Page 55 of The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid

A wall of fire erupted, forcing the beast to slow. It snarled and skidded back, buying Shadow precious seconds as he charged toward us.

That was all he needed. My super-sized lynx kicked into a final burst of speed, a streak of fur and muscle, and in a heartbeat he’d joined us.

I slumped against Parker. ‘Get us out of here!’ I ordered. Parker murmured the words that allowed us to cross and we pushed through the now-malleable barrier with my large lynx in tow.

We stumbled out on the other side with a pop. As he moseyed out, cool as a cucumber, Shadow regained his smaller stature and his smoky coat. He sat down and started delicately licking a paw.

‘Put me down!’ I groused at Parker and he obediently set me on my feet.

The beast’s shrieking, a chorus of fury and madness, was still tearing through the air. It was pacing along the barrier; a seething mass of smoke and glowing red eyes, it was straight from my nightmares yet sickeningly real.

Its howls scraped my jangled nerves as it pounded the barrier. My heart gave one panicked kerthunk but the barrier held. Defeated for now, the monster spun with unnatural grace and slipped into the trees, leaving behind an acrid tang and a terrified silence.

I had never been happier to know that the barrier was solid; I might even kiss Liv next time I saw her.

‘Fuuuuck,’ Stan said. Then, now that the danger had passed, he focused on Parker. ‘Now seriously, who the fuck is this?’

I’d had time to come up with a small fib, which I suspected wasn’t a fib at all. ‘This is Parker. Connor has him on bodyguard duty for me.’

Kate and Essie were huddling together. Kate’s curious eyes settled on me. ‘You’re Prince Connor’s mate.’ I nodded, even though it wasn’t a question. ‘But Joe ParkerhatesConnor,’ she went on. ‘Why would Connor assign him as your bodyguard?’

Great. Why did the girl have to be so damned smart? And Parker wasn’t Parker’s first name? Huh. ‘He’s had a change of heart,’ I said vaguely.

‘Prince Connor has given him a daylight charm.’ Kate was still frowning. ‘You don’t give those out like candy.’

I wished she’d shut up.I’d just rescued her, for God’s sake; could she stop with the ‘making trouble for me’ routine? My glare must have been a little too fierce because she shrank back.

‘Sorry,’ she muttered, casting her eyes down.

And now I felt shitty because I’d glared at a girl who’d just gone through a tonne of trauma, and I was an absolute bitch for making her feel bad right now. ‘No, it’s fine. Enough about me, let’s get you somewhere safe.’

‘Are you taking me home?’ Kate asked, and a shiver ran through her.

‘To the station,’ Gunnar confirmed, glancing at me because he’d seen it too. ‘We’ll talk some more before we do anything else.’

‘You won’t contact her parents?’ Essie was clinging to her friend.

‘Not yet,’ I said slowly. ‘Not if you don’t want us to.’

‘I don’t,’ Kate whispered. Suspicions made my belly clench for her; Iknewsomething was off about Cobalt Robertson, but what exactly was it? If he’d abused this girl, I’d stake him through his black heart myself.

‘Let’s get you in the vehicle,’ I said as I guided them to the Nomo SUV. They looked nervously at us as though we were going to cuff them. I shook my head. ‘You’re safe now. You’re the victims in all of this. Come on, let’s get you warm and comfortable.’

They walked slowly to the SUV and I ushered them onto the back seat. Fluffy joined them; frankly, he was a better comfort than anything I could offer.

Kate cuddled into him and moments later Shadow jumped onto Essie, making her ‘oof’ in surprise at his weight. Even so, she smiledand started petting the purring feline. I guessed she was a cat person.

I turned back to Stan and Anissa. ‘Is she okay?’ I asked softly, gesturing to the unconscious shaman.

‘I’m fine,’ she huffed. Okay, she wasn’t actually unconscious, but she still had her eyes closed and was being cuddled into Stan’s chest.

‘She’s worn out,’ Stan said gruffly. ‘I’m taking her home.’

‘Sure. Thanks so much for coming – both of you. Anissa, thank you for whatever the hell you did. You kept us all safe no matter what your spirits said about the rest of us surviving.’

A smile touched her lips and she forced her eyes open enough to wink at me. Then she yawned and her eyes slid closed as she snuggled into her polar-bear beau. Stan cradled her to the safety of his truck, put on her seat belt and tenderly tucked a blanket around her. Awww, he wassoin love. I grinned at the thought.

He met my eyes as he walked around to his side of the truck.Thank you,I mouthed. He smiled, nodded then heaved himself into the driving seat, started the engine and drove off.

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