The door opened, and a demon filled the entrance. Tall, handsome, and mate to her best friend, Riley’s sharp green eyes swept over her. He stood aside, waved her into the foyer of the townhouse drenched with the aroma of coffee, and shut the door behind him.
She’d met Riley two years ago, and she liked him—liked how he loved her friend unconditionally.
How the hell could two demons be worlds apart? She shuddered.
“Nia, what’s wrong?” Saia hurried across and wrapped an arm around her waist. “God, you’re freezing. And you only have on a thin lab coat?”
Her friend led her to the living room. A fire crackled in the hearth, its warmth enclosing her. Gratefully, Nia sank into the cream couch, a shaky breath escaping her.
Saia tossed back her yard-long, ebony hair and sat close, worry etching her pretty face.
Unwanted tears welled.
“What is it?” Saia asked softly.
“Everything…” Her throat tightened around the words. “I didn’t know where else to go.”
Saia glanced at her mate standing across from them, then back to her. She didn’t push; she simply waited until Nia hadcontrol of her emotions, and Nia loved that about her friend. Saia was always there for her, no matter what.
“Kas.”
“What?” Saia’s brow creased. “Didn’t you go out with him like months ago? I thought he was old news?”
She nodded. “But I didn’t tell you why I wouldn’t see him again…” She gently rubbed her neck. The memory of phantom fingers choking her froze the words on her tongue. Sleep had become a luxury since then. She jerked awake at every sound—a creaking floorboard, leaves rustling outside her window.God. She trembled.
Glasses tinkled, and Riley returned with a squat glass. “Drink this. It will help.”
“Th-thanks.” She accepted the brandy, sipped, and broke out in a spasm of coughing as the acrid liquor hit her throat and blazed a fiery trail down to her stomach.
With the glass gripped with both hands, Nia told them what had happened with Kas.
“He hurt you?” Saia demanded when Nia arrived at the choking and attempted biting.
Riley narrowed his eyes as he took the armchair nearby.
“He didn’t have a chance. I kneed him in the groin and ran.” She swallowed hard. “I was so stupid. He…he seemed nice.”
“A blood demon?” Riley’s tone grew sharp. “Those bastards don’t date. They kill.”
Another shudder rushed through Nia at her close call. “I didn’t know. I thought he was one of the local Otiums…” She pushed back the escaped strands from her loosened topknot. “He didn’t have the rank stench of sulfur.”
“Most know how to conceal their stench,” Riley muttered.
Wonderful. She sipped more of the throat-ruining brandy, coughed through the burn. “Now, he’s stalking me. He’s everywhere.”
“What’s his true name?” Riley rose, his expression as hard as his eyes. “Kas is not it.”
She set her glass down. “I don’t know any other.”
“Never mind. Description?”
“Tall, lanky, pale skin, with dirty blond hair and dark eyes. I’m sorry, that’s all I know—oh, and he smells like ashes and pine.”
Riley frowned as he walked around the coffee table. “While demons can use glamour to conceal their true selves, they can’t hide from me for long.” He rubbed his skull-trimmed hair. “He must be one of those straight from the Dark Realm. Still, I would have sensed him…”
His focus shifted to the window, his expression morphing to granite. “Saia, don’t answer the door until I get back.”
He shimmered and disappeared.
