insisted. “Heal.”
“No,” I whispered as my eyelids lowered. “No.”
I had come too far to fall back on old habits now.
5
A hard bump jostled me awake, and I murmured, “No jumping on the bed.”
For a moth, Colby had surprising heft. She probably weighed a good ten pounds.
“Rue?” A warm hand cradled my cheek. “How do you feel?”
The touch flung my eyes wide open, and I got a prime view of a half-naked Asa. “Where’s your shirt?”
Oh, yeah. I was blaming brain damage for the fact his cut torso was mesmerizing me.
“I lost it when I shifted.” A furrow tightened his brow. “Do you remember what happened?”
“The end is a little fuzzy.” I moved my arm and bumped his knee. “Am I…in your lap?”
A snort from up front confirmed it. We were back in the SUV. The bump must have been a pothole.
“Yes,” Asa said softly. “You were unconscious.”
Another memory burst to the forefront of my mind, and I clamped a hand over my mouth. “No.”
I swallowed once, twice to test for any coppery aftertaste, but all I found was dirt and a piece of grass.
“You didn’t eat the heart,” Asa confirmed. “You said no, and I didn’t force it on you.”
“Thank you.” I placed my hand on my stomach. “I don’t want to be that person again.”
Had I caved today, I couldn’t have faced Colby. I would have failed her, and myself.
A tickle on the arm tucked against Asa left me brushing long black strands off my elbow.
Caving to my earlier impulse, I smoothed the strands between my fingers. “Your hair is soft.”
The SUV swerved as Clay jerked his gaze to the rearview mirror. “Rue…”
“I don’t mind.” Asa watched me. “You can touch it.”
A laugh bubbled up the back of my throat. “That sounds so wrong.”
“I agree,” Clay grumbled. “You’re better off keeping your hands to yourself.”
A low growl vibrated through Asa as their gazes clashed in the reflection, but I was too tired to care.
“I’m going to nap now,” I announced to avoid them freaking out when my eyes didn’t open again.
I fell asleep with a lock of Asa’s hair curled around my finger.
“Rue.” The weight of a chonky house cat landed on my chest. For real this time. “Wake up.”
“Oomph.”
“I don’t weigh that much.” Colby jabbed my cheek with a foot. “Open your eyes.”
The nap had done me good. I wasn’t back to my usual self, but I was getting there. No hearts required.
“There.” I widened my eyes until they bulged as I stared down at her. “Are you happy now?”
“That’s creepy.” She smacked me between the eyes. “Stop being weird.”
A yawn stretched my jaw, and I lifted my arms overhead, arching my back on the seat.
Oh.
Not the seat.
Heat prickled in my cheeks when I glanced up at Asa. “Um.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“Thank you for the use of your lap.” I clutched Colby to my chest as I sat upright. “Home already?”
“I gave you thirty minutes.” Colby tucked her wings in tight. “You didn’t wake up, so I came out.”
Magically induced exhaustion had done a number on my brain. I hadn’t put together how she was here.
“You know the rules.” I lifted her to my face level. “Never leave the wards.”
Puffing her fur, she crossed four arms over her chest. “Clay and Asa…”
“You don’t know Clay or Asa.” I put us nose to proboscis. “You can’t trust people you just met.”
The stubborn moth had chosen her hill. “You trust them.”
Aware both agents were watching me, one more intently than the other, I sighed. “Promise me.”
“I promise,” she said dutifully. “I will stay inside the wards where it’s boring and nothing ever happens.”
Her sass was nothing new, but I could guess why the rules chafed now when they never had before.
“Good.” I kissed the top of her head. “That’s what I like to hear.”
Heaving a dramatic sigh, she wriggled free and glided to the house in the next best thing to slow motion.
“That kid.” I wiped my mouth to check for drool. “I’m not sure this is wise.”
“The paperwork came through while you were resting.” Asa cut the legs out from under my argument. “The director is willing to work with you on a case-by-case basis. He’s willing to permit you to live here, if you touch base with your team once a week during times when you’re not on an active case.”
For him to agree to such big concessions, he wanted me back for more than this copycat case.
That might change once he heard about my new dietary