“You still look hot. I mean, I’d fuck you.”
“Hah, thanks.” We go onto the porch and Lucas holds my hand as we walk down the driveway. Scarlet trots ahead, following a moth. She’s still just as doofy as she was in puppy-form, making me wonder if that’s actually her personality.
A car comes down the road, and I call Scarlet over, resting my hand on her back to keep her near as the car passes. But instead of going by us, it slows to a stop. Red-and-blue lights flash for a moment, and then Officer Maxwell’s face comes into view.
“Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. King,” he says, and his eyes go right to Scarlet. Oh, shit. I know exactly what he’s thinking. I have a tendency to be in the right place at the wrong time, and that kid was attacked by a large dog in the woods.
And I’m pretty sure Scarlet is the biggest dog in town.Chapter 27“Nice night, isn’t it?” I blurt, though it’s anything but. It’s even colder now, and I’m sure we’ll wake up with frost covering the earth. “Sit,” I whisper to Scarlet, knowing the word is coming out in Enochain.
“Is this your dog?” Officer Maxwell asks.
“I, um…I…I’m a cat person,” I blurt, internally wincing. Dammit.
“We’re dog-sitting,” Lucas says with no hesitation. “Her owner is in Bali.”
“Dogs need to be leashed,” Officer Maxwell says, shifting his car into park. “How long have you been watching her?”
“Brought her home yesterday,” I say. It’s true, really.
Officer Maxwell nods, eyes still on Scarlet, who’s sitting perfect still at my side. Lucas steps closer and I see Officer Maxwell tense, hand going to his gun.
“We don’t see Thorne Hill PD out here often,” Lucas goes on. “Are you anticipating danger?”
“We’ve been patrolling the area ever since the attack,” Officer Maxwell says, eyes going to me. “You remember that night, don’t you?”
“Of course,” I spit. “Kind of hard to forget hitting a poor, innocent deer and then finding some drunk kids in the woods claiming aliens and werewolves attacked.”
“Yes,” he agrees with a fake-ass laugh.
“How is that boy?”
“Made a full recovery. You didn’t go check on him?” His eyes narrow, and I can’t blame him for being suspicious. Things don’t add up.
“I don’t even know his name,” I say. “And we left for our honeymoon right after that.”
“Right.” Officer Maxwell nods. “You did mention you were getting married.” Muffled voices come over the radio and he turns the volume down so I can’t hear. Lucas, however, can just fine. “You’re just out walking?” He’s hoping to catch me in a lie, but joke's on you, buddy.
“We’re going to see our house.” Lucas raises his hand, pointing in the direction of the old estate. “We own both homesteads on this street and are restoring the old white mansion.”
Officer Maxwell just nods again. “Be careful out here.”
Lucas draws his fangs, making Officer Maxwell tense again. “We’ll be just fine.” He stares at Officer Maxwell for a few seconds before the cop rolls up his window and drives away.
“I wondered when he’d start to suspect me,” I sigh, taking Lucas’s hand again. “Good girl,” I tell Scarlet, patting her head. We all start forward again. “It’s not the first time I’ve had a rather unexplainable run-in with the law.”
“Comes with the territory of demon hunting.”
“Yep. I’m always saving people, though, so you’d think they’d be grateful.”
Lucas laughs. “If it gets out of hand, I will handle it.”
“And by handle you mean…?”
“Not murder,” he says ruefully. “But I’m not above bribes and altering memories.”
“Neither am I.” I tighten my hold on his hand. “Neither am I.”
We walk the rest of the way in silence, just enjoying the quiet of the night. I’m starting to get cold, and Lucas wraps his arm around me. His body offers no warmth, but he shields me from the wind at least.
The lights are still on at the estate, and several trucks are in the driveway. The old railing has been torn off the porch, and scaffolding is up around the house to clean and paint the exterior. The stairs leading to the porch have been torn out as well, and Lucas steps up with perfect grace, turning and offering a hand, which I take.
“Go check out the woods,” I tell Scarlet. “Don’t go too far.”
She lets out an excited yip and takes off, running full speed ahead into the woods behind the house. Lucas opens one of the tall, double doors that lead into the house.
“Oh, wow,” I say, smile pulling up my lips. The foyer has been restored to its original glory, with the exception of some of the hand-painted details on the grand staircase. It’s a painstaking process to get it all done, but it’s like night and day since the last time we were here. The hardwood floor has been polished, the drywall patched, wainscoting repaired, and the smell of fresh paint still hangs in the air. The replica chandelier I ordered came in while we were gone and is hanging above us.