Page 11 of Brimstone Bound
The female wolf glanced in Tony’s direction, her eyes meeting his. He cleared his throat and addressed me. ‘Come on, let’s get out of here before you start a damn war.’
‘Wait.’ Lady Sullivan’s voice rang out again. ‘Why did they stop?’
I stared at her, uncomprehending.
‘Why did they stop fighting?’ She asked the question casually, as if it were a trifling matter, but there was something about the look in her eye that made me answer.
‘Er, because I told them to,’ I said, baffled. ‘I’m with the police.’
Lady Sullivan gave me a tiny frown then turned away. It appeared our conversation was over.
‘Come on,’ Tony hissed again, and marched away at considerable speed.
I did as he said, although my shorter legs struggled to keep up with his brisk stride. He didn’t say a word until we’d passed under the intricate arch. I felt numerous pairs of eyes burning into the back of neck as we departed.
‘What the fuck was that?’ he said, as soon as we were out of the werewolves’ quarter. ‘What idiotic thoughts were going through your head that made you think you could confront a pair of brawling werewolves? I told you,’ he ground out, ‘I told you that we didn’t get involved in supe matters.’
‘I…’ Shit. I dropped my head. ‘The woman was running down the street covered in blood. I thought she was in trouble.’
‘Why didn’t you check with me first?’
‘There wasn’t time!’ I protested.
He stopped in his tracks and glared at me, his blistering anger searing into me. ‘The balance between us and the supes is incredibly delicate! We’re here on their sufferance. The wrong action or word from us and Supernatural Squad will be shut down. We’re hanging on by a thread as it is. No wonder you were sent here. You obviously don’t have it in you to follow the simplest of instructions!’
I lifted my chin. I’d started to warm to the gruff old detective, and I’d thought the feeling was mutual. Now I’d undone all of that, but I wasn’t ready to back down. ‘If you’re expecting me to apologise, I’m not sure that I can. If the same thing happened again, I don’t think I’d react any differently. I saw someone in trouble and I went to help her. I don’t see what’s wrong with that!’
‘There’s nothing right with it, either!’ His cheeks were mottled red. He cursed and spat on the ground. ‘Go home. You’ve done enough for today. I’ll leave it for a few hours then contact Lady Sullivan and smooth things over. But never – and I meannever– try anything like that again.’ He glowered. ‘Got that?’
‘Yes.’ I paused. Then, ‘Yes, sir.’
If my acquiescence calmed him down, there wasn’t any evidence of it. He stormed off, his spine straight and his arms swinging, the brown-paper bag containing our sandwiches thumping against his leg as he strode away. ‘Tomorrow,’ he snapped out over his shoulder.
I bit my lip. This had not been a good day. I twisted away and looked for a taxi to take me home.
Chapter Five
By the time Jeremy returned, I was considerably calmer. I’d spent a good hour pacing the flat, sorting through everything in my head, and I was beyond nervous about what the next day at Supernatural Squad would bring, but I felt more in control. I knew I’d been right to tell Tony that I’d do the same thing again. I hadn’t gone into this job to stand back and let disaster happen, regardless of the bizarre culture and set of rules that had evolved around the supes and the police.
Several times I considered picking up the phone and speaking to Lucinda Barnes – and several times I stopped myself. I’d wait to see what Tony said tomorrow before I did anything else that might be considered rash.
At least Jeremy could be counted on for support. He poured me a large glass of wine, listened to my tale of woe and made all the right noises. Then he bundled me off towards the bathroom. ‘Light a few candles and take a long soak,’ he instructed. ‘You’ll feel better for it. I’ll make dinner.’
‘You’re the best boyfriend in the world,’ I told him. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you.’
‘Wither and die, I expect,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Go on. Off you go. Don’t forget we’re meeting Becky and Tom later for drinks.’
Damn it. I’d forgotten about that. They were Jeremy’s friends, not mine, and the last thing I wanted was to put on my polite front and make tepid conversation with them. Crawling into bed and pulling the duvet over my head seemed a much better option.
‘I don’t think I’ll be good company,’ I said. ‘And I’ve got a headache coming on. Why don’t you go without me?’
He frowned. ‘We planned this ages ago. They’re looking forward to seeing you.’
I doubted that very much. ‘Jeremy, I—’
‘It’s fine. I’ll send our apologies.’
‘No!’ I shook my head. ‘Just because I’m staying home doesn’t mean you have to. Go out. Have fun.’
