“I would never expect such treatment,” Noble said, and while I thought we were still joking, his words had enough sadness that my pride was tweaked. Did he really think I wasn’t capable of any type of apology? Or was he remembering past letdowns? I wasn’t sure, but I hated it.
“What time are you done?”
“Eight. I agreed to stay till then.” He sat back far enough that he almost tipped his stool and had to grab the front of the seat to stay upright.
“Can I take your statement?”
His brow furrowed. “Don’t you need some equipment or something to do that?”
“Nah, just tell me what happened.”
He glanced around, and while there was something that sounded like a shout, followed by laughter that echoed out into the entrance from somewhere deeper in the shelter, there were no other signs of life.
“We’re alone. Just tell me.”
“Not much.” His lips pursed into a pout. “I went topolitelyask Mr. Enoch not to put out the spikes in front of his business, and he attacked. You were there for the rest.”
“What did you say to him?” I asked, leaning forward. “Did you provoke him?”
He snorted. “I barely got any words out at all. I think I was somewhere around, ‘Hi, I’m Noble Warwick from Healing Hearts,’ and then he was on me.”
I nodded. “Easy enough to write up. Okay, I’ll be back around eight o’clock.”
“Can’t wait!” He drummed his good hand on the desk and his lips twitched toward a smile that stuck.
His eyes look so happy.No sooner did I have that thought than Abe flexed in my mind. A shocking wave of something like starvation pushed through my body and nearly dropped me to my knees. The grasping, needy hunger had me clawing at the collar of my shirt, but it wasn’t food Abe was desperate to steal. No, this terrible desire was how badly he wanted one of Noble’s eyes for his own. Abe didn’t send me words, it was more like flashes of fantasies surrounding his knife and Noble’s beautiful body.
“Are you okay?” Noble asked from his spot at the desk behind me.
I forced a nod without turning around and stumbled outside, making myself stay on my feet. I put one boot in front of the other and booked it toward the Chrysler 300. My cock was half hard and I was so fucking disgusted. The last thing I wanted was for Noble to find me outside, shaking apart.
Nilsson glanced up from his phone when I dropped onto the front passenger seat. “You talk to that kid?” He didn’t seem too pleased about the fact I’d made him cool his heels, but then, he never argued with me.
“Yeah.”
Nilsson shrugged. “They let Enoch out on bond, anyway. His statement isn’t going to mean much. Got word from Hamilton. He said he went to the Quicksilver Coffeehouse this afternoon. He’s a nut about the brownies they make there, and he talked to Enoch. Anyway, the coffee shop was open again. Enoch said they let him go.”
“Fuck. Why do we even bother dragging people in?”
“Yep,” Nilsson said, bored of the conversation already. He dropped his phone into the right pocket on his coat and started the car. He barely glanced into his mirror before he cut into traffic, inspiring someone to lay on their horn. Nilsson only flipped them off with a grin.
Back at the office I filed all the necessary paperwork for the day and the statement from Noble. I still had a bit of time to kill before he would be done at his job, so I started walking from the police station to burn some nervous energy, and eventually found myself standing in front of the Quicksilver Coffeehouse. It was a mile and a half on foot from the station, at least, so there was no way I’d accidentally wandered here, but I hadn’t been conscious of making a choice to do so. No, I didn’t decide on my destination, but once I stood in front of it, looking at the warm, glowing windows, I couldn’t stop.
Abe growled approvingly in my head, and I smiled as I pulled open the front door and went inside. Warm air slapped my face. Glancing around, I decided that if I didn’t have a reason to want to smash Enoch into a lump of ruined flesh, I would like this place. There was a masculine vibe, with black tables and gray cushioned seats slid under them. On the walls were astronomy charts intermixed with photos and paintings of celestial phenomena. In a place of pride on the left wall was a large painting of the full moon bracketed by skeletal tree branches that gave me a vicious sense of déjà vu.
I shouldn’t be here. This was a terrible idea… but I was a demon after all. I’d never claimed to be a force of good. I reached back and turned the lock on the door so no one else could come in. As I walked past a couple of tables, I noticed there was a woman tucked into a corner with her laptop open. She had on large green headphones and didn’t take notice of me as I passed her, or at least, she didn’t glance up.
Mr. Enoch stood behind the order counter with his head bowed and his face between his hands, staring at his feet. There was a gray splint taped around his nose. I didn’t go to the spot set up to take orders. Noble wouldn’t be getting coffee from this prick. I went around the end of the counter and directly toward Enoch. When I reached him, I didn’t stop, simply wrapped my hand around his throat tight enough to cut off his grunt of surprise and dragged him toward a doorway in the corner. His eyes bugged and he gnashed his teeth as if he was trying to curse at me.
The power of using this much strength had me smiling. Rarely did I truly embrace my worst qualities. The room I forced Enoch into ended up being a small kitchen. I slammed him to the white floor tiles. He gagged and kicked his feet as he clawed at my hand, and a deep sense of satisfaction settled into me.
“This is how I met you. Not so nice, is it?” I asked. Insidious pleasure coiled in my stomach.
He shook his head, slapping his hands at my forearm. I went to my knees over him and joined my first hand with my other one, making an unbreakable collar of pain around his throat. I squeezed harder and heard something snap. My vision blackened around the edges. There would be no coming back from this.
“You want air, don’t you?”
He gurgled.
