kitsune. We were at the Jacky Leon trial together, you know. She pretended to be a guard to keep an eye on the werecat. The little fox was ready to stab that cat in the back at a moment’s notice.”
“I heard. When do you want to leave for your home?”
“The moment Raphael wakes up and eats. He’s a black hole, that one. Apparently, his abilities burn up a lot of calories, and he constantly needs to replenish them.”
Cassius gave a very undignified grunt and continued to eat. I nibbled on the chips, knowing the sandwich was probably too much food. I got sluggish when I ate too much too often. The curse of my human-looking body also trying to be a snake.
Not ten minutes later, Raphael wandered into the kitchen, wearing only a pair of sweatpants. Cassius jerked upright and stared at him. I knew Cassius well enough to know my once lover was surprised and maybe even a little insulted by Raphael. He turned slowly to me as Leith put two sandwiches and the entire bag of chips in front of the not-human. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at me, his eyes telling me everything he wanted to say.
“Do you think we can stop somewhere and get him more clothes?” I asked lightly. “We had to leave his place in a rush after he tried to shoot me, then the rest of his things were left in my driveway.”
Cassius took a noticeably deep breath, stood up slowly, and grabbed my arm as he walked past. I let him pull me out of the kitchen, Raphael giving us a confused look.
Once we were out of earshot, Cassius let me go.
“You didn’t tell me…” He was glaring, but I hadn’t really figured out what his problem was yet. “He’s…”
“Huge? Six and a half feet tall and all muscle? Not wearing nearly enough clothing as he should be? Yeah, that’s Raphael. Why don’t you go back in there and meet him?”
“The scars?” Cassius asked softly.
“He heals amazingly. The one around his wrist is where Mygi had cut his hand off then bandaged it back to him, and it healed back on by itself. The gunshots are from the several times Mygi had already tried to recapture him. They say he’s a danger to society? He’s been living out there on his own for five years without any incident that clued the rest of us to his existence.”
“He couldn’t wear a dirty shirt to cover himself up?” Cassius asked, exasperated. “I have traumatized employees.”
“Sorry. I’m sure he’ll agree if you let him know.”
I stepped around him to head back into the kitchen. Raphael was holding one of his sandwiches up but put it down the moment he saw Cassius hovering behind me.
“Have I done something?” He jumped up from the stool, extending a hand toward us. I moved out of the way for Cassius to do the ‘man’ thing. “I should have introduced myself, but Leith put down food, and my mind went straight to that. I’m Raphael.”
“Cassius,” my friend said softly. “I don’t want to give you a hard time, Raphael, but I want to bring something up. First, I needed to ask Kaliya some questions about you, so I knew if I was stepping on toes. All my staff here are victims of abusive employers and relationships. While I’m sure you mean nothing by it, I would prefer if you covered up, so none of them are…intimidated or scared by you.”
“Yeah, I can do that. My bad.” I noticed the red flash in Raphael’s eyes but wasn’t sure what the catalyst was, Cassius or the idea the household staff were all traumatized people who Cassius provided a safe, relaxed workspace for. Raphael turned to Leith and frowned. “I hope I didn’t cause any trouble for you, Leith.”
Leith waved a rag, dismissing the idea before leaving the room, probably to find Raphael a shirt that would fit. I knew Leith was strong enough, but Cassius wasn’t worried about Leith. He was worried about his cook and the maid, both of whom were much less fit for the public eye. Both of whom had once been in the care of men who looked like Raphael in a sense, big scarred men known for fights and being brutal and cruel. Raphael could trigger them, could very easily terrify them if he got pissed off. Thinking about it, I hadn’t even seen Annie-Lyn or Terry yet. He would have told them to let him