Page 33 of Bad Demon

Are you really going to do this?

I needed protection, and there was no one better—he’d been right about that.So, yes. Yes, I was.

I left my apartment, and jogged down the stairs. Then, taking a deep breath, I stepped out into the shop.

Relic straightened, his eyes narrowing on me as I walked up to the door.

“Are you planning on standing there all night?” I didn’t have to pretend I was shit-scared to play on his protective instincts because that’s exactly what I was.

“Yes,” he said in that deep, rumbling voice.

“Why?”

“Because your ward is flimsy.”

For some reason, the hound was fixated on me, had singled me out as the damsel he needed to protect, and I planned to use that to get what I needed.

“Well, then, if you’re not planning on leaving, can I get you a drink?”

His eyes narrowed again. “What are you doing?”

“Dude, you’re standing there with your nose pressed to the glass, like a sad dog that’s been kicked out in the rain. I could ask you the same thing.”

He licked his lips. “Will you drink with me?”

“Sure, but you’ll be out there, and I’ll be in here.”

He nodded, grinning wider. “Okay.”

That grin was way too freaking handsome for someone so deranged.

“Back in a sec.”

I headed out the back of the shop to my small break room. I grabbed two glasses and filled them both with bourbon, more in his than mine. I needed him a little loopy—tipsy, at the very least. Drunk would be even better. Going by the size of him though, that would take a lot more than a glass of bourbon, but that was fine because that wasn’t what the bourbon was for. I just needed something to mask the other things I was putting in it.

I kept my dangerous herbs and other ingredients back here, and I quickly pulled down the bottles I needed. Four drops of highly concentrated valerian—six would drop an elephant, so that was probably about right—a pinch of black oak root, a spoon of witch hazel elixir, and a small spoonful of my own personal healing tonic. It was slow release and should kick in after the other ingredients did their thing. It wouldn’t kill him—it couldn’t since he was immortal—but if I wasn’t careful, I could put him in a coma for a few weeks or even longer, and I definitely didn’t want to do that.

I sniffed the contents of his glass, then mine. Perfect.

I strode back out, and he tracked me the whole way. Placing the glasses on the counter, I braced and unlocked the door. He didn’t move when I opened it, staying just on the other side of my ward, like I’d told him to.

Picking up my glass, I took a sip, then handed him his. “I hope you like bourbon.”

“I like bourbon.” He took a sip. “Surprised you do though. Thought you’d be more into those fancy cocktails.”

“Me? Nah.” I stayed well back from the door so he couldn’t grab me if he decided to.

“So, why the change of heart, Tinker Bell? A little while ago, you were telling me to get lost, and now, you wanna have a drink.”

I shrugged. “A demon can change her mind, can’t she?”

He took a big gulp. “This is good.”

Valerian worked almost instantly and would kick in at any moment now. He grinned again, for no reason, but this time, it was a little goofy. The valerian was a go.

“How’re you doing over there, big guy?”

He flashed his teeth, and his eyes sparkled with humor. “Really fucking good. What was this stuff again?”

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