“Yes.” That meant giving out my address to a stranger, but it was unavoidable. “That’ll work.”
“Do you have a phone I can use?” He picked at the seam on his jeans. “I tossed mine.”
Because he didn’t think he would need it after he showed up on our doorstep.
“Aedan…” I struggled for a polite way to ask. “Do you have any resources?”
“I have contacts, a few friends who won’t kill me on sight, but I don’t have any money. I signed it over to Delma before I left. She didn’t want there to be any unpleasantness about who received my portion of our inheritance.”
“Your sister sounds like a piece of work.”
And smart to play on his good heart to lure him to her under the pretense of signing paperwork so she could beat him within an inch of his life to ensure Asa finished the job for her. As dedicated as she was to wiping out her siblings, she had no reason to care about splitting hairs on Aedan’s share when she stood to be the sole inheritor of their father’s holdings once she finished killing off her relatives.
Either she was that vicious, or she was that petty, and I wasn’t sure which was worse.
“Have you met any daemonesses?”
Aside from the one I potentially saw in the mirror each morning? “No.”
“Delma is no better or worse than most.” He stared out the window. “I’m the anomaly.”
“Asa isn’t a frothing monster either,” I pointed out, so he felt less alone. “You two can start a club.”
Wild laughter pinged around the inside of the cab, and Aedan doubled over with it, unable to breathe.
“What?” I slammed on the brakes. “You didn’t get hit with any quills, did you?”
Plenty of young had potent venom. One tiny quill might have turned him delusional.
Long moments later, he leaned back and stared at the ceiling. “You think he’s tame.”
“No.” I had only to picture the daemon in battle to know better. “He’s just not an indiscriminate killer.”
“Do you know how many challengers he’s killed?”
“Do you know how many hearts I’ve eaten?”
The amusement melted off his face. Pretty sure I felt a bump as I ran over it.
“He has no choice but to defend himself, or he dies.” A fact that disturbed me, more and more as time went on. “I wanted power. I didn’t have to kill. I wanted to do it. I did it for my own selfish reasons. I am the frothing monster in our relationship. He doesn’t hold a candle to me.” I cut my gaze to Aedan. “Remember that. I’m not tame either.”
In a soft voice, barely a whisper, he asked the universe. “What do I do if he doesn’t kill me?”
“You live.” I clasped him on the shoulder. “Less glorious than death in battle, but still pretty awesome.”
“I don’t have anyone who…” He made a faint gesture with his hand. “How will I survive?”
Goddess bless, what I mess I was about to make of both our lives.
“You’ll stay with me until you get your feet under you. I’ll help you get a job in town.” Not one at the shop, where he could make goo-goo eyes at Arden, but somewhere. “Once you save up enough money, I’ll help you find an apartment. After that? We’ll see how it goes.” I turned my focus back to the road. “You’re only out of options when you’re dead.”
The trip home earned me three calls from concerned neighbors, one of which left me with cold sweats.
“There’s an intruder,” Mrs. Gleason informed me. “White pickup. Big metal cage in the bed. Bet you it’s more of those heartless bastards who dumps weaned pups in the country to avoid vet bills. They’re headed your way. I’ve got ’em in my sights. Want me to blow out a tire?”
“No.”I gripped the steering wheel harder. “It’s me.” I shot frantic glances down the road. “Don’t shoot.”
“Oh.” Her earlier excitement turned to disappointment. “What are you doing with a cage and a truck?”