Page 46 of Outlaw Witch

I look Hanna right in the eye and deadpan. “Never seen her before in my life.”

Fabian raises an eyebrow. “Ah, well, she seems to know you.”

I turn to Hanna and roll my eyes. “I told Rook to tell you I’m fine. We don’t need you here all guns blazing, especially when you interrupted my nap.”

“Thanks for that, by the way. Thanks for not telling me yourself you were moving out for however long you’re going to be here.” Hanna’s still fuming, but now at least her irritation is aimed firmly at me rather than the mage we don’t know very well.

“Thank you also for asking the least expressive man in existence to reassure us all was a great idea,” she continues with a huff.

Sighing deeply, I turn to Fabian with a rueful grin. He’s watching the entire exchange with a look of subtle amusement, like he’s enjoying being a voyeur to this mess. Probably enjoying it a lot more now that Hanna’s not screaming in his face.

“You mind if I take her upstairs and give her the tour? If I don’t, we’ll only end up with more of them coming by to ‘check on my wellbeing’.”

“Have at it.” He gives me a smile that has my insides growing warm, like swallowing hot soup on a wintry day.

I ignore the feeling and turn my attention back to Hanna. Better keep a close eye on her before she starts setting shit on fire.

*

AN HOUR LATER, I’VEfinally convinced Hanna to leave. I had to give her a tour of both my home for the next few weeksandthe mages’ apartment. She proceeded to go through the cupboards in my kitchen and then flopped onto my bed, where she stayed for the next twenty minutes. I feel thoroughly grilled and glad to send her on her way. She finally agreed to leave as long as I check in regularly and head back to the warehouse at least once a week.

I’m a little frazzled by the time she leaves, and I head straight next door before fully collecting myself.

Fabian answers his door, dressed in sweats and a t-shirt with that same faintly amused expression on his face. Fucker is too damn charming and disarming for his own good. One good thing about Hanna’s visit is that she passed on a ready-made sleeping potion from Luna.

“Here. For you.” I thrust the draught at him. “I’m sure you’ve tried sleeping potions before, but my friend Luna is like no one else. She can make stuff that’s a million times better than anything you’ll get anywhere else. See if it helps.” I suddenly feel awkward, like I’ve overstepped. Or like it’s a little weird to be giving him something when he doesn’t know me.

Really, he shouldn’t trust something given to him by a stranger.

Clearly he does, though. He takes a look at it and immediately yanks off the topper, then takes a healthy swig. Almost as soon as he’s swallowed, his eyes go a little glassy, and he sways on his feet.

“We better get you to bed, big guy.” I grab his forearm and steady him.

He blinks at me a few times. “Shit, that stuff is stronger than I expected it to be.”

“Yeah, come on. Let’s get you to bed.”

Putting his heavy arm around my shoulders, he sways again and lets me lead him through his apartment.

Seriously, does this guy have zero self-protection instincts? Here he is drinking unknown substances given to him by a stranger, who he’s then letting escort him to bed.

It’s a good job I have zero interest in taking advantage of him. He’s like a massive, sleepy puppy. He keeps one heavy arm wrapped around my shoulders to hold himself up.

“Just a couple more steps, bud,” I tell him as I half drag him through the apartment. “Which door?”

“Second on the right,” he mumbles, twisting his head so that it’s practically pressed against my neck. His warm breath against my skin makes me shiver slightly. I awkwardly continue to lug him along and yank open the door, where I’m instantly smacked in the face with the scent of him: citrus and cloves. He smells warm and comforting, like a sexy festive candle.

I dump him onto the bed and then awkwardly pat him on the cheek. “Welp, goodnight, Fabian.”

He’s asleep before I’ve even left the room and I then scarper out of there as quickly as I can.

I bump into Zeph and Roscoe right outside the apartment door. Both of them smell like the night air and faintly of smoke.

“Hey!” I say brightly. “I was just seeing Fabian.”

“Oh, yeah?” Zeph asks suspiciously, like I’m going to admit I just went next door to murder him or something.

“I had a thought,” I say. “The vamp nest you had me checking out. I was thinking it would be a good place to start to talk to some vamps. try to get a better idea of this curse we’re dealing with, since vamps are the cause of it.”

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