Page 53 of Angel of Water & Shadow

I stopped walking then, to meet his gaze, and his truck slowed to a stop. “Talk. Like…actually have a conversation? The kind where I get to ask a question, and then you say something back, and you don’t just leave me hanging?”

To say the silence was unexpected would have been naïve of me. Yet when he cleared his throat, it had me waiting on bated breath. Several moments passed and nothing came of it, except a familiar wave of disappointment. I should’ve known better than to believe it’d be any different. So, call me naïve.

And call me ready to go home. I’d walk the entire continent before accepting a ride with him. Maybe he knew that, and that’s why he finally answered when my toes pointed north.

“I know what it’s like to navigate this world alone. I don’t want you to.”

My feet halted as I turned to face him. “Which world, Ryder?” I knew the answer. I just needed to hear him say it. He shifted the truck into park.

“The one you’re looking for.” Not the most monumental admission but it still counted for something—or maybe that was the excuse I used to let myself step towards the car. Nothing but the thrum of his engine, my racing pulse, and his words hung on the night.

“The one I’ve found,” I corrected.

The car stereo illuminated the twitch of his lips and the dimple indented across his right cheek. “I didn’t think you’d accepted it so quickly.”

My cheeks flushed, tingly and warm. Why did his stupid smirk make it so much easier to forgive him? “Well, when you’ve been chased by demons and partied with half-naked were-people, you don’t have much choice.”

His eyes widened, just a bit, while another sort of tension seemed to form between us. “See, we have much more in common than you think.”

“Fine.” I waved my cell. “Got a charger?”

He held up the USB cord and patted the empty seat. I assessed the way his palms scraped the material, hands worn from nocking arrows and demon-slaying. I sighed. This might very well be the death of me, but it sure beat the company of the mosquitos. And I needed a charge.

Reluctantly, I scooted in and plugged in my phone. The warmth of the cab flooded my skin, thawing my bones. I could have melted into the springy cushion. Ryder responded with a smile that actually felt genuine and not sarcastic for a change, one that creased his eyes and revealed every single one of his teeth, including a cute little crooked one near his bottom canine. It made me melt even more.

Sleep became my next opponent. I battled against the motor’s steady rock, and the hot air defrosting my fingertips, and a comfy warmth pooling in my belly. But to yield to the exhaustion meant forfeiting what might be my only chance to hear his side of, well, everything.

Was he at the party? Did he see my powers? How much did he know? If I didn’t push for answers, I’d never get them. And after all, he promised a conversation. I’d start out small, ease him into it.

Then I blurted, not chill at all, “Tell me this isn’t a coincidence. Are you following me?”

His grin vanished. “I’m a hunter. I have a knack for these things.”

“Things?” The disbelief in my voice begged him to go on.

He sighed. “Tracking, pursuing, targeting…”

“And humans are on your list? You do realize how creepy that is.” The headlights from a passing car illuminated his profile, washing along the crinkle in his brow. I stared at him, waiting for my answer, not caring if it made him uncomfortable.

He tweaked his shoulders. “You’re not human—well, not fully.”

I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. He knew he was evading the question. I’d jump out of this car so fast…

My look must have said it all. “Okay, so I may have stuck around after I dropped you off.”

I shot him an and? look.

“And I saw you leave with that mongr—coworker of yours.”

And?

“And I know what that crowd gets up to on a night like this.” He must have said that last part under his breath because he knew what kind of reaction it’d spark.

“Wait. You knew I was going to a remote beach with a bunch of literal party animals, and you didn’t think to do anything about it before I got there?” The audacity of it blew my mind.

“So now you want me to rescue you?” The laugh in his voice made me shift in my seat. This was funny to him now?

“This is ridiculous.” Frustration startled me out of my fatigue. Death traps warranted a heads up. Tripping in alleys did not. Ryder was so obsessed with his own self-importance he failed to see the difference. I couldn’t believe this.

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