Vixen (Dark Protectors #11.5) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,24
she told Evan everything, she might be the one needing a safe place to land. Then she placed her hand on Evan’s arm and turned toward him. “Trust me. She just wants blood to study.”
“Trust you?” he repeated, his gaze shuttered. “Are you insane?”
Max chuckled. “Most demons are crazy, and the Ruskos are legendary.”
Tabi glowered at him.
Emma withdrew medical supplies from her bag, hopping with what looked like excitement. “Who wants to be first?”
* * * *
The atmosphere in his home did feel different after everyone had left. Evan tried to grapple with what he’d just learned and turned for his kitchen. He might as well see if he’d gone nuts.
“What are you doing?” Tabitha asked, following him.
He reached for a knife from the block. “Seeing if this is all bullshit.” Taking a deep breath, he lifted the blade. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been cut before in a fight or two.
“Wait.” She grabbed his wrist. “You probably don’t have healing cells yet. Don’t cut yourself.”
How could he have missed an entire other world living around them? It just didn’t make sense. He paused, his mind reeling.
She gently took the knife and set it on the counter. “Okay. This must seem really weird to you.” For once, the woman looked unsure of herself. She sighed. “Fine.” Faster than a human should be able to move, she recaptured the knife and plunged the blade through her wrist. Blood burst out of the punctured vein.
Adrenaline flooded his system so fast he leaped for the dishtowel and wrapped it around her wrist. “Tabitha,” he gasped. “What the hell?”
She winced. “That really does hurt.”
Blood welled through the thin material.
“Okay. Now watch.” She pushed his hand away and wiped blood with the towel. The deep puncture slowly mended shut, a white scar formed, and then it disappeared into smooth skin. She twisted the faucet and washed the remaining blood off her now healed wrist.
Evan swallowed, his stomach lurching. It was all true. She was a demonness, and that didn’t even mean what he’d thought it would. She was just a different species. There were different species? Fucking crazy. “I need to sit down.” Before he could reach the barstool, his phone dinged from the counter, and he reached for it like a lifeline. “O’Connell.”
“Detective? It’s Noah Siosal, and I just returned from the store. Abby was arrested when I was gone—do you know anything about it?” The man sounded like he’d just eaten glass.
Evan straightened. “I was fired, so no doubt the sheriff is taking matters into his own hands, and he was very good friends with Abby’s ex.” Abby’s very dead ex-husband, that was. “Do you really have lawyers outside of town?” He went into cop mode and strode through the living room for his bedroom, reaching to yank on a T-shirt and searching for his socks.
“I just called in a couple from Indianapolis, and they’ll be here in about an hour,” Noah said tersely. “Why were you fired?”
“Doesn’t matter. Does Abby know to ask for a lawyer? I made sure the two interrogation rooms have video surveillance, so she should be okay until one arrives.” Evan sat and tugged on his socks, reaching for his boots by the dresser. “I still have a couple of friends in the department and will head down there right now to make sure she’s okay.” He didn’t put it past the sheriff to intimidate her and try for a confession.
“I’m right outside of the station. That turd threatened to arrest me if I didn’t leave the premises. Get here now.” Noah ended the call.
“Tabi, let the dogs inside.” Evan tossed the phone on the bed and dashed into the bathroom to brush his teeth and take care of business. When he returned, Tabi was already dressed with her hair in a ponytail. He paused. Wait a minute. “Is Noah—”
She nodded. “Yep. Part vampire, part demon. He mated Abby.” Tabi’s black eyes lit. “Hey. You can talk to her about all the changes. Maybe you are going through the same things.” She rubbed her nose. “We didn’t get a chance to talk, but you have to know, if you can’t get Abby out, Noah will just storm the building and damn the consequences.”
Evan shoved his hair into some sort of shape. “Wait a minute. Noah and Raine are hybrids, and you’re a demon? What the hell are you doing in my town and in a stupid anger-management course? You’re all immortal.”
Tabi blew out air. “Well, let’s see. Noah