Page 29 of Heal Me

“Glad to see Aubry finally kicked you to the curb,” I reply, giving my best friend a quick hug with a back thump. I’d love to ask how this came about, but I know Damion won’t want to discuss the details in front of our secretary.

“She did so begrudgingly,” he says with a cocky smile. He’s around an inch shorter than I am, with blond curly hair, an unusual shade of blue eyes, and dimples he likes to flash whenever he wants something from a member of the opposite sex. Dressed in a black Italian suit and a blood-red tie, my best friend might be the cockiest Cambion on the planet, and that’s sayin’ something.

“That’s the story you’re going with?” I quip.

“So, you’re seeing someone,” he continues, cocking his head and crossing his arms. “I can only pray you’re not using the same moves you tried on Charlotte. I’m embarrassed for you just thinking about it.” When I turned on the charm and introduced myself to Charlotte for the first time, she did blow me off. But patience and persistence are two of my best traits.

“Why are you here so early?” I counter. “Aubry ward you out for good?” Damion getting bound together with Aubry might be the best thing to ever happen to him, if only because she’s such a ballbuster and can put him in his place.

“Helen, when’s the last time Gabe’s been this late?” Damion ignores my last comment.

“Oh, I hope he’s not back with that emotional woman,” our secretary says. Helen’s working off her demonic servitude to Damion. She tried to weasel out of a deal with him. Bad decision. Ironically, she has a large collection of angel figurines she displays on the shelf behind her desk. She can invoke the angels all she wants, but they’re not going to help her get out of her contractual obligations. Nor would I want them to, as she’s an excellent secretary.

“Thank you, Helen. Everyone can rest assured Orla and I are not back together,” I state emphatically.

“Glad to hear it. Hecate is coming in at nine,” she reminds me, handing me the file.

“I have a meeting to get to. Control your client’s dogs.” Damion points at me. “I mean it; I’d better not find dog shit on my Persian rug.”

I try not to laugh. Hecate’s dogs left Damion a little gift during the last arbitration. “I hope you don’t, either, because Helen and I will never hear the end of it. And poor you with a meeting? How about poor me who was putting in double time covering for your sorry ass?”

Helen holds up her hands in a don’t drag me into this type motion. “And how is Miss Aubry?” she asks.

“How would he know? Aubry kicked him to the curb, remember?” I taunt.

“Cupid, maybe I can persuade Aubry to get her circle to work a ritual to improve your game,” he fires back. “Now, if everyone will excuse me, some of us do more than stand around all day and look pretty, although I do that better than anyone in this room,” he announces and I snort. “I mean it, keep the mutts out of my office.” He points at me, disappearing.

Using my power, I’m now holding a paper bag. I pull out the fake plastic dog poop.

“I see nothing. I hear nothing.” Helen holds up her hands, but she can’t hide the smile.

Leaving Damion’s present on his Persian rug, I walk to my office. Stopping short, a file with the name Charlotte Jasmine Patel sits prominently on my desk. “Dammit, Rumel!”

Preparing for my meeting with Hecate, I can’t stop glancing over to the other file on my desk. I don’t know what exactly happened to Charlotte while she was held captive by that energy vamp, but from her terror-filled reactions the times we’ve tried to take things to the next level, I can put two and two together. Sighing, I rub the stubble on my chin. An unusual feeling, as I’m normally clean-shaven.

Making some notations in Hecate’s file, I can’t stop thinking about Charlotte’s file. I’m just going to read the police report. It’s a public record, so it doesn’t feel quite so intrusive on my part. I want to know what Charlotte’s dealing with so I don’t do or say the wrong thing, I justify to myself as I open the file. Luckily for me, the police report is the very first document.

I read it and then grab my phone. “Reginald. Tell me what you’ve learned, my friend.”

Chapter 13

Charlotte

My phone rings through my car’s handsfree system and I answer. “Hey.”

“Are you sitting down?” Aubry says dramatically.

“Well, yes. I’m driving.”

“Damion and I are unbound!”

“What?” I squeal. “How?”

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you tonight.”

“No, ma’am. I’m driving to see my mom, so I’ve got the time. I’ll take the unabridged version now.”

She laughs, filling me in. “Just a heads-up, don’t ever hire Gabe. His hourly rate should be criminal.”

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