Page 35 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie

“Indeed. It appears I got here a little too late.” I tensed at the new voice. Wrapping my hand around Phlox, I pushed his body behind me, only relaxing when my eyes caught up with my ears.

“Nice to see you, Ray.”

Phlox shoved me and moved to my side. “Yeah, but it would have been nice to see you about twenty minutes ago,” Phlox scolded.

“Forgive me. It seems Byx’s hair clips did not work as precisely as she hoped.”

Phlox touched the sleeping meerkats and sighed. “Yeah, I wondered about that.”

“She was able to track you to a general location, but it was not precise enough. Vander and Parsnip were on a plane heading back to the United States. It is difficult translocating to a plane while it is in flight. I had to wait until it landed to contact Vander so he could track you better. I’m afraid that took longer than desired.”

“It’s fine.” Phlox blew out a relieved breath. “You’re here now and that’s what matters. The sun will be up soon and—”

“It has risen,” I interrupted.

Phlox’s wings beat and dust filled the room. Whirling on me, he said, “You should have said something! We need to get you underground.” Phlox’s hands fluttered over my chest, patting me here and there as if he couldn’t figure out exactly what needed done.

“It is fine. I still have a few hours before I am completely incapacitated. As long as I stay out of the direct sun, I will be fine.”

Phlox’s lips pulled tight before he shook his head. “It is not fine.” Twirling back around, Phlox asked, “Can you get Leon somewhere safe or do we need to head back down into the underground tunnels?”

“I do not have enough intel regarding this location. Staying would not be ideal.” Ray’s gaze fell on Sylvie. “I will have someone watch the premises. Is there anyone else present?”

“No one alive that I am aware of. There is a troll downstairs. I have not been able to detect any other heartbeats. There are several tunnels below ground. It is conceivable others are there and beyond my senses,” I answered.

“The area will need exploration,” Ray answered as his gaze fell on Sylvie’s computer.

“We need to take that with us,” Phlox directed, pointing at the computer. “With both of them dead, it’s our only source of information.” Phlox sent an irritated scowl my direction.

“I will take care of the computer and return shortly.” Ray barely got the words out before he created an atmospheric tear.

Turning again, Phlox reached around my neck, pulling himself up instead of using his wings. “You look tired,” he said, sounding worried.

“I am, but it is not too bad.” I raked my fingers through his silken hair. Phlox leaned into my touch, rubbing his cheek into my palm.

“I was worried,” he said. “Don’t scare me again, okay?”

I hated to make promises I couldn’t keep, so instead of agreeing, I answered, “I’ll do my best.”

It was all the truth I knew.

ChapterThirteen

Phlox

Goddess, it was amazing how good a shower felt. There was nothing like getting clean after being dirty. While I craved the cold, a warm shower felt like heaven. It was an odd paradox. The shower both woke me up and made me sleepy all at once. Sleep was going to win out soon. I’d made myself stay awake while Leon and I’d been captured. He’d been so vulnerable. I couldn’t afford to sleep. I’d had no idea if Oxley or Sylvie would come back for him while he was still unconscious. And then when the sun went down, there’d been no time to waste.

There was also the little matter of my blood donation. Rubbing my neck, I was amazed how well the wound had healed. There was only the slightest tingle left behind. I winced while remembering the pain. I needed to speak with Peaches and ask if it always hurt that much. I could probably ask Leon too, but that seemed rude.

My phone rang, and Auntie Tandra’s name popped up. I wish I had time to talk, but I needed to debrief the team and they were all waiting for me in the bar downstairs. The sun hadn’t risen in Rutherford Haven yet, so Leon was still awake. I wondered if he had the vampire equivalent of jetlag. I needed to get a move on so I could fill them in before the sun came up.

I allowed the call to go to voicemail but sent Auntie Tandra a text, letting her know I was okay and would call later. I added on that I was really tired and would probably crash soon so it would be later before I called. I got a quick thumbs-up emoji in response.

Goddess, whoever invented texting was a genius.

Throwing on fresh clothes, I headed downstairs. Voices hit my ears as soon as I opened my apartment door. Ray managed to rouse the crew. I’d taken a shower while we waited on Phil and Sedrick to make it to Dusk. They’d offered to pick up Peaches too. Vander and Parsnip were in California, waiting on their connecting flight so they wouldn’t be here yet.

Leon was waiting on me when I reached the bottom of the stairs. My smile was automatic. If I kept grinning like this, my cheeks were going to be sore soon.

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