Page 20 of Beyond the Darkness

Hudson turned to Connie. “Find out who owns that, buy it, and then let me know.”

“My pleasure,” Connie said, taking out his cell phone and typing a note.

“What are you doing?” Kit demanded.

“I’m going to buy that business, and then the three of us are going to walk in there and fire that clerk.” It took everything Hudson had not to bare his teeth at the woman.

Kit rubbed his temples. “I appreciate that, my mate, but—”

“But nothing,” Connie groused. “That is a high-end store that caters to the rich and famous. You can’t walk in there without an appointment, which we had. She had to know that. For her to make a derogatory remark is sheer stupidity. I really don’t know what she was thinking.”

“So I’m going to have her job,” Hudson said. “And I’m going to be the one to fire her one day very soon and tell her why.”

“You could financially ruin her,” Kit pointed out. “I mean, it’s not exactly cheap to live here, especially in this economy.”

“I have no time for people like that,” Hudson declared. “She judged you based on how you were dressed, and I simply will not tolerate that. Be glad that’sallI’m going to do. If it had been someone from our world, they would’ve paid with their life.”

Connie nodded. “Besides, he’s not blacklisting her. He’s just firing her from this particular job.”

“Dragons,” Kit mumbled under his breath.

“Yup.” Connie chuckled. “So, where to next?”

Kit rolled his eyes as they started down the street to the next invitation-only business.

CHAPTER SIX – CONNIE

CONNIE LOOKED between Hudson and Kit, unsure if his mate understood the gravity of the situation. If a paranormal had been the one to insult Kit in such a way, a swift and brutal death at the hands of Hudson would be the outcome.

She hadn’t been a paranormal, though, but Hudson was still incensed. The tension in Hudson’s body was obvious, as he emphasized his words with sharp gestures.

Connie could practically feel the rage radiating off him, but there were too many humans nearby for Hudson to lose control—humans and their damn smartphones. Which was probably good, all things considered.

He honestly didn’t understand some of the hang-ups humans had about certain things. Paranormals didn’t care who liked dick and who liked pussy.

Now, did they have certain subjects they got sideways about? Of course they did. Bloodlines, in particular, was a subject that paranormals could get obsessed with.

But seriously, who cared how people dressed? Who cared who was fucking who, as long as there was consent and everyone was of age? Connie was more concerned about how trustworthy and honorable a person was, not if they wore a skirt or had a dick.

FORTUNATLEY FOR both humans and dragons alike, no one else made any idiotic comments about how Kit was dressed. Connie breathed a sigh of relief as the tension dissipated.

After much searching, they finally found bedding that satisfied all their preferences. Since it had to be custom-made to fit their new bed, they also purchased several sets of sheets.

It became obvious very quickly that Hudson preferred light and bright colors. Kit was fine with that as long as some of the accents in their new bedroom had some bling. Connie simply wanted something soft and cozy.

They ended up with a mix of light and dark tones. The pops of color would come from the artwork Connie was supplying from his hoard. Hudson arranged for everything to be delivered on a certain date, and they headed off for dinner.

Once they had eaten, they returned to their house for a quiet evening, choosing a movie to watch in bed.

THE PHONE’S incessant ringing pierced the silence, causing Connie to bolt upright, wide awake. Its screen lit up the dark room, casting eerie shadows on the walls.

“Hello?”

Connie turned to stare at Hudson, who had his cell phone plastered to his ear, his face bathed in the blue light of the screen.

With his keen hearing, he could hear the sound of alarms and screams that nearly overrode the fear in Kage’s voice on the other end of the line as he spoke to Hudson.

“When?” Hudson demanded, his face twisted in concern as he spoke into the phone.

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