Page 59 of How to Flirt with a Hellhound
“He’s here,” I growled.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Toby whispered, sounding wide awake and panicked at my words. “I’ll call 911…” he started, but I cut him off.
“No. No human police,” I said, grabbing my phone off the nightstand.
“Oh my god, Dex. He’s here? Are you sure?” Toby whispered.
I grabbed his hand with mine, using my other hand to open my phone. There were a string of texts from Jude and Corbin, but I didn’t bother reading them. I just textedHe’s hereand put the phone down.
I could hear Toby’s heartbeat, his breathing fast and shallow, and I could scent the panic on him. I turned to him, keeping an ear on the door. I’d hear even over the music if anyone tried toopen it. I would deal with Toby’s stalker, but first I needed to calm down Toby.
“Listen to me, Toby. Everything is going to be ok. I will protect you no matter what, ok?” I assured him, using the hand not holding his to caress his cheek.
His grip on me tightened. “What about you?” he asked. “This guy could be dangerous.”
“I’m not human. No one is more dangerous than me, Toby,” I rumbled. I knew my eyes were on fire, and tiny blue and red flames danced up my arm before I got control of myself. Weirdly, that seemed to reassure Toby. He took a deep breath, nodding his head.
“I’m going with you,” he said.
I started to shake my head no, but then I thought about it. Would it be safe to leave him here? I only smelled one rotting soul. Still, I was unsettled that he had gotten this close without me being aware.
“Listen,” Toby cut in, “I write suspense. You never separate. You never leave the MC who is being stalked alone. The villain will trick you and grab me somehow. I’m coming with you so I don’t get kidnapped.”
“If he took you, I would find you. I would hunt you down to the ends of the earth, Toby. I would leave the mortal plane and follow you into the afterlife if I needed to. I will always find you. You are mine,” I declared.
Toby looked into my eyes, then he gave me a quick kiss. “You say the sweetest shit. But I’m still coming with you.”
I growled, but I got up and threw on some sweatpants, listening for sounds from the house. Toby did the same, trying to keep quiet.
I didn’t hear anything other than the music and our own movements. I would almost think I was mistaken, but the stench of rotten soul was overpowering. And it was close.
I opened the bedroom door slowly and quietly, keeping Toby firmly behind me. I listened again, sniffing the air. The music was a distraction, but at this point, I didn’t know that turning it off wouldn’t give us away to the human.
He was just being so utterly quiet. He must have been lying in wait for Toby. I would have to scent him out, because he wasn’t moving.
That was fine. Hellhounds enjoyed the hunt. I just wished Toby had stayed behind. I understood his concern, but I worried about him getting hurt. Underneath that, I had to admit there was also the fear of him seeing me harm another human. Knowing it and seeing it were two different things. I never wanted Toby to be afraid of me.
We crept down the stairs, Toby staying behind me, and I realized that the hellbound soul wasn’t in the house. He was outside in the front. I still didn’t know if he had driven here and I had somehow missed the sound of the car or if he had parked further away and walked, but the scent was definitely coming from that direction. Perhaps he was just watching the house?
If I didn’t have Toby with me, I would go out the back and sneak around to him, but I didn’t want to draw this out. Toby was nervous, and I wanted the human subdued.
“Wait here,” I whispered, and before Toby could protest, I threw open the door and rushed out the front steps.
I saw the gun the moment I was clear of the door, and I had only a fraction of a second to make a decision. If I dodged the bullet, it could hit Toby, and he was only human.
I couldn’t chance it.
“Run!” I cried out to Toby, then I heard the gunshot and there was darkness.
Chapter 23
Toby
Oh my god, oh my god. He’d shot Dexter. He’d shot Dexter in the fucking head and there was blood and Dexter was down and I could see a figure slowly walking toward the house in the darkness.
Dexter had told me to run; that had been the last thing he said.
I didn’t know if he was alive or not. Dear god, please let him be alive. I couldn’t lose him. I couldn’t. He meant too much to me. I’d just found him. He had to be ok.
