It wasn't like Vane had done anything wrong. The police couldn't arrest him unless he did something to hurt her.
Tabitha.
She swallowed at the thought of calling her friend. If there was one thing Tabitha knew, it was self-defense, and the woman was armed to the teeth.
Bride ran to her cell phone and quickly dialed Tabitha's store. Luckily she was in.
"Tabby," she said, scanning the windows around her to see if Vane was trying to break in. "Please come over. I think my new boyfriend is going to kill me. Really kill me, as in hide-my-body-in-the-woods dead."
"What?"
"I'll explain when you get here. I'm scared, Tab. Really, really scared."
"Okay. Stay on the phone with me while I head over. Hey, Maria," Tabitha called to her store manager. "Take over the shop for a while. I have an emergency.
Call the cell if you need me."
Bride sighed, only partially relieved. Tabitha's store on Bourbon Street was just a few blocks over from her house. It wouldn't take Tabitha more than ten or fifteen minutes to get here on foot.
"Is he still there?" Tabitha asked.
"I don't know. I threw him out and locked the door and I'm having these horrible flashbacks from bad movies where the demon people break through the windows to grab me."
"He's not a zombie, is he?"
She rolled her eyes at Tabitha's suggestion. For most people that would be an attempt at humor. Tabitha was serious. "Hardly."
"Is your wolf with you?"
"No," Bride said, her chest tight. "He went out and I haven't let him back in yet. Oh God, you don't think he'd hurt my wolf? Do you?"
"Don't worry. I'm sure the wolf can handle itself."
Bride could tell by Tabitha's breathlessness that her friend was running now. God love her. Tabitha was the best in a crisis. Everyone should have a friend like her. There was nothing Tabitha wouldn't do for a friend or her family.
"You still there?" Tabitha asked.
"Yes."
Bride chatted with her the whole time about nothing while she checked outside to see if Vane was still there.
He wasn't.
After a few minutes, she heard her wolf growling outside the door.
"Shh," Tabitha said over the phone. "It's just me, boy."
"You here already?"
"Yeah," she said. "Hang up and open the door."
Bride did. To her relief, it was just the wolf and Tabitha outside.
"It looks clear," Tabitha said as the wolf ran into the apartment. "He must have left."
Bride took a deep breath in relief, but she still locked the door tight. "I've never been more terrified, Tabby. It was awful."
Tabitha scanned the apartment. "What happened?" she asked as she opened doors and looked out windows.