobbled, and I guided her back down. “I don’t think they knew about the Gauntlet. They asked me where to find ‘the rest of my kind.’ No, they were there for me. They must have been watching the shop and followed me when I left. I need to check the outside security footage.”
“You need to stop squirming,” I said firmly. “I’ll get you something to help you relax, along with more pain meds. ThenI’llcheck around outside to see what I can find whileyousleep.”
“Dammit, Jenny. They know where I live. They could be out there waiting for their next shot.”
The rage of the goddess heated my blood. “I very much hope so.”
• • •
This isn’t a hunt, I told myself as I circled the block for the third time.
A true hunt would have begun with a ritual prayer. I’d be carrying my bow and blade. And I would have felt Artemis’s presence with each step, a silent companion who brought comfort and confidence and security.
I missed my goddess. I missed my friend.
As I walked, I checked every shadow and every window, peered beneath every parked car. I scared a few cats, a possum, and a pair of rabbits.
