“Apologize?” Dom said, as though he’d never heard the word before.
“Yes,” Declan growled. His pistol twitched at his side, not moving toward the other two, but enough motion that their eyes jolted down to it once more. “I know you weren’t being truthful when you said those things about her, but you still said them. Now it’s time to make it right.”
Both looked at me and nearly fell over themselves, shouting apologies and excuses for what they’d said. Finally, either bored or irritated, Declan waved to the alley exit.
“Enough.” He pulled a wad of bills out of his pocket and handed them to the two men. “Anyone asks if you’ve seen me or a pretty, curly-haired young lady, you tell them to fuck right off. Got it?”
“Fuck right off,” Dom parroted.
“Never seen you,” Danny muttered with a nod, taking the bills.
“Good. And if youdosee or hear of anyone looking for us, you let me know right away. Now get the hell out of here,” Declan said.
The two shifters damn near sprinted away. I turned back to look at Declan as he approached the door.
“Whoareyou?” I said.
He glanced back over his shoulder and smirked, an expression that looked incredibly sexy on his face. “I thought you knew all about me from that book.”
“Apparently I need to read more,” I said.
He chuckled but said nothing more, shoving a key into the biggest deadbolt lock I’d ever seen. Leaving the key in, he took out his wallet and slid out a green card from the slot, then waved it around the doorframe.
“What’s that?” I said, stepping closer to get a better look.
“Sliver of enchanted jade. Had it carved to look like a credit card. It unlocks the protection spells I’ve placed here and on my house. I’m not good at magic, but you can find some pretty good sorcerers or witches who’ll do things like this for you for a price.”
The door shimmered faintly, then swung inward.
“Inside. Hurry,” he said, gesturing for me to head in first while checking around the alley, his eyes shooting left and right, looking for any prying eyes that might be watching us.
I moved in, stepping over the threshold fast, and ducking inside, breathing a sigh of relief once I was off the street. Behind me, the door clicked shut as Declan followed me. He slapped his hand against the wall, hitting a switch and turning the light on.The first thing I thought was that Declan should livehererather than the tiny bungalow he chose to live in. It was painted in bland whites and grays, but felt less stale and sad. The sparsely furnished space also gave off the illusion that it was bigger than it seemed.
I’d entered into a small living room and a decent-sized kitchenette sat off to the side. An archway on the back wall led into the bedroom and bathroom.
Declan locked the door from the inside, then used the jade keycard to reseal the magic barrier.
“That’ll keep everyone out?” I asked, nodding to the door.
As he tucked the item back into his wallet, he shrugged. “It’ll keep out witches, sorcerers, and warlocks—all of which are likely to be after you. It’ll also repel any malevolent spirits. Ghosts, poltergeists, revenants, and so on. For more corporeal beings like shifters, the door is reinforced. Even a dragon shifter would need to kick that bitch five or six times to knock it down. That should give us time to run.”
“Neat,” I said, then winced inwardly.Neat? Who, over the age of seven, says neat?
He moved toward the kitchen. “Do you want a drink or anything?”
“What do you have here?”
“Well, since it’s rarely used, everything is shelf stable,” Declan said. “We’ve got ramen noodles, canned pears, bottled water, vodka, and whiskey.”
“Delightful selection,” I said. “Water’s good.”
“Got it.”
I wandered around the space. “So, what do you think will be the first thing we do?”
“For the case?”
“Yeah. What’s the first, uh,leadwe track down?”
