“If you’re done, now will you two please leave?”
Grimm didn’t take his attention away from Cara. “He’s really making me angry, sweetheart.”
“Jericho …” Cara thought to warn him, but it was too late.
Grimm moved with lightning speed, grabbing Jericho’s wrist and holding it in a brutal grip he was unable to break in the small confines of the booth. In the same instant, he took Cara’s hand.
Memories flooded her mind. Jericho as a small child neglected and left alone by an uncaring mother, foster homes until he had ended up with a woman he had thought of as a monster, but she was more than that. She had been one of such malicious evil that Cara, for all her centuries of seeing souls, had rarely seen her likeness. She had been given the care of a small child who had never known love or affection and had tried to destroy what humanity he’d had left. He had been both mentally and physically abused to such an extent that Cara tried to shake her hand free from Grimm’s grip, unable to bear seeing the torture he had been forced to endure for years.
Grimm refused to relinquish her hand, forcing her to see and feel everything Jericho had borne for years at the evil woman’s hands. When he had finally been old enough to escape, she had been unable to handle not having her toy to torture and had tried to regain her power over him. It had led to her death by his hands. He had even been imprisoned for the murder until it had finally been proved to be self-defense. Cara saw the years he had spent alone, knowing his soul had been scarred beyond repair.
Cara swallowed back the tears. A child learned love from his caretakers and would be able to share that love with others. Jericho had never learned love. Everyone had failed the child, and the man had paid the price.
Grimm released their hands.
“What did you do?” Jericho angrily questioned him.
“Merely gave Cara a heads up.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that you shouldn’t make me angry.” He turned, giving Jericho a smile of intent just as Tammy came to the table with their order.
The poor woman couldn’t stop shaking as she placed their plates before them.
“Can I get you something?” The woman’s tone suggested he could have anything he wanted.
“Well, now, what are you offering, sweetness?” Seduction poured from Grimm’s voice.
Tammy didn’t beat around the bush. “Me.”
Cara thought the woman would rip her clothes off then and there. If her nipples got any larger, they were going to burst through her uniform.
Grimm smiled seductively at the lust-crazed woman. “Well, I could use a place to stay since I’m trapped here with the roads closed.”
“I have a place close by; you could stay with me.”
Grimm smiled even wider, showing his pearly whites.
“I was supposed to meet Jericho, but I would rather have you,” Tammy confessed guiltily.
Grimm’s predatory smile widened. “What time do you get off?”
“Give me a minute. I’ll be right back.” She turned away then hesitated, turning back to Grimm. “I will have to make up an excuse to my boss.” At his nod of approval, Tammy rushed off.
“That was bad, Grimm.”
“That’s one of the perks of my job,” he said unrepentantly then gave Jericho his attention once more. “My little friend will be returning home with you, and I expect you to take better care of her than you have been.” He reached out and touched each of Cara’s hands briefly. Instantly, she felt the soreness leaving.
“Thanks.” Cara was thanking him for more than healing her hands. She was thanking him for letting her get to know Jericho in ways it would have taken years for a mortal to know, if ever since Jericho would never have told. Most of all, she was thanking him for getting the horny waitress away from Jericho.
“Happy to oblige.” Grimm slid out of the booth when Tammy returned.
When she leaned into his body, he placed an arm around her hip to draw her against his side, smiling wickedly.
“I stole twenty dollars from the cash register last week,” Tammy confessed suddenly.
“Did you? Then you must replace it your next payday, shouldn’t you?” Grimm caressed her hip, staring deep into her eyes.