Page 31 of Bite Marks & Broken Hearts

“There’s another body.”

The transformation in Rory was as swift as sunshine swallowed by thunderclouds. His entire body went rigid, and before I could blink, he’d yanked the steering wheel hard to the left. Horns blared as we cut across two lanes of traffic, the car swinging around in a U-turn that had me gripping my seat.

“Your usual station?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be there in twenty.” Rory hung up without waiting for a response. “Change of plan. Though I don’t think letting you see a dead body was part of Seb’s orders.” Rory drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, a mischievous glint in his eye. “You should probably wait outside the room. Right?”

I rolled my eyes at Rory’s tone. He wasn’t really asking—just like no one had asked if I wanted to be locked in the hotel, or have my whole life turned upside down.

I stared out the window, watching London blur past. No one had actually told me how they planned to help me, yet, or what exactly would happen to me. Just vague promises and dire warnings.

“Right. Yeah.” The words tasted bitter.

But then… maybe seeing this body would tell me something useful. If this was what the demon mark did, shouldn’t I know exactly what I was facing?

My fingers drummed against my leg as we drove. The closer we got, the more my resolve strengthened. Everyone kept making decisions about my life—my safety, my future.

“Actually,” I said, straightening in my seat, “I want to see.”

Rory’s eyebrows shot up. “Seb will actually murder me if he finds out I let you—”

“Let me?” I cut in. “I’m not a child. This is happening tome. I deserve to know what I’m up against.”

A slow grin spread across his face. “Fair point. Just… promise you won’t faint on me?”

I scoffed, but made no verbal promise. My heart was already racing—partly from nerves, partly from finally taking some control back.

Rory weaved through traffic with surprising skill given the state of his car, taking corners at speeds that had me gripping the door handle. “You’ve certainly made quite the impression on Felix,” he said, changing lanes. “He was gushing about you to Priya earlier.”

“He’s nice.” I sat up straighter. “You need to be nicer to him.”

Rory’s eyebrows shot up at my boldness, but his smile widened. “Noted.”

“What’s with the whole Noctule code-name thing?” I gestured to his phone.

“We all use them. They’re all animals andImade them all up.” He preened slightly. “Seb’s is Noctule. It’s a type of bat.” He grinned at me like it was the most hilarious joke in existence.

“Right,” I said, pretending to get it. “And what’s your code name?”

His smile morphed into a scowl. “Terrier. It was revenge for Kit’s being Poodle.”

I burst out laughing, the mental image of the intimidating Kit being called “Poodle” too much to handle. “You’re joking!”

“Kit literally threatened to end me, but everyone loved it too much. Even Seb smirked. Slightly.”

The idea of these dangerous supernatural beings running around with ridiculous code names was possibly the best thing I’d heard all week.

The Cortina screeched to a halt in a definitely illegal parking spot outside Southwark Police Station, the engine’s rattle dying with a wheezing cough.

“Come on.” Rory hopped out, not even bothering to lock the car. “Round the back. Just so you know, Detective Dickface and I have a bit of history. And by history, I mean I properly can’t stand him. Long story.”

“Okay…” I wasn’t particularly surprised. I’d only met him yesterday, but Rory already seemed like the sort to attract a few enemies here and there.

“I’ll try and rein it in, because you’re here, but no promises. Oh, and I should probably warn you, he’s a telepath.”

I stopped dead.

---