“Come in.”
I step into the room and stand in the doorway for a moment as my vision adjusts to the darkness. Deissy is sitting to the side of Felix’s bed, staring out the open window at the moon. “How’s he doing?” I ask as I move in closer. Though I sense no copper hanging in the air, I still do my best not to take any deep breaths.
Better to not risk it.
“He’ll be okay. Rachel said he had some deep cuts, but that he managed to stay out of range for the most part.
“Can you tell me where you were attacked?”
“The golf course,” she replies. “I was grabbing some packages we had delivered and stashing them in the office for when things calm down. It was so stupid of me. We should have just come back here after getting the rest of our stuff.”
“It’s not stupid. You shouldn’t have been attacked. Humans, they’re supposed to be off-limits.”
“Apparently, not anymore.” Her voice is barely above a whisper, but the weight of the words spoken settle over me.
So many other, horrible ways this could have ended had they not been so lucky. And that call? The one telling me that Deissy was killed…is not one I ever want to receive. Especially since I’m the reason she was brought into this mess in the first place. “How did you guys get away?”
“Another supernatural showed up. A warlock?” Her brows bunch together in confusion. “I think that’s what he was. He never actually told us, so I’m just guessing.”
That gets my attention. Warlocks are rare and typically massive fucking assholes because of it. Chasin is a perfect example. Granted, every now and then, you run across one who isn’t—but they are few and very far between. And one rescuing humans? That’s unheard of as far as I know. “He rescued you both?”
She nods. “He killed some. The others ran off, and then he helped us to Felix’s car.” Deissy glances over. “He killed one of them, too, you know.”
“Felix?”
“Yeah. A cat had me pinned when he got back from checking on the snack bar. He jumped right on top of it and stabbed it.”
My appreciation for the human increases tenfold. “That’s impressive.”
“It is. I just—I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to him, Tarnley. This is all my fault.” She closes her eyes as tears begin to slip from their corners. Drawing up both knees to her chest, she buries her face, and the sound of her sobs eats away at me.
“None of this is your fault,” I whisper.
“It is my fault. I brought him into all of this.”
“And I brought you into it.”
“You saved me, Tarnley. I had to do the same.”
“No. I should have stayed away from your place. I brought them to your door, so if you’re going to blame anyone, blame me.”
“You guys can both stop arguing over whose fault it is anytime now,” Felix groans.
“Felix?” Deissy jumps up from her chair and falls to her knees beside the bed.
He grins at her, and she grips both sides of his face and presses her lips to his.
I stand, wanting to give them privacy, but just as I’m reaching the door, Felix calls for me.
“Yes?”
Face bruised, he barely manages to sit up enough to see over Deissy. “This isn’t your fault, man. Honestly, even after tonight, I’m glad to be fighting alongside such good people. Human or not.”
His words mean more to me than I doubt he will ever know. “I appreciate that. And I promise to get you both out of this. Someday soon, you’ll be able to return to your lives.”
I don’t wait for a response because I’m a prideful bastard, and the last thing I want is for them to see the fear in my eyes. Fear that my words were a lie.
Fear that we’re simply living on borrowed time.