Page 131 of Blood and Bonbons

“Wait. Are you saying you’ve been helping this vampire?”

“No,” I said, signaling for a turn. “I’m saying we’ve been helping each other.” I recapped the events from finding the book to pawning the coin.

“Hold up. You’re a millionaire right now?”

“It’s like you’re the boy version of Vena. No. That’s Cross’ money. I’m only holding it until we can figure out how to get him papers. If you have any connections for that sort of thing, let me know.”

Miles snorted, and I continued with the mystery text asking to swap the ring for information about him at the club, the dead end it had led to, and how Cross had saved us.

“Vena has a death wish,” Miles muttered.

“Must run in the family.”

Finally, I finished with the retaliation at Blur–inadvertently revealing werewolves ran it–and how the attack the night before had led to seeing Sierra’s tattoo.

“So, you owe your rescue to Vena’s persistence, Cross’ knowledge, the fairy that hides in your bush, and the werewolves,” I concluded.

“I can’t believe you’re on good terms with a vampire.”

“He seems to be unique in that regard. I wouldn’t trust any other vampires. All the wolves are nice, though.”

He sighed and nodded. “Thank you for telling me, and I’m sorry you got wrapped up in this, Everly. As soon as I’m on my feet again, I’m hand delivering you sweets for a month.”

I grinned. “Take your time. Vena’s already committed to a week of waking up to dazzling confectionery delights and one hot date at Enticed.”

“The fancy fae place downtown that’s booked out for weeks?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yep. If I space out both your apology treats, I’ll live like a queen the rest of this summer.”

He chuckled, but the humor died quickly. “Wolves hunt vampires, Ev. I’ve read that again and again in my research. Aren’t you worried you’re going to get caught in the crossfire between Cross and Shepard?”

“I’m hoping I’ll be able to convince Shepard that Cross is not controlling me.”

“How do you know he’s not?”

“The people I’ve seen acted weird. If I start acting weird, Vena will say something.”

Miles made a thoughtful sound and tapped on the soup container in his lap as we pulled up to his house. Part of me wanted to tell him that the wolves would be watching him and not to worry. But I didn’t. I wasn’t sure hearing that would help him feel better.

There was a truck parked in front of Miles’ apartment. The big guy within looked at us then looked down again.

“Is it just me, or is that guy giving you uh-oh vibes?” Miles asked, making no move to get out of the car.

My phone chimed a second later.

Shepard: That’s Gator in the truck. He’s going to watch over Miles for a bit.

Gator looked up and nodded at us.

“He’s one of Shepard’s guys. He’s going to hang out for a bit to make sure you don’t get kidnapped again,” I said.

Miles reached up and touched the protection charm under his shirt. It had been one of the first things Vena had returned to him.

“This thing had been useless against Sierra. It’s good to know I have backups against vampire-controlled humans,” he said. “I think I might invest in some better wards.”

“Wouldn’t hurt,” I said, getting out of the car.

Miles let himself out, and we moved up his walk together.

---