Page 14 of How to Flirt with a Hellhound
“Do you have family or anyone looking for you?” I asked.
“Oh, yeah, yup, tons of people looking for me,” he lied.
I tilted my head. “You aren’t very good at lying.”
“You aren’t very good at pretending to be a normal human,” he scowled.
I smiled. “I like you. You’re feisty.”
He rolled his eyes up, muttering, “Great, the weird guy with glowing eyes who wants to burn the house down likes me. Isn’t it my lucky day.”
“Oh, I don’t like you like that,” I answered. “I mean, I’m sure you’re cute and all, but I’m actually interested in someone else.” I didn’t want him getting the wrong idea, after all.
He looked at me incredulously. “Are you for real?” he asked.
“If you’d like to think of me as a hallucination, this might be easier,” I pondered. Then I discarded the thought. “Nope. Can’t chance it,” I sighed. “Well, you’ll just have to come with me.”
He stared at me, mouth slightly open. I picked up my bag and made an after-you gesture to him.
“You’re totally going to kill me. Shoot me in the back of the head or something, right? Is this some kind of mob thing?” the man said, but he was getting off the bed anyway.
I frowned at him. “I would never use a gun,” I answered. “What’s the fun in that? Plus, I would never kill someone from behind. Humans ought to know when they’re going to die. And anyway, you aren’t like Marcus. I’m not going to kill you.”
“Damn straight I’m not like that fucking asshole,” the man muttered, and he walked out ahead of me.
“Don’t run. I’m faster than you,” I muttered. I didn’t want to chase him down. That would be annoying. “Plus I’ll find you wherever you go,” I added.
“You are super fucking creepy, dude,” he muttered, but he kept winding his way through the cellar.
When we reached the stairs and climbed up, I took a moment to let my flame loose in the wine cellar. I should probably go upstairs and burn the body, but I’d already burned all traces I might’ve left behind, so even if the fire was put out, it wasn’t like any clues would lead to me. Plus, with all that alcohol, the house would go up pretty quickly.
By the time we reached the bar room, the fire was already raging. The man turned around, mumbling, “What the fuck?”
“Fire,” I answered. “Follow me,” I added, walking out the sliding doors. The dogs greeted me, wagging their tails. Ah, I’d forgotten about them too.
I sighed. So many complications. This was what came from not planning things out. I really knew better. But that kiss with Toby had just completely frazzled my brains.
“Alright everyone, come on. You’ll all fit in the car, and I know someone who owes me a favor. He’ll know what to do with you. Hopefully,” I mused.
The man gave me another incredulous look, but he and the dogs both followed me off the property. We found a small gate toexit the grounds, which I burned the lock off of, and off we went into the night. The house was a blazing inferno by the time we were walking down the street, and I heard sirens in the distance as I ushered the crew into my car.
The coffee shop owner owed me a favor after I helped him with the whole demon thing. Surely taking in a stray human and two dogs would be acceptable payment. This guy wasn’t the first stray I’d rehomed, and I usually found a good soul to take care of them. I knew the coffee shop owner fit the bill there.
I decided not to call ahead, and we made the hour drive back to Paradise Falls in silence. The man pretended to fall asleep, and he might have even dozed off at one point. Both dogs were happily curled up on the back seat.
By the time we made it to the coffee shop, it looked like it was just after closing, but luckily I could see the owner inside along with his angel.
“We’re here,” I told everyone, climbing out and opening the car doors for the human and the dogs before walking up to the shop. I rapped against the door as the man and the dogs trailed behind me.
The coffee shop owner came over and opened the door.
“Oracle,” I said, realizing I wasn’t really sure of his name. If he’d told me, I’d forgotten. Come to think of it, I hadn’t gotten the captive man’s name either. Oops. That was probably something normal humans did.
“Hellhound,” the coffee shop owner replied.
“I found this human locked in a basement, and the dogs no longer have an owner, so I thought maybe you’d like them,” I said.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” the coffee shop owner replied, looking at me, then the man, and then the dogs. He was speechless after that, and I didn’t think it was the good sort of speechless.
