Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
“Let’s go,” she said.
He followed her outside, his eyes gravitating toward her plump ass as he caught a whiff of her hair. Vanilla.
Fuck. That unicorn charm is not going to do the job. He really shouldn’t have offered her that ride. Keeping his mind clean around such a “plain” and “unattractive” woman was not going to be easy. The sooner he got what he needed and on his way, the better for her.
CHAPTER FOUR
“So you hit the creature?” Damien asked, keeping one eye on the road and the other on his GPS to guide him to the hospital twenty minutes away.
“Yes.”
“And then what?”
“The store manager busted in and found me with my underwear around my knees.”
“What did he do?” Damien asked.
“Luckily, he was a she, and she helped me get dressed and called the police. She thought maybe another customer or store employee had done something since I couldn’t speak right away. I think I was in shock.
“After about an hour, I came around and told the police everything. Of course, they all laughed and snickered behind my back. Then they called the county to have me picked up—crazy lady alert! Thankfully, my sister, Amelia, came. She’s a lawyer. Practices family law.”
“And the creature?” he asked. “Did you see where it went? Into the store, out the door? Maybe into the ductwork?” This would help him when he bribed the store security to let him review the tapes.
“I have no idea.”
They pulled up to the hospital entrance. “All right, if you think of anything else, Miss Morales, let me know. Here is my card.” He pulled one from his billfold and handed it to her.
“Thanks…” Her lovely brown eyes scanned the card. “Damien Greystone, classic tailor.”
“You never said what happened to your nephew. Will he be all right?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. Some kid punched him and busted his nose. My sister’s going to be heartbroken.” Her eyes dropped to her lap. The guilt on her face was obvious.
“Does this have something to do with you going public about the creature?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she admitted remorsefully. “The kid keeps standing up for his crazy aunt.”
“Sounds like a nice young man.”
Sky smiled, and a flicker of warmth sparked deep inside. He quickly pushed it away, stomped on it, and locked it inside a box.
“Which is why he’d be better off without me. I make a mess of everything.” She slid from the car. “Thanks for the ride, Mr. Greystone.”
“Damien,” he corrected. “And good luck.” He watched her disappear inside.
Apart from being “homely,” she was a kind person. It was a shame her life had been railroaded by a rogue sex fairy, though he still did not understand why Sky’d gone public. Wouldn’t it have been better to keep the encounter to herself rather than to lose all credibility?
Then again, he could tell from the topics she chose to report on that she wasn’t afraid of the truth—or telling it.
Suddenly, a wave of dread washed over him as her last words replayed in his mind. Her nephew would “be better off” without her.
She could not possibly mean… No. I am sure that is not it. He put the SUV in drive but couldn’t seem to hit the gas. “Just drive away, Damien. You know how this ends.” A mess.
He needed to get over to the sporting goods store before they closed and review their security tapes. It had been weeks since the incident, so if he was lucky, a copy of the tape would still be there.
He pulled away, hitting the street, feeling proud of himself. For once he’d walked away. A pretty woman in distress was his Achilles’ heel.
Who the fuck am I kidding? Pretty women, ugly women, children, abandoned demons—didn’t really matter. He had a weak spot for creatures in need. Not that he cared about any of them. It was a matter of principle. “If you don’t protect those in need of help,” his father used to say, “then who will?”
He pulled across traffic, making a sharp U-turn.
Damien parked his SUV and marched inside the hospital. He couldn’t leave without knowing the woman would be all right. Her words, combined with the sad state of her home, gave the appearance of someone who’d given up on life.
He needed to know for sure.
It took a bit of charming, but the nurse gave him the room number where Sky had gone. One hurdle down. Next, he had to figure out a way to ascertain her mental state without insulting her. Or terrifying the poor woman. He was a stranger who less than an hour ago had broken into her house, claiming he believed in supernatural creatures.
Of course, he did not believe. He knew firsthand. The point was, him showing up in her nephew’s hospital room required a very solid explanation.
I got nothing. He would have to wing it. That’s it. I’ll ask about the creature’s wings. What color were they? A complete red herring, but Sky wouldn’t know that.