Page 58 of Bewitching Her Monsters

That poor gargoyle doesn’t seem to understand romance or sex at all.

But he knows loss.

We all do.

Maxum grumbles. “So what? She has a feisty attitude, a fuckable ass, and a fascinating brain I don’t want to scramble. That doesn’t mean I’m interested in going steady.”

I shake my head at his deflection. “I don’t think people know what the phrase ‘going steady’ means anymore.”

“It’s not my fault the world moves too fast,” Maxum mutters and glances at the paper with Rob’s details. “I’ll investigate this turkey because it makes sense to do that—for us.” He becomes serious and stares into my eyes. It’s not something he usually does because of my inner monster. “Prepare yourself. She might not be as innocent as she appears.”

“I will not let my guard down,” I promise.

That’s a damn lie.

I’ve already done that.

18

BACKGROUND CHECK

MAXUM

Ihave very few mortal human contacts. There are the rare non-supes who are not complete and utter nitwits.

I collect the good ones as if they are golden tickets to a chocolate factory.

Chocolate and brain scrambling are my small pleasures in life—my weaknesses. Deal with it.

After hundreds of years in the realms, I’ve realized decent and dependable people are like unicorns… so hard to find that they might as well be only a myth.

Almost everyone I’ve known—supes, witches, creatures, or norms—has betrayed me at some point. It’s a surprise when I haven’t been ratted out or used. That’s why my ragtag group is so precious to me. They might be a pain in my ass, but over and over, they have proven, even through torture, that they are loyal.

That’s why I have to discover who killed Osen. I owe him that. It’s why I’m allowing Arran free rein to have hispuppylove, just in the off chance something becomes of Osen’s channeling through the witch.

Besides, this Rob sounds like a menace. Warlocks are often a menace.

So, maybe I will get to scramble some magical brains after all if he turns out to be a threat to us… or Jade.

Knocking on the door to what appears to be an abandoned warehouse, I wait impatiently for the humans to answer.

A scrappy-looking young female flings the door open and cocks her hip. Mal currently has blonde hair streaked with a variety of bright colors, making it look like a unicorn farted a rainbow on her head.

She crosses her arms and gives me a perturbed glare. Her big ovary energy is packed into a tiny package. Ialmostfind it cute, except for all the smack talk she usually hands out when I swing by. Okay, all of it is adorable, like a sassy little cousin.

Mal knows I’m a supe, but not what kind, how powerful, or what damage I could do to her both mentally and physically without trying.

“What do you want,orc?” she asks. Her favorite game is seeing if I’ll react to being called different supernatural species.

I give her nothing with the orc comment. So far, she’s never guessed demon. If she does, I’ll give her the reward of shocking the crap out of her with a full reveal. Well, not the full monty. Her husband wouldn’t appreciate that.

“I need to get some info on a potential mark,” I say. When she looks as if she wants to turn me away, I explain, “Arran’s girlfriend has a bad news ex. I want to know how bad he is before she gets hurt.” I don’t mention that I might hurt Jade if I discover she’s the bad news.

“This isn’t about the ASO?” Mal bites her lip. She’s a good egg, but she worries about her and her husband getting caught up in this supe-witch drama.

She is not wrong to be worried. If what our supernatural seers havevisionedis accurate, we will soon be dealing with the renewed vigor of ASO terrorist attacks on supes. And our human allies and assets will become targets.

Just when I thought we could have a moment to breathe with the missing supes situation over.

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