Page 82 of Blood So Brutal

“I know.” I put a reassuring smile on my face. “I’ll just be a minute.”

I wanted nothing more than to run back to Phantom and find Lord, but Rummy’s small unit was closer. I would stop there first, talk to her for just a few minutes, and then go find Lord.

The streets were darker than I remembered. The entire town slept; nobody dared to creep through these alleys at night. Not unless they wanted to be food for the hungry ones, anyway.

I kept my footsteps light, half-running in the shadows as we got closer and closer to where Rummy lived. Jessiah followedbehind me, but he stayed back far enough that we wouldn’t be seen together unless he wanted to be seen.

He was sneakier than I anticipated.

When we approached Rummy’s building, I stopped, turning to face him. “Wait here,” I said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Absolutely not,” he argued. “I’m not taking my eyes off you in this place, Huntyr. Where you go, I go.”

I guess I should have expected as much. He wasn’t going to give me free rein in my old town. The last thing he needed to deal with was me running off, leaving him to answer to Asmodeus for why his blood queen went missing.

I couldn’t say the thought didn’t tempt me.

“Fine,” I said. “But these people have never seen an angel before. Try not to look so intimidating.”

The smirk on his face definitely reminded me of Wolf. “I’ll try my best.”

My heart beat faster and faster as I ascended the stairs to Rummy’s building. I reached out to grab the handle, still hardly believing I was actually here. I was actually home. For the first time since I went to Moira, I was back where I belonged.

Her door was locked. Go fucking figure.

“Let me,” Jessiah said. He stepped forward, pulling a tiny knife no larger than my palm out of his belt. He stuck the tip into the side of the door, jiggling it for only a second before the door slid open.

Damn, he was good. “Thanks,” I whispered, quietly pushing it open in the darkness.

My eyes had gotten more accustomed to the dark, something I was certain I had my newfound vampyre traits to thank.

But Rummy’s bed in the center of the room was empty.

I felt the cool blade on my neck a second later. “Tell me who the fuck you are, or you die right now.”

I didn’t have time to answer. Jessiah swept into the room, pinning Rummy and her threatening blade to the wall before I could even blink.

“Rummy,” I whispered. “It’s me! It’s Huntyr!”

She stopped struggling against Jessiah’s massive body, mouth falling open as she squinted in the darkness.

“Hunt?” she repeated. “Holy shit! I almost fucking killed you!”

Jessiah gently slid the knife from her hand before letting her go.

I half-shoved him out of the way and pulled my best friend into my arms.

I wasn’t sure how long we stayed like that. I didn’t care. This felt real. This alone would give me the fuel I needed to get through another damn month in The Golden City. This alone reminded me why I was still fighting, why I was still living.

“Goddess,” she breathed, pulling back to take me in. “I thought you were dead. We all thought you were dead.”

“You have such little faith in me?” I asked.

She smiled, finally turning to look at Jessiah.

And his massive angel wings.“Holy hells. He’s a—a?—”

“He’s an angel. Yes, they still exist. There are even more of them inside The Golden City. Jessiah here is helping me,” I explained quickly. “He took me back here so I could talk to you, but I’m not staying. I wish I had more time to explain, but I have to go back tonight.”

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