"Don't 'Tabitha' me. Jeez, I'm tired of all of you jumping on me." Tabitha descended the stairs and headed for the door to leave.
As soon as she opened it, she met Nick on the steps, who grinned at her before he entered the foyer. He brushed by her before she thought to warn him Ash was in the house...
With Simi.
Gawking, Tabitha turned.
"Hey, Nicky!" Simi said, her face beaming as she danced away from Ash finally to wave at Nick.
Tabitha went cold with dread.
And she knew the instant Ash realized Simi "knew" Nick. His face mottled red with fury.
Nick froze, then gaped.
Simi appeared oblivious to the mayhem she caused. "Nicky," she said, putting her hands on her hips as she pouted at him. "Why didn't you meet me tonight like you said you would?"
Nick's mouth opened and closed as Ash let out a bellow of rage. He grabbed Nick by the throat and slung him against the wall. Nick hit it so hard, he actually went through the plaster.
Tabitha cringed in sympathetic pain as Nick struggled to rise through the powder of the plaster. "I didn't know she was your girlfriend, Ash," Nick panted. "I swear it."
Ash's silver eyes turned a glowing shade of red. "She's not my girlfriend, you asshole. She's my daughter."
Tabitha wouldn't have thought it possible, but Nick turned even paler. "But she's so... so young... you're so young..." Nick swallowed audibly. "I'm so screwed."
Ash's eyes appeared to boil red and yellow as he hit Nick so hard, Nick was knocked back twenty feet into Kyrian.
Marissa started crying from upstairs.
"Amanda, tend your baby," Ash snarled in a voice that wasn't human. It was deep and rumbling. Frightening.
While he was distracted, Tabitha ran at Ash, but he held his hand out and she stopped dead in her tracks and was held there by some invisible force.
"Akri!" Simi shrieked. "No!"
Ash moved toward Nick, but before he could take more than two steps Simi was between them.
Tabitha cringed as Ash let out an agonized cry.
"You were never to have carnal knowledge!" he said to his demon.
While the rest of them feared for their lives, Simi was completely unperturbed by his anger.
"Why not?" Simi asked. "Everyone else has it."
Ash raked his hands through his black hair. "Because, dammit, Simi, now you'll be like everyone else. I'll never have any peace from you."
Simi screwed her face up as if that was the most disgusting thing she'd ever heard. "Pah-lease, akri. You got a big opinion of yourself. That just sick. You been hanging out with that heifer too long. Bleh! I mean, you a good-looking person and all, but you ain't no Travis Fimmel. Now, he's fine. But honestly, the Simi didn't like all that heaving and sweating very much. It seems like an awful lot of work for such a short amount of pleasure. Personally, I'd rather go shopping. It much more fun and you don't have to shower afterward. Well, not unless you go someplace dirty, but most malls are really clean nowadays."
Nick opened his mouth as if to refute her words, but was cut off by Talon, who shook his head.
"Boy," Talon said sharply. "Be damned glad you suck in bed and take the out she's offering you before you lose your life."
"Yeah, Nick," Kyrian added. "Keep your damned mouth shut."
Ignoring the two of them, Ash pulled Simi to him and held her close as if afraid of letting her go.
Whatever invisible force held Tabitha released her. She took a deep breath as the very air around them seemed to settle down.