In a fraction of a second, Caine’s hands clamped around her Guardian’s neck, and Josiah’s eyes bulged.
“You will stay away from Rosalind and Miranda, or I’ll make you wish for death.” The wrath in Caine’s voice chilled Rosalind to the core. “Perhaps I should grant you that now.”
With a hammering heart, she watched as Caine tightened his grip around Josiah’s throat. Caine is going to murder him. For a moment, she almost wanted to watch the life seep out of her former Guardian. After all, Josiah would report all this information to the Brotherhood, feeding them her location, and Tammi’s too. It would bring the Brotherhood down on them like a plague of locusts.
But she couldn’t stand by and watch him die. She’d cared for him once, and he’d cared for her, too.
A horrible, garbled sound escaped his throat.
“Caine.” She grabbed his arm. “Please stop.”
Caine’s eyes met hers, and he loosened his grip. Josiah gasped for breath, stumbling back—right into Aurora. The vampire lifted him by his collar, baring her teeth before she yanked his cell phone from his pocket. She crushed it in her fist. “Run along, and we’ll let you live, for now. You’re a soldier, aren’t you? You should know when to retreat.” Growling, she hurled him out of the park, and he landed on the pavement with a loud thud.
Josiah slowly pushed himself up from the ground, shuffling over the pavement without sparing a glance. Even he knew there was no way to take on an incubus, a vamp, and an angry-ex girlfriend at the same time. As he slunk away, his shoulders slumped. She almost felt bad for him. At least, until she remembered what he’d said about looking forward to interrogating her and burning people.
Tammi’s face had gone pale. “So I guess a reconciliation with the Brotherhood is out of the question.”
Rosalind’s chest tightened. “Honestly, we’re screwed. I’m so sorry I got you into this, Tammi.”
“You’re not screwed,” Caine said. “As long as you’re willing to work with Ambrose, you’ll have his protection.”
Tears pricked Rosalind’s eyes. She’d just declared herself on the side of the demons. “I don’t know that I can do… whatever it is that he wants me to do. And what about Tammi?”
“I’ll tell Ambrose she’s your assistant. She’ll get a salary.” Moonlight skimmed over Caine’s skin. “We’ll work out the details later, but right now we need to hide the both of you before Josiah alerts the Brotherhood. I would use magic to get us home faster, but that twat glitter-bombed me.”
“Let me handle the teleportation.” With a determined look on her face, Aurora stepped out of the park—and directly in front of a car. A blue Toyota screeched to a halt, and Aurora flashed her fangs, smacking a hand on the hood. “We need a ride.” She glanced at Caine, jerking her head at the car. “Get in.”
Caine rushed over to the car, with Rosalind and Tammi close behind. As Tammi hopped into the back seat, Caine pulled open the door, beckoning Rosalind inside. An empty car-seat took up the middle, and she had to squeeze in on his lap.
The woman in the driver’s seat turned to them, her dark eyebrows furrowed. “Um, are you all vampires?”
Aurora slid into the front seat, slamming the door shut. “Just me. Take us to the end of Hardy Street.”
“Please take us there, Ma’am,” added Rosalind from the back seat. Her bare feet rested on a collection of discarded sippy cups.
The woman frowned. “Call me Marisa. Now, I don’t mind working with vampires. In fact, I run a demon-human ally group to improve inter-species community relations. But I will not drive if you’re not wearing a seatbelt.”
Caine’s arms folded around her. “She’ll be fine. Trust me.”
“Seatbelt,” she repeated, her voice stern.
“Yes Ma’am.” Caine reached around, pulling the seatbelt to strap the two of them in.
“Marisa,” the woman corrected.
As the car took off, Rosalind leaned into Caine. She could feel his heartbeat through his clothes, and his warm breath against her neck. She resisted the urge to nuzzle his throat. She had no idea if that kiss had actually meant anything, but she was probably stupid to even consider the possibility. He was an incubus, after all, and he was obviously deeply untrustworthy.
Tammi let out a long breath. “I’m going to need to process everything that just happened. I don’t suppose I can call my Thorndike counselor about this. I’m just a little confused about what the fuck is happening with my life.”
“You and me both,” Rosalind said. Her mind still reeled from that awful encounter with Josiah. While Caine’s warm body was a welcome distraction, she couldn’t stop her thoughts from running wild. For one thing, she’d just learned that the Brotherhood were as bad as the demons. And then there was the valkyrie fight, the kiss, the threats from Josiah…