Page 15 of Cursed by Death

He probably had. I didn’t think he missed much, given his job description and all that.

“Right,” I muttered. I’d say it had only been for his ears but the shifters had enhanced senses and there was little doubt in my mind that they would hear every single word out of our mouths, even if we whispered. “Go and get in your car, now. We’re both leaving here together.”

He gave me an incredulous look and I knew he was pissed, this time at me. If I had to guess, I’d say the good Detective did not take orders from others very well. He was his own man, and he liked to be in charge.

He definitely wasn’t partner material.

Too bad, buddy.

“I came here to look after you,” he snapped at me, clearly out of patience and done with my bullshit for the night. “You get in your car first and I’ll follow you home to make sure you get there safely.”

Oh, the male ego could be such a fragile thing.

I sighed because he wasn’t the only one out of patience. I hadn’t found what I had come here looking for but I’d still gotten more than I had bargained for. And it had been a very long night. I was ready to go home for the night and very much done with this shit.

Rally sneered at the Detective and there was nothing friendly looking about the Prince of shifters now. “She doesn’t need your protection, human. I told you, she’s my mate. I would never harm her, and neither would my men. You, on the other hand…” he trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging, and a manic smile spread across his gorgeous lips.

The shifters at his sides all radiated a very nervous energy that did not bode well for the Detective’s future.

I pulled both my knives out of their wrist sheaths as I snarled at the Detective. “You heard him. They can’t hurt me. You’re out of time now. My car is closer. Get in.”

The shifters were inching closer.

My knives were silver and they’d cause some real damage and slow a few of them down. I did not want to kill any of them here.

The detective pulled out his gun but thankfully did not point it at anyone.

It had the desired effect that my knives had not and the shifters stopped inching forward.

I rolled my eyes. Men, of all species it would seem, were stupid. There was no way the Detective was packing silver bullets. My knives would do far more damage.

Idiots.

The Detective walked backwards around the hood of the car and opened the front passenger door,

I backed up until I was able to reach for the handle on the driver's side door. I opened the door when Rally spoke directly to me, giving me pause and making me question all of my choices tonight.

“I’ll be seeing you soon, Ruby Jane. You can run from your mate but you’ll never be able to hide.”

Chapter 8

The ride back to my place with the Detective was filled with tense silence and very much was not my best work.

I should have asked him where he wanted me to drop him off at but not only were my hands glued to the steering wheel but it appeared that my tongue seemed to be glued to the roof of my mouth. I couldn’t speak even if I had wanted to.

And I didn’t really want to, because what would I even say that could explain or even rationalize any of that? There was nothing.

Guess he was coming home with me. Maybe I could simply park, get out, and he could switch seats in order to take Thomas’s car home with him for the night. Hell, he could keep the car for all I cared, it’s not like I needed it and I was filthy rich. If I wanted a car I could simply go out and buy a new one.

The drive took a while and I was starting to get concerned because he still hadn’t said anything and he was looking a bit… constipated.

We were five minutes away when I lost the battle and opened my stupid mouth. “Are you mad at me? Because you’re looking a little mad right about now. And I don’t really get it. It’s not like I asked you to show up there. I never wanted that. A fool couldhave told you just how stupid it was for a person such as yourself to go there. You’re lucky to be alive right now. And your car is toast. I really hope it wasn’t a work issued vehicle.”

Okay, so I hadn’t meant to berate him like that. Apparently, I cared more than I thought I did, I had to or I wouldn’t be this upset about it.

“A person such as myself?” he whispered in a dangerous voice.

I knew I should keep my mouth shut but I just couldn’t seem to do it. The whole night had been a disaster and he could have made it so much worse by being there. “That badge might do you a lot of favors but not in a place like that. Going there was the stupidest thing you could ever have done. I’m sorry but it’s true. And now you’re on the shifters radar. They aren’t going to forget that or you any time soon. They’re probably going to actually seek you out now. You just made everything so much worse. What the hell were you thinking?”

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