Page 20 of City of the Lost
Leaving the hound, I ran back toward the rear exit, flung it open, and shouted at the top of my lungs, “Tay, Mack, I need you!”
The hound didn’t even stir. Shit. Fucking shit. What if it was dead? No, it was still breathing. Good.
The door slammed open and Taylem and Mack came barreling out. They ground to a halt at the sight of me hovering over a monstrous hound.
Tay held up his hands. “Wila, just step away from it slowly.”
They didn’t know about my mystery savior. “No, you don’t understand. He saved my life. He’s not dangerous. Just help me get him home, and I’ll explain everything. I promise.”
Tay gave me a skeptical look, but then he was striding over. Mack hesitated a moment then followed.
“We can use the truck,” Tay said.
I glanced back at the exit. “Where’s Azren?”
Mack smirked. “Why don’t you go see for yourself? We’ll load up the hound.”
I headed back into the bar to the sound of booty-shaking music and loud, rowdy hoots. A crowd had gathered, and being short was so not conducive right now. The bar was to my left. There was nothing to do but hop up and do a sweep, and my eyes nearly popped out of my head.
“Your friend likes this song,” Fergus slurred from behind the bar.
Azren had the floor, or table as the case may be, and the attention of every red-blooded neph female in the room as he showed off some serious snake-hip moves.
Oh, man. Shit, he looked hot. “Hey!Shakira, get your ass over here.”
Azren looked up at the sound of my voice, his green eyes aglow.
“We’re leaving.” I jumped off the bar, and this time the crowd parted to let me through, the males probably eager to see the back of the showboating intruder on the table.
“Wila, come dance. My hips don’t lie,” Azren slurred.
“Oh, man. You are so shit-faced right now.” I grabbed his wrist and tugged him. “We have to go. Now. I was just attacked outside and the—”
The smile vanished and his eyes narrowed, the inebriation lifting a little. He jumped off the table and grabbed my shoulders. “Where are the assailants?” He staggered toward the door.
“Whoa.” I ducked under his arm to brace him. “What are you gonna do, dance them to death? Let’s just get you home and sober, then we can talk.”
“You were attacked.”
“Yes.”
“And I was dancing.”
“A-huh.”
“On the table.”
“That’s right. Don’t worry, big guy. I’ll run it all by you tomorrow morning, over and over.”
* * *
The alarms,linked to the Arcana wards Noir had set up after the rogue Shedim attack, blared to life as Tay and Mack carried the hound through the French doors leading into the lounge. Shitfuck.
Noir materialized in the foyer, complete with bed head and dressed only in pajama bottoms. I caught a quick glimpse of his bare torso, tan against the cream bottoms he was wearing, before Azren’s staggering weight claimed my attention again. Noir’s mouth pressed in a firm line at the sight of us, and electricity flared to life at his fingertips.
I waved a dismissive hand. “It’s okay. It’s the hound, it saved my life again ... I think.”
He made an intricate motion with his hands to deactivate the screeching siren as I lugged Azren across the room and out of the way of the boys, who were maneuvering the hound around the dining room table. “Put him in there. I just need to get Azren upstairs.”
