Page 87 of Bad Demon

Relic:I’m so sorry, Tink. I would never abandon you willingly.

He’d said variations of the same thing over and over since I had gotten here. Maybe everything was twisted between us, but I couldn’t take it anymore, seeing him blame himself for something that was out of his control. I thought I’d gotten that across to him, that I didn’t blame him, at the clubhouse before I left, but obviously not. Or maybe this was just all part of our unhealthy connection.

Sutton walked up beside me and bit her lower lip. “He’s persistent.”

“Any luck?” I asked.

I’d found out that Sutton was not only an impressive healer, but she also worked as a medic. A medical clinic for non-humans had opened a couple of months ago, and Sutton had signed on. They had their own ambulance and everything.

She shook her head. “But Phoebe thinks she’s close to finding it. She’s feeling brave. She’s going to ask Rune for help tonight.”

We’d been searching for a way to release Relic from my deal, but since it wasn’t safe for me to leave the house just yet with Grady and The Chemist still out there, Phoebe had been poring over the books in the demon library for me.

Sutton’s familiar, Boo, poked his head up from the hood of her sweatshirt, and I gave his head a gentle pat. “I seriously owe her one. Rune is … he’s kind of terrifying.”

“I try to avoid any interaction with him at all costs. He makes me feel weird, like I’m not in full control anymore, you know?” she said.

I did. It was like he could force you to drop your wall and inhibitions. It wasn’t that he controlled or manipulated you; he just removed your filter completely.

She motioned to Relic. “So, what are you going to do?”

I couldn’t leave him out there all night, not again. The guilt was too much. “I know this is a big ask, but I think, if I could bring him in and show him around, let him see how safe it is, explain the wards, he might ease off a bit.”

She nodded. “You’re probably right. Let me check with the others, see if they’re okay with him coming in.” She fired off a group text, and my nerves went crazy when their replies came back almost instantly. She smiled. “They’re cool with it. Just don’t let him wander around on his own, and if he starts getting violent, we’ll extract him—swiftly.”

“He won’t.” I looked down at him again. “The way he was, when you were with me in his den, that’s not him. Not usually.”

But if he did lose it for some reason, the ward had a built-in safety mechanism. If his invitation was rescinded by the members of the coven, he would be bound in magic and thrown from the house.

“Thank everyone for me, will you?” I said, then headed along the hall and downstairs.

My heart raced as I unlocked the door. When I walked out, Relic watched me approach through the gate, and he instantly moved to meet me, curling his fingers around the bars.

“Hey,” I said.

His gaze did a sweep of me from head to toe. “How’re you feeling, sweetness?” He was trying so hard to keep the growl from his voice, to look like he was calm and unaffected, but his voice sounded kind of distorted, like it sometimes did around me, and his chest was rising and falling faster than usual.

“I’m okay.” I flashed him my new teeth. “I’m like a squirrel.” I tapped on the front ones. “It wasn’t the first time I’ve had to grow a new set.”

Relic didn’t smile back—no, his nostrils flared, and the muscle in his jaw jumped. “Don’t joke about that, Tink. Don’t ever joke about that.”

“Right, sorry.” I slid my hands into my pockets. “I don’t blame you, you know? You had no control over what happened. I know you wouldn’t have left me if Lucifer hadn’t summoned you. You don’t need to keep apologizing, and you don’t need to worry about me anymore, I promise.”

“Not going to stop worrying about you, Fern.”

I stepped closer. “I figured you’d say that. So, how about I show you around, let you see how safe it is here? Would that help?”

He gripped the bars tighter. “It’s a start.”

“Okay then.” I lifted the cover over the keypad beside the gate latch. “You can come in, but you have to be good. No snarling or breaking shit.”

“Best behavior.” He flashed a grin.

My heart did a stupid fucking flutter, and I couldn’t stop my own smile as I tapped in the code for the gate. It beeped, and the lock disengaged. As soon as I pulled the gate open, he strode through, shoved it closed behind him, and advanced on me. I took a step back, and he froze. Then I cursed because I didn’t want him to think I was scared of him. I wasn’t. It was the complete opposite. And to prove it, and despite knowing I shouldn’t, I took a stepped forward. He watched me, and slowly, cautiously, did the same.

“It’s been weird being away from you,” I admitted.

At my words, he took another step forward, and so did I, and as soon as I did, he closed the space between us with a growl and scooped me up into his arms, wrapping them around me tight.

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