Calm down, Lexi. Get a hold of yourself!
“Go on home, I can finish up here,” I said, giving him a light push toward the door. “I can hear Ellie calling for you out there.”
He hung up his white coat, setting the skull cap on top, and I followed him to the front. Sure enough, the raven stood just outside the glass door, cawing and preening her oil-slick feathers. Kameron almost smiled, then glanced at me over his shoulder.
“Let me know if those cookies help.”
“Will do.”
I locked the door behind him, then took a deep breath and released it slowly. Being in the bakery alone only made me think of Lucifer. About how it’d just been the two of us when I first started, and how hard I’d tried to resist his flirting because I was afraid it’d end as bad as the rest of my relationships. Heat surged through me when I stepped back into the kitchen, eyeing the space where he’d chased me around before he laid me out on his desk and—
That’s not helping!
Part of me expected him to appear right at that moment, and I felt oddly disappointed when he didn’t. Sighing, I grabbed another cookie and finished cleaning up while I debated where I was going to sleep that night. Mine and Sophie’s apartment was obviously the closer of the two, but there was the possibility of catching Lucifer at his place—er,myplace.
Again, the idea of talking to Sophie about moving out made me anxious. My relationship was new, and even though we were apparently the subject of some major prophecy, I couldn’t help but compare my past experience and wonder if it would eventually turn out the same. I was insecure, and well aware of it, but I’d never had the chance to get serious with anyone. This was terrifying in a way that made fighting demons seem comfortable.
I still needed to have that talk with her. Sophie deserved that much, even if I didn’t go through with the move. If I was lucky, she’d give her input and either give me the confidence to jump on board with it, or present me with the hard facts until I had more time to consider it.
There was also the fact that I’d be leaving my best friend behind.
With the kitchen smelling lemony fresh, I set the alarm and locked up behind me, my mood pretty much tanked. I wanted to curl up on the couch with Sophie and watch old horror movies and eat popcorn and laugh at the terrible effects. I needed to take advantage of my time with her before I lost it, whenever that was.
“Rough night?”
I jumped, magic flying from my hand before I gave it any conscious thought, and a large body flew across the street into the side of a parked car. The alarm started blaring through the mostly quiet night, and I bolted over with an apology on my lips, but Nathan was laughing. He jumped to his feet and took off running. Confused, I watched him for a second or two with my mouth hanging open before chasing after him.
“What the hell are you doing?” I hissed when I caught up. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
The alarm went silent and I cringed, thinking about the not-so-small dent Nathan’s stupid hard body left. We should’ve left a note or something, but he caught me off-guard and then ran away like apsychopath. He slowed when we reached the parking lot in front of my apartment.
“All fight, no flight?” He chuckled and boxed at the shadows in front of us. “Good instinct to have.”
“How is that a good instinct?” I scoffed playfully. “I thought you macho types were all about the girl running to safety, not throwing people into cars.”
He brushed his fingers through his short blonde hair, intentionally flexing his biceps. “I got the macho body, but the macho personality cost extra. I declined the upgrade.”
“Upgrade?” I snorted a laugh. “I can see a few people asking for refunds on that one.”
I wanted to ask why he was coming around more frequently—if he was genuinely trying to be my friend or just playing bodyguard for Lucifer. I hadn’t missed how he always took off as soon asMr. Riversshowed up. Instead, I nodded at the red Jeep he was clearly walking toward.
“So, where’re we headed?”
Nathan tossed his thumb over his shoulder. “Forest Hills. I had a vision—”
I froze as I opened my door and stared at him across the Jeep’s interior. “The neighborhood or the cemetery?”
He hopped in, making my poor vehicle lean too far to one side. “The cemetery. I had a vision there’s gonna be demons there, though I’m not exactly sure when. I just know it’s close.”
“A demon attack… in a cemetery.”
“Yeah, and I thought maybe you’d be bored enough to join me.” He shrugged one shoulder and pulled the seat belt around him, as if I’d already made up my mind. “I don’t get to do field work that often, so Boston’s been kind of exciting since I came here.”
I shook my head and hopped in the driver’s seat. “Why would they attack a cemetery at night when there’s no one there?” The area west of Dorchester came to mind and I tried to picture what was around that cemetery. I gasped. “Nathan, there’s a hospital close by.”
“Yeah, I know,” he replied, wincing. “You ever done a stakeout before?”
“Why?”
