Page 7 of Ensnared By the Stone Freak

“How’s Hogzy? Did he get enough apples today?” I asked, smilingathow comfortable my date lookedwiththe beat-up truck.He wasn’t self-conscious about our differences, and he hadn’t batted an eye at my fancy apartment either—like wealth did not matter one bit to him. Maybe it really didn’t. And wasn’t that a freeing thought?

“Hogzy got into the barrels of elephant feed. He’s currently sleeping off a food coma,” Halvard said with a laugh. The engine rumbled as deeply as his voice when he turned on the truck. Then we were off, driving into the night to some unknown destination. If my father knew about this, he’d have a fit—and that just made it more exciting. I trusted Halvard.I knew instinctively that he’d do everything in his power to keep me safe. That left me free to anticipate nothing but good things for the rest of the night. I was determined to enjoy every minute and make sure we’d get that chance in the bedroom before the clock struck midnight.

Chapter 8??

Halvard

At the suggestion of the cook—who tended to have his fingers in a surprisingnumberof culinary pies—I’d picked an Italian restaurant. It had a glass-covered terrace that was heated, making it usableeven in winter.The restaurant provided a very cozy, romantic atmosphere, with secluded cornersformed by potted olive trees. I also knew that the glass walls made us visible from the street, and,as it was downtown,I hoped that wouldguarantee the warlock bothering my woman got wind of our date. Iplanned to deal with him tonight.

Some warlocks fell easily into obsession, but once they ran into a wall they could not knock down, that usually fixed it. At least, that was the advice Sally the Seer had given me that morning. I hoped it meant I could be that wall for Cammy—knock the warlock on his ass so hard it shook him out of this obsession. He was a rich one, as was evidenced by the fancy suit, and a powerful one, considering the shadow golem he’d sent to kidnap Cammy last night—all in a ploy to get her away from me.

“This is lovely,” Cammy said as she eyed her plate of fresh pasta and rich-smelling marinara sauce. It was, though I was not even close to considering the food. The candlelight made her features glow, her freckles a temptation I wanted to lick. Her brown eyes were warm and lovely, and I wished I could see them without the shield of my ensorcelled glasses. It was not a risk I could take in a crowded restaurant like this, and I hoped I could entice Cammy to my mobile home for our next dinner.

We’d been here a while, smack in the middle of our meal, and still no sign of the warlock. I would have been disappointed if not for the fact thattheconversation had been flowing easily, and every new thing I learned about my pretty woman was a delight. She was a lawyer—I knew that—but she was dying to get out of the contract stuff and do something meaningful: protect the rights of minorities, fight for justice. It matched so well with my gargoyle heritage—to want to protect those smaller than me, thosewhocouldn’t fight alone. Cammy was perfect for me in every way. Now,I just needed to figure out how she fit into my life, or how I could fit into hers.

When I talked about the places I’d been and the things I’d seen, her eyes lit up, and I realized my girl had an undying appetite for adventure. I could work with that. What bigger adventure was there than travelingwith a paranormal carnival? “Where would you like to go if you could go anywhere? Anywhere at all?” I asked her in between bites of my delicious seafood linguine. My plate was almost empty, but she’d only managed to get halfway through hers.

“Anywhere at all? Probably Paris or Prague. I’d love to see some of the old cities—feel like I’m part of history,” she said dreamily. Reaching out, I cupped her chin and leaned in to kiss her cheek. She was adorable when she got that faraway look in her eyes, like she was already picturing herself there.

“See some gargoyles?” I couldn’t help but tease. When her wide, startled eyes met mine, I smirked. She hadn’t pieced it together yet:my ability to turn people to stone,transformmyselfinto stone, and those ancient ‘statues’ that so oftenadorned old buildings. “You could do that right here, with me.” I waggled myeyebrows,and her laughter was music to my ears. I would have basked in the moment, but the fine hairs on the back of my neck suddenlyrosewithout warning. Something dark was watching me—something predatory, brimmingwith killing intent. Thorne was here.

***

Camryn

This was,by far,the best date I’d had in years. Our chemistry was off the charts—I knew that already—but Halvard was a quick-witted, clever table companion. When we talked,it felt like I was on the same page with him, like he understood me the way only Lis did sometimes. He had a strict father who had high expectations,just like I did, but,unlike me, he’d shaken that life and carved out one of his own that he loved. I wanted to follow his example.I was ready to leap without looking after tonight—anything to keep feeling this alive, this accepted for who I was.

When he went from laughing and relaxed to tense as stone, all my senses roared to life. Fear curled up my spine. This was it;Thorne had found us.On the rare occasions whenI’d tried dating shortly after I’d left Thorne,it had never ended well—my datealwaysterrified, running for their life, though they never seemed to come to any true harm. For the first time, I felt like Thorne wouldn’t be able to scare my date away. It hadn’t happened last night, and Halvard seemed to relish the thought of a confrontation.

He rose from his seat, folding his napkin neatly and placing it on the edge of the table. It was honestly sexy how calmly he moved as he got up and settled himself,yetI could see the watchfulness in the tight pinch of his lips. “Excuse me for a minute,” he said in a gravelly tone that made my nipples grow tight beneath my dress. “I have to take care of something.” He smirked, a tilt to his lips that made me wish he wasn’t wearing his tinted glasses—I was certain there would be mischief dancing in his eyes.

Watching him stalk out of the restaurant made me feel like I was watching a tiger on the prowl—or more aptly, a panther. Halvard seemed to have only one color in his wardrobe: black, but it suited him. The appreciative stareshe drewfrom the female guests made me all too awareofjust how good the black leather looked. Then he stepped outside, facing something heseemed to havesensed but that I had notnoticed. It had to be Thorne, and I frantically scanned the windows, searching for a sign, but I couldn’t even spot Halvard now.

This would be when a more cynical personmightthink they’d been walked out on and stuck with the bill. I knew that wasn’t true, but I raised my hand and flagged down a waiter. “I’d like to pay,please. Could I have the bill?” He obliged but gave me a sort of sad, pitying look that made me want to stick out my tongue. He didn’t know a thing, and it wasn’t right to judge me.I wasn’t going to let it bother me,either.

Rising, I shrugged into my coat and hurried out of the restaurant, my eyes searching for any sign of my Stone Freak as he confronted my stupid ex, who was apparently a warlock. “Damn it, Halvard, where did you go?” I muttered under my breath. My wordsformedfog in the air,but they did not mysteriouslyguideme in the right direction.Asound drew my attention around the corner, where the parking lot was.

I turned towardit and almost immediately spotted the slightly banged-up truck that Halvard had picked me up in. The tan color looked even more like rust in the muddy lantern light than it had at my apartment. Something else was there too—shadows that clung to the fenderandswirled beneath the car’s body. Then I heard the voices.

“I’m telling you one last time, warlock:leave Camryn Mayfield alone. She is not yours;she will never be yours. You do not own her.” That was Halvard—there was no doubt. His voice was cold and sinister as he spoke, sounding like a threat,as thoughhe weregoing to wring Thorne’s neck if he did not obey. Yet every word was carefully measured and perfectly correct. A shiver shot down my spine in warning, even though I knew he was on my side. He was saying those words in my defense, but they held such cold malice that even I felt the urge to obey.

I sidled around the side of Halvard’s truck slowly, walking on my toes so my heels would not click against the pavement. Prepared for a standoff, for the implicit threat of violence, I should have expected what I found.Yet it still caught me by surprise. Halvard stood with his legs braced apart over a sprawled-out shape on the ground. A large puddle spreading frombeneath Thorne’s shoulders and head gave the impression of a pool of blood—or maybe a mirror. It was just rainwater, but I had to look twice to see that.

My ex had a busted lip, red dripping from his mouth and nostrils, while one eye struggledto open—injuries that proved Halvard had already struck a few blows. Thorne was a tall, handsome man:polished and suave. He came from money,just like Lis and Idid. The contrast between the two men couldn’thave been more pronounced, but at the same time, I saw a similarity too. Thorne had an edge of danger—a wolf in sheep’s clothing—while Halvard’s dangerlayright there on the surface. Knowing what Ididnow about the supernatural, I wondered if that was what Ihad beensensing.

Thorne’s eyes were green like ivy, glowing brightly in his face. They flashed from the threat above him to me. I saw something flicker in that green that I couldn’t place, but my stomach flipped,and the back of my neck tingled with awareness. Halvard never looked my way, but when he shifted to stand protectively between me and the downed man, it was obvious he knew I was there.

I had dismissed the shadows beneath his truck as something that came from the carnival;that’s howaccustomed I had alreadybecometo the strangeness Halvardbrought with him. When they slithered like tentacles from beneath the chassis, I hurriedly stepped out of their way, my instincts roaring that they were wrong—dangerous.That quick sidestep, driven bya gut reaction before I’d evenfullyprocessed their presence, was the only thing that saved me from being grabbed.

Halvard, with his back turned, was not fast enough, and they curled around him—grabbing, writhing, squeezing. He groaned, but then darkness slid into his mouth. Thorne rose from the ground with a triumphant grin, followed by a macabre laugh. “Not so tough now, are you, Freak?” he drawled.Ashe began to circle Halvard, I knew he was going to try to grab me personally. In that instant, everything boiled over inside of me, heating to a flashpoint. I’dhad enough—enough of my ex controlling my life and threatening my date, enough of holding myself back because of what others wanted me to be.

Ducking down, I yanked my heel from my foot and flung it as hard as I couldatThorne’s face. It glancedoffhis sharp cheekbone, then bounced against his shoulder. He cursed but kept advancing,so I grabbed my other shoe and threw that too. That one struck him in the chest—far less painful—but he halted and looked down,confused. “Why are you doing that?” he demanded.“I am protecting you! Don’t you see that?” The nerve this fool had. Protecting me? As if!

“I don’t need you, Thorne. Get lost! I don’t want you in my life. Leave! And let Halvard go, right now.” He blinked his green eyes, twistinghis head to look at the shadows that held my brave Stone Freak immobile. No, not quite—Halvard had gotten closer, shadows and all. His entire body was straining and fighting against whatever it was that held him, and though that fight was silent, he was making progress. It wouldn’t be long before he broke free.Thorne seemed to see it too, and he raised his hands as if to do something about it.

“No!” I snapped.“Stop it!” My stocking-clad feet were cold and wet against the pavement, but that did not stop me from leaping forward and swinging my purse as hard as I could down on his outstretched arm. I knew it wasn’t much of a blow, but it did catch his attention. His mouth dropped open in surprise as he turned back and looked at me. For the firsttime since I’d broken things off with him, I sawa hint of the Thorne that had convinced me with suave charm to go on a date—ahint of the vulnerable man behind the power and money.

“No?” he said. His arms dropped,and he took a step back, his eyes blinking as if rousing from a deep slumber. “No,” he repeated more firmly. Then,with a very confused expression,he looked at me. “You don’t want my protection?”

---