Page 19 of Edge of Darkness

He arranged for a charity to come pick up everything, then went shopping. Retail therapy was good for the soul.

SEVERAL HOURS later, he was back with paint, a new rug, some cute pictures, and several new knick-knacks that matched the new colors. Again, he had to ask his staff for help getting the things to his office. Which, in retrospect, he probably should’ve gone shopping andthenmoved into the new room. But oh well.

He wasn’t sleeping all that great, so he could blame his lack of planning on that. Which, again, he probably should’ve painted first too. It wasn’tthatlarge of a room, fortunately for him. He put the tarp over the floor, threw his hair up into a messy bun, and got down to business.

Okay, so yeah, it didn’t take long for him to figure out that hereallyshould’ve painted the walls first, but it was what it was. At least he had two of the four walls done. Progress!

Grabbing a bottled water, he collapsed into his office chair. Woo wee, he was going to feel this tomorrow, especially in his arms. Maybe he should start going to the gym in his apartment complex.

He was still debating the pros and cons of that when his cell phone rang. Pulling it out, he frowned at the number. It wasn’t one he recognized, although his phone said it was a valid number.

Shrugging, he answered it. “Hello?”

“May I speak to Kit Meadows, please?”

Whoa. That was one sexy voice right there. It gave him a nice little tingle. “This is Kit.”

“Hello, Kit. My name is Hudson Redmond. I’m Kage and Austin’s friend. I believe Austin spoke to you about… shall we say… protection due to an unfortunate situation that involved you?”

Whatever tingle Kit had going on dried up like water in the desert. Suddenly it all came flooding back—his boyfriend’s betrayal, Nox’s attack, beings who looked like demons and used the shadows to travel, the werewolf, Austin struggling to breathe… all of it.

“Kit?”

Kit yanked himself back to the present. Now was not the time to take a side trip into that nightmare. “Yeah, yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean to…. I had a moment there.”

“Completely understandable. I’ve had several moments here lately too. Now, as I was saying, I’m friends with Kage and Austin. Actually, Kage is my best friend.”

Suddenly it hit Kit where he’d heard that name. “Oh wow. Oh goodness. I remember Kage mentioning you now. You’re a… a… a….”

“Yes, indeed I am.” Hudson laughed softly.

“Did you know dragons are my favorite paranormal?” Kit whispered.

“I had heard that, yes. I’m honored that I’ve been asked to see to your safety. Will you allow me to do that for you?” Hudson asked.

The fact that his ex-boyfriend was a hunter and still on the prowl out there somewhere was enough to make Kit accept Hudson’s offer. “Yes. And thank you, I appreciate it. Did they tell you I own a bookstore?”

“They did, yes.”

“Okay, good. We’re a pretty easygoing group here. Also, I don’t know if Austin told you or not, but we’re LGBTQIA+ friendly. So whoever you send needs to be aware of that. This is a safe place.”

“Believe me when I tell you that’s not a problem. We’re not hung up on labels like hum—that is to say, like others are.”

Kit caught the slip. Hudson had almost said humans. Paranormals were apparently very careful what they said over the phone, which made sense. Maybe he needed to do that too. “I’m very glad to hear that.”

“I’m sending a man called Beckett Newhouse. He’s one of mine. Beckett is roughly six-foot-tall and has collar-length golden-red hair and brown eyes. Make sure you check for that, Kit, becausemypeople will have some color of red hair and brown eyes. It’s, ah, a trait.”

That was odd, but whatever. Kit had no idea what Hudson meant by trait. “Could you maybe text me a picture of him?”

“Good idea. Um, I don’t know if I have one. Let me…. Just a second.”

Kit could hear Hudson mumbling to somebody.

“My assistant is taking care of that. I’ll get it to you just as soon as I have it. Beckett will arrive today,” Hudson continued. “Heisthere to protect you, but I promise he’ll be more than willing to help out with anything you should need.”

“Oh, well, thank you, but I don’t want to take advantage.”

“Beckett’s a bookworm.”

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