I met a sheepish Edzard outside the Necan the next morning and I imagined that if a thelac warrior could blush, he would be at that moment. I was annoyed with him, but when his dark hair fell forward and brushed his eyes, I remembered he was nothing but a three hundred-year-old puppy.

I clomped down the porch steps, my boots thumping over the worn wood, and sighed. He had those big eyes with their red irises that cried out for a hug and forgiveness. Forgiveness I could handle. The hug so wasn’t happening. I’d had enough thelac hospitality to last a lifetime.

I hit the pavement and tilted my head back to meet his gaze. Dammit, he looked so pitiful. With a sigh, I turned left, sticking my hands in my pockets as I made my way down the street. I’d made it a dozen feet—alone—before I finally turned back to him.

“You watching over me today or what?”

The corner of his lips twitched and then they slowly parted into a grin. Of course, right that second some downtown partygoer had to emerge from the alleyway and stumble right into him.

“Dude. Sorry, man.” The stranger groaned and I tensed, waiting for the thelac to rip the little human limb from limb.

I really hoped Edzard would give the puny kid a break. I hated the paperwork that came with disappearing tourists.

“Dude.” The boy straightened and reached for Puppy’s mouth. “Are those real? That’s fuckin’ wicked.”

And that made Edzard snarl. Thelacs weren’t big on touching unless they were doing the touching. That had the human jerking back and tripping on his own feet until he plopped into a heap at Puppy’s feet.

“No need to get your dick in a knot, man.” Instead of standing, the kid merely fell backward farther until he lay spread eagle on the sidewalk.

I hated downtown mouse-land. The morning drunks always got on my nerves. It was bad enough I had my own crap to deal with but hung over humans… I shuddered. It was why Hell’s Chapel was as far away from them as possible but still close enough to keep the tweeners in line when they decided to go dancing au naturel.

“Dude.” The human pointed at Edzard and I wondered if the kid was looking to lose a finger. Or hand. It depended on the thelac’s mood. “Are you in that new movie? With the things and the things with that thing? Dude. Gonna be the best movie ever!” The boy burped, and my eyes watered with the stench. Dayum. “Can I totally get your autograph?”

Edzard shifted his attention from the human to me and raised a single, questioning eyebrow. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to give the human the autograph he craved or rip the boy’s head off. Better to be safe.

“C’mon, Eddie, we gotta go.”

Edzard grunted and stepped over the kid, following in my wake. I ignored the whining human. He should be thankful, not ungrateful. Kids today…

In my time—

I cut that thought off at the pass. I was starting to sound like my fathers. Gah.

In no time, Edzard was padding beside me, his body between me and the empty street. Aw, someone had taught him manners after all. I had half a mind to push him in front of an oncoming car. Protect that!

I took a deep breath and sought calm. I was wearing my uber bitch hat and I didn’t have time for a ragefest. I had to get the bar going and find someone to put my car back together. Or at least haul it away and give me a few hundred bucks for it. Then I could put that toward a new hunk of metal.

I’d liked that so much…

We turned the next corner and found what I’d been hunting. A few cabbies were parked on the side of the road. The trip would cost a pretty penny, but I didn’t want to go for the alternative. Touching Edzard was so not happening.

I put two fingers between my lips and sucked in a breath to release a harsh whistle to get their attention. With Edzard at my side, I’d probably go for the SUV driver, but really, I just needed to get to Hell’s Chapel.

Before I made a sound, Puppy tugged my hand down. “We don’t need a ride. You know I can—”

“Oh, we’re not doing that again.” I shook my head.

“But—”

“Nope.” I stopped and whirled to face him, hands on my hips. “That little prelude to love shack we had in my room isn’t happening again. Little Eddie,” I ignored his darkening glare, “is staying in his pants.”

Not waiting for him to say anything else, I got back to my task and released that harsh sound.

The three men turned their attention to me and they all took time to take me in from head to toe. And like most men, they lingered on my tits. It seemed tits were a universal occupation. Tween, gel, or dem, they all had to take a long look.

I’d dress more conservatively, but dammit, they were one of my best features. I’d say that On High gave them to me so I’d flaunt them, but I doubted On High had much to do with breasts. Well, not a half-demon’s anyway.

Of course their staring had Edzard growling and me sighing and I hoped we’d get to the bar without bloodshed. Ignoring the sound, I jogged across the street and pretended their stares didn’t bounce in time with my loping strides. I also ignored the way Puppy’s growl turned into a moan as he stared at my ass.

Males.

I slowed as I approached the SUV driver. “Know where Hell’s Chapel is?” The guy nodded. “Feel like driving out there?” Edzard finally came to a stop beside me and the cabbie looked the thelac up and down with a frown on his face. I dug into my back pocket and tugged out my wallet. It was nothing to slip a few bills out and make them visible to the guy. “Double for us both and take less than twenty minutes.”

“Deal.” The cabbie didn’t hesitate to reach for my cash, but I stepped back.

“I’m not that dumb. Half now, half upon delivery.” The man snorted. I hated having to deal with humans sometimes. I waved at the other two men nearby. “You want me to go to them? Because I got no problems leaving your ass here and giving them the hundred-dollar fare. Your choice.”

The cabbie glared and held out his hand. “Fifty now and—”

“Yeah, no.” I shook my head. “Still not dumb. Twenty-five now and—”

“Caith, I can—” Edzard interrupted and I was sure he was trying to be all helpful and stuff.

“No, you can’t. This guy is gonna take my twenty-five and haul our happy assess across town.” I narrowed my eyes at the human, daring him to argue.

“Fine,” he snapped and held out his hand. “Twenty-five and your friend better not get that makeup shit on the seats.”

Oh. Right. I almost forgot about Puppy’s, er, makeup. “He won’t.” I grabbed Edzard’s wrist and tugged him toward the back doors. “C’mon. Get in and keep your makeup on.”

That had Edzard releasing a snort that quickly turned into a cough. “Right.”

Shaking my head, I climbed in, and the second all doors closed, we were off, the SUV racing down the streets. Soft music filled the silence. At least until the cabbie spoke.

“So, you’re Caith, right? Caith Morningstar?” The guy tried to make it sound like an innocent question, just a cabbie making conversation.

The thing about it was… no one but tweens knew my real name. I never changed, but the Morningstar surname belonged to the tweeners, dems, and gels only.

I shot Edzard a look, wondering if he sensed anything from the male. I didn’t detect any hint of other in him, but I hadn’t been awake long and coffee wasn’t filling my veins. I raised a single brow in question and he gave me a small shake of his head.

I wasn’t wrong. Human guy then. “Yeah, I’m Caith. Caith Murray, though.”

“Oh, ‘cause I heard it was Morningstar. You own Hell’s Chapel, right? He got that right, huh?”

I merely hummed, my skin itching the longer we remained in the man’s cab. Even half-asleep, I knew danger wasn’t imminent, but that didn’t make me feel better. The wolf prowled beneath the surface, its hair on end and lips curled back in a threat. Yeah, the animal wasn’t any happier than I was.

“Yup, I own HC.” I ignored Edzard’s piercing stare.

“Right, right.” The cabbie had a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel, and sweat beaded on his temples.

Nervous. But why? And how long would it take to discover the point to this rambling questioning.

“I went there once. To Hell’s Chapel. Good times. Some weird shit, right? You’re into that kind of stuff…”

He kept speaking and I continued to stare at his profile. No way had this man gotten over the threshold. My bouncer was better than that, and now that I was easing more toward awake, I realized not a hint of tween, dem, or gel clung to him.

I focused on the passing scenery, eyes unseeing as I listened to the sounds filling the space. The wolf added its help, seeking the steady thrum that filled humans. “When was that?”

The cabbie’s heart rate increased, the muscle fluttering in his chest and sending blood flooding his veins. The stink of his sweat filled the SUV and I listened as each droplet slid over his skin.

Twined through it all was the stench of his lie.

“N-N-Not sure. A while ago, though.”

“Uh-huh.” Liar, liar, may Uncle Luc set your pants on fire and eat your soul for breakfast.

“So, is it true? The weird stuff? My cousin says—”

“Who’s your cousin?” Two could play the questioning game.

“Well, you don’t know him. He’s only been in once. He was vacationing here for a few days.”

Another lie. Even on the off chance his “cousin” was a tweener blabbing his mouth, everyone was required to stop by on their way in and out. If it was under twenty-four hours, a call did the job, but I hadn’t had a day-er in at least a year. Why come to the house of the mouse if they weren’t gonna stay a while?

“Uh-huh. You should have him stop by and see me.” I let my gaze drift from the scenery and finally meet the cabbie’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “I’ll buy him a drink.”

“He doesn’t—”

“I insist.” I smiled widely, knowing my canines were just a bit longer than a human’s, shining a hint whiter than theirs as well. If he looked close, he’d see a slight shimmer of heat rising from my skin. “I’d love to catch up with him. See what he thinks of Hell’s Chapel.”

The man swallowed hard and carefully pulled alongside the curb, popping the SUV into park the second we halted. “I’ll-I’ll do that.”

I nodded at Edzard to leave and the man glared at me, trying to stare me down before he finally gave up and climbed out.

Alone, save the human, I leaned forward, bills in hand. I didn’t place them in his palm, choosing to press my hand against his chest. I let a hint of hellfire flow, making my touch a smidge painful and I didn’t miss the initial stink of burning cloth.

“Double. As agreed.” He sucked in a harsh breath and I didn’t wait for him to acknowledge me before I left the vehicle. When I turned back to him, hand resting on the door, I smirked. “Thanks for the ride.”

I slammed the door closed, the whole vehicle shaking with the force, and walked toward my bar. On his own, the cabbie wasn’t a threat to my life. There was no reason not to present him with my back. Now. Later though, once I discovered why he was asking his questions and how he knew way too much about my business, I’d introduce him to my blades.

Secrecy or mother fucking discretion. There was nothing secret or cautious about that shit.

Edzard hadn’t gone far and the almost permanent glare was firmly in place.

“What was that?” he snarled.

“What was what?” I feigned ignorance as I dug in my pocket for the bar’s keys.

“You know what.” He wrapped his large hand around my forearm and jerked me to a sudden stop. “What was that? You should have let me—”

Without a word, I placed my palm on his skin, squeezing as hard as I could as I sought out the purity in my soul that came from Papa Finn. Heat wouldn’t do a damned thing against a thelac warrior, a demon born of fire that trained in volcanoes. But no dem could stand pure goodness. So a split-second passed and Edzard went from snarling warrior to pouting puppy. He dropped to his knees, my fingers still encasing his forearm, and a strangled whine came from the six-feet plus badass.

“You males keep forgetting who I am and that’s a very, very big mistake. I’m tolerating you because I like Drek. As much as I can like a thelac.” I squeezed tighter, pulling a moan from him. I hated being a total bitch, but sometimes it was necessary. “You’re cute, but you’re getting on my nerves, Puppy. So you’re going to hang around, pretend I need your help, and assist me when asked. Try to puff up that chest of yours one more time and you’ll lose your heart. Got it?”

At Edzard’s nod, I released him and strode away, ignoring his heavy panting. “C’mon, we got shit to do.” I pushed the key into the lock and twisted, granting myself entrance. “Dead Nettle didn’t call me back, so I’m assuming the bar is—” I let the door swing open and I pressed my lips together in a tight frown. “As fucked up as it was last night. Nice.”

I ignored Puppy’s groan as he climbed to his feet and strode into the bar. At least it wasn’t totally destroyed as it had been the night before. I’d given stern warnings to the more violent of my patrons last night. “You break it, I skin you alive and feed your flesh to the hell hounds.”

As threats went, it was pretty effective and I tucked it away for future use.

The front door squeaked as Edzard stepped in. “Where are your brownies?”

“Good question. One that isn’t going to solve today’s problem.” I tugged off my jacket and tossed it onto the bar.

A quick stretch of my arms and twist of my back had things popped and cracked back into place. It also had Edzard frozen and not breathing. Glancing over my shoulder, I met his gaze with a raise of my eyebrows. “What?”

He swallowed hard. “N-nothing.”

I sighed. “It’s an ass, Puppy. Albeit, I think it’s pretty banging, but it’s just an ass.”

Did the dem never get laid? It would explain last night’s gimme-gimme-fest.

A booming thud and then a crash came from the back of the bar, the sound immediately followed by a high-pitched yell. Dammit, what now?

I strode toward the source of the sound, trying to remember if I’d locked the back door. I thought I had but…

“I’ve got this.” Edzard’s voice had dropped the evil growl of his inner-dem and I slowed. Fine, let the puppy get his ass handed to him because if I wasn’t mistaken, the grumbles that reached me belonged to one currently cranky witch.

He yanked down the curtain that shielded the back rooms from the common area and I glared at his back. I’d hung that curtain all by myself and he just tossed it aside like—

A bellowing roar was followed by a high-pitched screech that said Puppy scared Jezze and then a wave of glimmering, glittering power flew through the doorway. That was immediately followed by a flying Edzard. I ducked as he sped past and wasn’t surprised when he hit the opposite wall with a sickening thud.

Poor kid was always getting thrown.

I almost went to his side but then I remembered his chest puffery and attempt at taking care of me. He’d be fine.

Jezebeth padded from the back room, shaking my head and brushing my hands. The remnants of her blossoming magic were twined with her hair and fine dust covered her skin.

“What the hell?” My best friend ran her palms over her jeans. “A girl comes in to help out and some big assed demon comes charging in and—” Jezze grinned. “Hey. Did you see?” Jezze pointed at Edzard. “He’s still breathing. I’m totally getting better.”

“True.” In the past, a throw like that meant it was a permanent lights out for her target. “Good job. High-five!”

I raised my hand for Jezze and what we did… didn’t resemble a high-five by any definition. Two immensely powerful women who could destroy a city block—or more in my case—couldn’t manage to slap our palms together. Coordinated we were not.

A painful groan had us focusing on a dazed Edzard, and Jezebeth sighed. “So, you brought him back.”

“Yup, he’s like a little duck. I think he imprinted on me. Like I’m his helpless mother.” I shuddered. Motherhood to a thelac. Jezebeth nibbled her lower lip, attention flitting from me to Edzard and back again. “What?”

“Nothing.” Jezze shook her head and went back to brushing the pale powder from her clothing. “Nothing at all.”

I mirrored my friend’s movements from moments before. “No.” I spied Jezze’s pale blush. “No.” I gasped. “You want Puppy? Really? What was with the throwing then?”

Jezebeth glared at me. “Don’t call him that,” she snapped. “And he just surprised me. I’ll be sure to check him over for injuries later.”

I raised my hands, palms out to placate my best friend. I also resolved not to tell Jezze about Edzard’s minor sexual control issue when it came to me. Once the puppy got his hands on Jezebeth, he wouldn’t look twice at me.

“I’m sorry. Chill out. I’m just surprised, that’s all. Your mom is usually…”

Protective as hell.

“Well, she’s not the one who’s gonna fuck him, is she?”

Shock struck me and I stared at Jezebeth, completely floored. “Okay then. You have fun with that. Go patch him up or whatever and keep your rage-y magic to yourself, m’kay?”

Surprise coated my friend’s face and it was as if Jezebeth hadn’t even realized she’d called her power forward, but I definitely saw the twinkling glow. Could I survive an attack from Jezze? No doubt. Did I want to get into it with my best friend and then face Momma R when I wanted my boo-boos kissed? Fuck. No.

Jezebeth frowned at her arms and then turned her attention to me. “I—”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. He’s got you hot and bothered-slash-sparkly. We’re good.” I looked toward the back entry. “You were checking in our order?”

Jezze nodded. “Yeah, but—”

“I got it, go see to Edzard.”

“But—”

“Go before he fully regains consciousness and you don’t have an excuse to dab his forehead or whatever.” I wasn’t really sure what a person did when taking care of another, but I’d seen a few movies.

“Except—”

“Go.” I risked a little shock from Jezze and nudged my friend toward Edzard. “I’m good.”

With that, I made my way toward the back, ignoring my best friend’s continued protests. It wasn’t like I had never checked in an order. Hell, I’d done it on my own yesterday hadn’t I? Kicked a wolf’s ass first, too.

I totally had this.

Except when I waded my way through the dust and realized that today’s delivery guy was none other than the local pack’s Alpha, Justin Abbott.

Goody.

Also, On High hated me.