Sunglasses at Night (Claws Clause 3)

“Tab—”

“Look. I’m here because my uncle wants to know why the number of targets here only keeps growing. Not even targets, either. Except for me, there isn’t another slayer working in this city, but they’ve been finding a bunch of ashed out Nightwalker corpses every week. Someone’s hunting here. Para or human… we don’t know. But since they’re not a licensed slayer, I’m here to shut it down. Permanently.”

Those were her orders and she was tickled pink that Boone trusted her with such an important job. And if it killed her? She’d prove to her uncle that he was right to have faith in her skills and abilities.

“Now, if you don’t mind.” Tabby slipped Venice back into her sheath with more force than necessary. She tempered the violent push with a cheery grin. “It’s time for me to start hunting for the night.”

Then, because she wouldn’t put it past Eddie to be so thick-headed as to not realize she was kicking his ass out of her apartment, she flounced to the door, pulling it inward before waiting for Eddie to step out into the hall.

Once he did, she turned off the lights and closed the door behind them. No wards, but she made sure to lock the place up tight.

Still hovering over her, Eddie followed Tabby down the stairs that spiraled to the bottom floor. She could’ve taken the elevator, but it never even occurred to her. With her nervous energy—something she experienced leading up to e

ach and every hunt before the adrenaline kicked in and took over—she needed to bound down the four flights. Plus, she really didn’t want to be trapped in a small metal box with Eddie Daniels breathing down her neck. The stairs were bad enough.

As soon as they made it to the porch, Eddie reached out to lay his hand on her elbow.

As if he had permission to touch her.

Nope.

Her reflexes, as always, were excellent. At the merest brush of his fingers on her skin, she jerked away, looking out into the night.

He sighed. “If you need me…”

I won’t.

“I’ve got your number,” Tabby reminded him.

And hell would freeze over before she actually dialed it.

She could sense that Eddie struggled to find a reason to linger. If she gave him any hint that she’d welcome his company, Tabby had no doubt that he’d tag along with her. As if that would happen. She’d been running solo for the last ten years, ever since she was fifteen and Boone decided it was time she progressed from training to hunting.

Well, except for Rosie. But since hunting dogs didn’t count against the Slayer’s Code, she had been able to keep Rosie at her side until the old girl earned her retirement. Boone was watching her back at headquarters while Tabby started her temporary assignment in Grayson and, even though it had only been a couple of days since she last saw Rosie, she already missed her terribly. She’d have to start the bonding process all over again with another hunting dog, but that could wait until after she finished her assignment in Grayson.

Because that was the thing. It wasn’t that Tabby didn’t want to fight alongside someone else. Person or pup, she just wanted it to be a partner that she chose.

And it would never, ever be Eddie.

What could she say? Tall, dark, and handsome might do it for some girls, but he wasn’t her type. Throw in his blind obedience to her uncle, the way he seemed to think he had some kind of imaginary claim on her, and his inability to take no for an answer, and Tabby refused to even consider it.

She was good with a fling. If she had an itch to scratch, she had no problem going out and finding someone to scratch it. It got lonely hunting the streets at night, knowing that she was more dangerous than most males she met. She’d never gotten off on the idea of someone overpowering her, but was it so much to find a guy who respected her abilities and still made her feel protected?

Ah, well. It didn’t matter. She’d be fine on her own.

She always was.

It wasn’t until Eddie climbed into the black SUV he rode into town with and reluctantly pulled away from the curb outside of her apartment building that Tabby took a deep breath and smiled.

Ah. Grayson, sweet Grayson.

She liked the city. More suburban than urban in most parts, it had a cozy downtown area, a rural spot that backed up against the far edge of the local Bumptown’s acreage, a seedy section that she’d avoid if she could, and a couple mile stretch of businesses, clubs, and skyscrapers that helped it pass for one of the bigger cities in the state.

It was big enough to get lost in. Diverse enough to be a perfect home for a slayer. And, for as long as it took for her to find the person responsible for the rising tally of Para kills in town, it was hers.

“Next.”

Against his better judgement, Adam stepped forward.