Page 6 of Flirting with Death

"What do you mean by make up?" I asked cautiously.

He rolled his eyes and leaned back. "Are you gonna actually be my brother?"

"We aren't exactly going to run to the altar."

"Guess I need to put Plan B into motion," he said. He tossed a ball he snagged off of my treasure pile into the air, and the dragon in me wanted to snatch it out of his hand. He knew that, though, it was why he did it.

"I'm afraid to ask what Plan B is."

I watched as the ball went up and down, repeatedly. I was seconds away from taking it back when he said, "I'm so happy you asked. Forced proximity should make you two work out your issues. Dad wants you with her at all times."

"Sammy will not allow that." I laughed. "Can I be a fly on the wall when you tell her? She is still really pissed off about everything." I arched an eyebrow when he finally stopped taunting me with the ball.

"Oh no, you are telling her. After we run the kit for prints from last night."

I unfolded from the sofa and followed him across the room to the broken door. He dusted the surface with the white dust, revealing some prints, before he picked them up with the clear tape. I was sure it wouldn't return anything, it wasn't like the person who broke in was human. Unless I was really lucky.

"This is probably a waste of time," I said.

Ty shot me a look. "You know The Order has prints, right? I might not get to be all cool and a hunter like my sister, but I have access to their systems."

"I think you're cool, Ty." I knew he hid his desire to be a hero from his family, but I'd seen glimpses of it. If he could change that and be a hunter or something else he would, it was why he became a firefighter, he wanted to be the hero.

He rolled his eyes as he carefully pulled the tape from the surface and stuck it to the contact paper to preserve it for analysis. "Being my best friend, I know you are obligated to say that shit. And I will not dispute that fact, because I am cool as fuck."

"I'm pretty sure saying you are cool as fuck makes you the opposite. Sorry, I don't make the rules," I said with a shrug as he moved around the warehouse, looking for the same clues I had last night.

He chuckled and knelt down next to a drop of what looked like green slime next to my pile of treasure. He pulled out a Q-Tip and scooped it up into a vial for testing.

"That looks like—" I started.

"Imps," Ty finished, straightening up. "What would the demons want with your space?"

I swallowed and glanced across the warehouse. I knew. And now I was the secret keeper. What the fuck had happened to my life?

"Hey, we will figure it out," Ty said, reading me wrong. Of course he would, because he would never think that I would have made a deal with a demon. If I hadn't been so desperate, I would have been thinking clearly and not done it.

"Yeah," I said. Because saying nothing would be worse. "Do you think I could make it to my old home on my own? Do you know if dragon-kin can portal? Is there anything in those records? I feel like I don't really know what I can do."

He paused and cocked his head at me, studying my face. "Are you planning to run away? I'm sure Samantha is going to forgive you. You don't need to make any drastic moves."

"Forget it," I said, waving my hand. I hated this. The tightness in my chest at the lies that were bound to build up suffocated me. I had to confess to them all, tell them before this got out of hand. We could work together and figure out why that mage needed a jewel held by the dragons.

"Having this place broken into really rattled you, huh?" Ty asked. I nodded because I couldn't utter another lie, not to my best friend. Not to anyone I loved. "You can strengthen your wards again. That witch that helped last time is affordable and in town. I overheard my parents talking about her. I think that is how they knew Sam was safe."

"I don't need help with my wards, I've gotten pretty good at them."

"Sometimes I wish magic was something mortals could just learn, you know like those books that teach how to be a witch or warlock." He caught me off guard, and it was my turn to watch him with concern.

"Those books teach potions. That is a handy skill, no actual magic needed."

He snorted and looked away. "Don't mind me, the whole thing with Sam and my mom, it really messed with my head. I don't know what I'd do if I lost one of them."

"You won't. I'll help protect them." I promised.

CHAPTER 4

Samantha

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