Sunglasses at Night (Claws Clause 3)

She was right. He might have quit the force, but he still had his sense of justice and righteousness. And, just because she wasn’t a licensed slayer working under her uncle’s thumb, she could still kick ass when a Para proved to be dangerous to anyone else, paranormal or human.

What’s next?

Their second night as a bonded couple, they went out to keep the streets of Grayson safe. So long as they were careful, the Grayson PD left them alone.

In fact, one night

a few weeks into their bonding, Adam ran into the same patrolman who stopped him for his P.ID. what seemed to be like a lifetime ago.

Adam wasn’t quick enough to kill the spell on his falchion. Even if he had been able to, the blood spatter on his shirt and Tabby’s cheek would’ve been more than enough to drag them down to Central for questioning.

However, instead of hassling Adam, he tipped his cap, shared a comrade’s nod, then continued on his beat. And he knew then that everything was going to be alright.

Somewhere along the way, they started to pick up clients. Tabby wasn’t full of shit when she said she had contacts. One of the biggies when she was still a slayer was the code of secrecy. Now that she was a free agent, the Slayer’s Code went out the window. When someone in need—Para, human, or somewhere in between—couldn’t get in touch with a slayer, they called on Adam and Tabby.

It wasn’t that long before he came up with his plan. And now, after weeks of putting it together, it was time to share it with his slayer.

Adam placed his hands over Tabby’s eyes, chuckling when she started to bounce in place. Excitement had her unable to keep still. He moved with her, taking care to keep her eyes covered as he guided her forward.

“I can’t wait to see my surprise. Where is it?”

“We’re almost there. Be careful. There’s a crack in the sidewalk in front of you.”

“I don’t have to be careful,” his reckless slayer boasted. “I have you to look out for me. I trust you, champ. You won’t let me fall.”

If Tabby didn’t already own his heart, Adam would have handed it over right then and there. To be with someone who had that much faith in him when, not too long ago, he didn’t have any for himself… yeah. He was a sucker for his slayer.

And he loved it almost as much as he loved her.

The nondescript building at the end of the block wasn’t much to look at. But, as he pushed the door open and led her past the threshold, he hoped the inside made up for it.

“Ready?”

“Yes!”

Adam lowered his hands.

As if on cue, the crowd milling around the room all yelled, “Surprise!”

Tabby’s mouth dropped. She whirled around, taking it in. The two desks with handset telephones perched in the corner, a placard with each other names engraved on the front. The cabinet taking up one wall that would hold their weapons and supplies. And an oversized, old-fashioned red gumball machine with more gumballs than he could count.

He kept the decor simple. Mahogany desks with matching chairs. Wooden floors. Beige walls. He figured he could let Tabby put her own touch on the rest, but the gumball machine? That was his special addition just for her.

When Tabby spun back around, throwing herself into Adam’s arms, wrapping hers around his middle so tightly his breath caught, he knew that he did good.

She tilted her head back, her dark eyes gleaming in delight. “Is this what I think it is?”

He smiled down at her. The dimple seemed to pop all on its own. “Hey, if we’re going to make a go of being a kind of paranormal private investigation agency, I figured we could use a space of our own. And, before you ask, I even ponied up the big bucks. All of these windows are warded and treated. If we’re in here, the sun can’t get me. Since it’s on the other side of Grayson, it’s another place we can go if it’s too close to dawn.”

“You really hated breaking into that house, didn’t you?”

On a laugh, she loosened her hold, reaching up on her tip-toes so that she could plant a kiss on his lips. “Thank you, babe. I absolutely love it.” She waited a beat. “Love you, too.”

His heart warmed. It wasn’t long ago that Adam thought that the chill on his skin sunk all the way to his soul. But then Tabitha Winslow had walked into his life…

Who needed the damn sun when a blonde huntress was all the light he needed?

He nuzzled the top of her head with his chin. “You can show me how much later. Now let’s go say hi to our guests. They’re all here to give our new agency to send-off it deserves.”