“Too soon,” he deadpans. “Shit, you’re bleeding.”
“I got bitten a few times. And Ethan...” I shuffle closer, wanting to tell him that something unlocked inside my brain and I suddenly remember so much.
“Did you recognize that car?” He narrows his eyes, looking for tail lights. If he saw any, I’m sure he’d go after the car.
“No,” I start as Nik and Sam join us. “But I…I think it was Steph. There was someone in the passenger seat that looked like her and she was holding up her phone like she was recording a video.”
“Fuck,” Ethan swears.
“They picked one hell of a day to do that,” Nik quips.
“That’s what I thought too,” I say and wipe at the blood dripping down my hand.
“Let’s get inside and clean up your wounds,” Ethan says, his hand landing on the small of my back.
“How do we know they’re gone for good?” Nik grips the heavy tongs tight in his hand. Without warning, Ethan drops the fire poker in his hands, grabs me around the waist, and puts his lips to my neck, kissing and sucking at my skin in a way he knows drives me crazy.
“Anything?” he asks a moment later.
“No,” I tell him, hooking one hand around his shoulders. “I feel fine. Well, other than these bites.”
“Yeah. They got me too.” Sam holds up her arm. “The chances of demons having rabies is low, at least.”
“But never none,” Nik says seriously and we laugh. Tension still hangs in the air, and it’s pressing down on me more than before. Because the incubi were dangerous, but they were a distraction from an even bigger problem.
“If that was Steph, then she’s trying to build a case. Which is good news. She hasn’t accused you of anything yet,” Ethan tries.
“How does she know where we live?”
“It’s not that hard to find out a person’s address,” he tells me. “And she knows I live with you.” He looks at Sam. “You were still in Chicago when you called?”
“The suburb where Patrick lived. It only took me about forty minutes to get here. I wasn’t followed this time,” she adds. “Not like last time.”
“I don’t blame you,” I tell her and we start toward the house. Hunter is gathering up demon bodies, moving them to our burn pile in the backyard. It’s still nothing official, and now I’m wondering how we can phrase things s o the landscapers build us a big enough fire pit that will fit a few bodies. “It really isn’t hard to figure out where people live, which is creepy. Really creepy.”
“Everyone wash their wounds,” Nik says when we get into the house, going right to the kitchen to get the healing balm. “And you shower,” he tells Ethan. “And throw your clothes away.”
“You are covered in guts.” I say, grimacing. “How many shirts have been ruined by demon blood and guts?”
Ethan chuckles. “More than I can count. I’ll be right back.” He hurries up the stairs, stripping out of his clothes on the way. I hear the shower turn on when I go into the downstairs bathroom, grabbing a towel from the cabinet to carefully wash the bites. The one on my hand isn’t deep but is going to hurt any time I bend my hand and the bite on my arm is more of a scrape than anything else. Of course, the bite on my neck, where it’s hard to reach and nearly impossible to see in the mirror, is the deepest, and blood runs down the back of my neck, staining the collar of my sweater.
“Dammit,” I mumble. “I like this shirt.”
I get the wounds washed the best I can and twist my hair up off my neck. Sam and Nik are seated at the island. He gives her a little bowl of the balm and then rubs some on his cheek where it looks like an incubus got him with its sharp talons.
“I thought you and Ethan were getting lazy and complacent living small town, farm life, not fighting demons.” Sam dips her finger in the bowl and smears the balm over the bites on her arm.
“Hah. We had a good few months where things were calm.” I open a glass jar and scoop out a spoonful of the freshly made balm. It’s the consistency of coconut oil and has a nice lavender smell. “And other than the incubus incident, things would be if…if…uh…you know.”
“If the Order wasn’t about to accuse you of witchcraft and murder?”
“Yeah.”
Nik effortlessly lifts himself onto the counter and leans forward, curiously looking at Sam. “What will happen if this Stephanie woman goes through with accusing Anora of murder?”
“The Order will review things and proceed from there. If they think she’s guilty, they’ll bring her in for questioning.”
“But what about the law? It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed any sort of civil case, but private citizens cannot conduct trials like that.”