Page 44 of The Secret Life of a Witch

Another hollow laugh escapes my lips. “Okay, well, please enlighten me, then. Tell me what you’ve done that’s not as bad as I think, yet still pretty bad.”

His lip twitches, either out of amusement or frustration. “You know, you can be a real pain in the ass sometimes.”

“I know,” I agree. “But right now, I think I have a pretty good reason for it.”

His lips quirk again, his gaze never wavering from mine. “Perhaps.”

I tap my foot in impatience. “Are you going to explain what’s going on? Or just stand there and internally laugh at me?”

He removes one hand from the wall and scrubs his palm across his jawline, contemplating. “I will, but …” His gaze wanders toward the warehouse and then to the street before conclusively landing back on me. Then he dips his head in, keeping his voice hushed as he says, “I don’t think talking out here is the best idea right now.”

I open my mouth to declare that I’m not going anywhere with him until he explains further when a hiss slithers through the air.

Hunter’s muscles wind tight as he lets out a low, “Fuck.”

“Is that any way to greet an old friend?” a deep, male voice asks.

Hunter’s gaze fastens on mine, and in the quietest voice ever, he whispers, “Whatever’s about to happen, you need to trust me, okay?””

Before I can respond, he pushes back from the wall and turns toward the street.

“Carter,” Hunter says with a slight nod of his head. “It’s been a long time.”

“Yes, it has,” the voices hisses. “I’ve been wondering what happened to you.”

“Yeah, sorry, I’ve been busy,” Hunter casually replies, sticking his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “What’ve you been up to?”

Wanting to put a creature to the hissing voice, I lean to the right. Then instantly regret it.

Standing on the edge of the curb is a guy who looks around Hunter’s age with snow white hair, blue lips, and fiery red eyes.

A demon.

And he’s staring at Hunter like they’re long lost friends.

What the crazy world is going on?

A grin spreads across Carter’s face. “I’ve been looking for you, actually.” His smile grows as his gaze shoots toward me. “I’m glad to see you followed through with your end of the deal. I was worried you weren’t going to.”

I half-expect Hunter to throw me a reassuring look, but his smile mirrors the demon’s.

“Like I would ever stab you in the back.” He reaches back and grabs my arm, dragging me forward. “Of course I followedthrough with my end of the deal. It just took me longer than I thought, that’s all.”

The demon’s eyes gleam red as he reaches for me. “Good. Then I’m guessing the shield’s down?”

Hunter nods, tugging me toward the demon. “She’s ready to go.”

I dig my heels into the ground and yank back, not like where this is going. “Let me go.”

Hunter tightens his hold and pulls me closer to the demon. “Eva, quit making this difficult.”

My heart feels like it’s being torn to shreds. Hunter, my best friend in the world, is handing me over to a demon. I want to break apart. Collapse to the sidewalk. Scream until my lungs combust. But the will to fight is greater.

I lift my leg to kick Hunter. The damn backstabber is too speedy, though, and easily dodges my lame attempt at hurting him.

“Will you stop it?” Hunter’s fingers constrict around my wrist, and I wince from the light pain. If he feels bad for hurting me, he makes no show of it. “Now, come on; don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be.” He lugs me toward the demon, who sticks out his hands greedily.

“Yes, give her to me,” he hisses. “If she is it, then the master will be so pleased. And you’ll be rewarded for taking down the shield.”

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