“I—”

“Anyway, the man just won’t take no for an answer. It’s my red hair, you know. It’s like waving a red flag in front of a bull. I’ll bet Frank’s over at the pharmacy right now picking up Viagra. Pervert. It took me five years to find this color, and now I’m going to have to change it. I’d rather have my heart ripped out than tell Eduardo. He customized this color for me. Razzing Red, he calls it. Nobody else has it. I just don’t know what he’ll do. You remember, Eduardo. He’s so temperamental. All those artists are. I think he’s a Homo sapien.”

“You mean homosex—never mind.”

“All the good ones are. They just understand hair. I think it’s genetic.”

“I just—”

“You really think that Viagra works? I’ve heard that some men go around… you know, stuck like that for hours. Must be uncomfortable, not to mention embarrassing. Why, you couldn’t even leave the house. And what if you had to tinkle? Oh, listen to me blabbering on when you must want to talk to Nina. She’s been going on and on about you coming home. I’m so glad you’re there. You belong in Virginia. It’s a good, safe place. No one would break into your shop here. I’ll call Nina for you.”

Shay yanked the phone away from her ear, but not fast enough.

“Nina! It’s Shay!” Matilda yelled. “Now you take care of yourself, Shay, and kiss those boys for me. If you were smart, you’d marry one of them.”

Marry? Shay looked down at Cody’s T-shirt draping her body and his underwear caressing her intimate parts.

“Shay, how are you?” Nina’s voice was a hair lower than Matilda’s. Neither of them could hear squat. In the background, Matilda continued to rant about Frank.

“I’m okay, Nina.”

“How nice to hear a sane voice. Did you talk to the police?”

“They arrested the guy. It’s fine.”

“Did you happen to get his name, this intruder?” Nina asked, her voice stilted.

All Nina knew was that someone had broken into Shay’s shop. Shay wouldn’t have told her that much, but Nina had known something was wrong. “It was some strange name. Franklin or something.”

“Oh, well, that’s good.”

It was?

“Tell me, how is it to be home? The boys should be back soon.”

“The boys came home early. I didn’t know Cody was back.”

Nina paused. “I didn’t mention it? Are you sure?”

“I’m certain—”

“I must have forgotten. You know how distracted I get around Matilda. I’m telling you, she’s driving me insane, dragging me to all these bingo games. Now she wants to take me to Atlantic City to meet some of her friends. I swear, I think she has a gambling problem. I might have to do an intervention. I saw this program on TV where they had to do that. I shudder to think of it, but a woman her age ought to have more control. But enough about Matilda. Isn’t it just like old times with all the boys there?”

“It does bring back memories.” Some that would shock Nina’s socks off her dainty feet.

“You should’ve come home once in a while. I do hope you’ll forgive us and move back now. The place needs someone living in it, and I just couldn’t leave Matilda alone. God knows what kind of trouble she’d get into.”

“I’m still considering it, Nina.” Of course that was before she found out Cody was back.

“Well, I’d better go calm Matilda down before she has a stroke. It’s her own fault. Imagine, a woman her age showing cleavage. It’s ridiculous. Last month I talked her out of breast implants. Say hello to the boys for me. Hasn’t Cody turned out handsome? Joan, you remember my friend Joan? She’s the one who moved to Scotland a year ago. She tried to set him up with her daughter when he was in Scotland last month, but I wasn’t having any of that. The girl wasn’t right for him at all.”

“He was in Scotland?”

“Yes. She had a necklace stolen. He went to help her find it.”

“When?”

“Oh, three or four weeks ago. Turned out her neighbor’s son had stolen the necklace for his girlfriend. Cody’s the best PI around. You can ask anybody. I’m surprised he didn’t stop by to see you. He was asking about you. Remember how close you two were? Two peas in a pod.”

Shay hung up, dazed. Cody had been in Scotland recently, just about the time she acquired a stalker.

***

Malek stared at the empty drawer where the book had been hidden. He could still feel the texture of the yellowed pages, see the faded ink. It had taken him centuries to learn of the book’s existence and even longer to find it. It had fallen in his hands like manna from hell and disappeared just as fast. He was sure the girl had stolen it. Shay Logan’s friend. He’d hired her so he could spy on Shay, and all the while, they had been spying on him, plotting to steal the book. A surge of anger thickened his bones and made his skin stretch. He had to find the book, and he had to find Shay. If she was the one, the mother of his enemy, she must be destroyed before she could breed. The doorbell jingled, startling him. He shifted back to human form, checking his appearance in the antique mirror on his office wall: auburn hair, silver streak, immaculate as always, suit, perfect. Shaping his lips into a smile, he opened the door with a manicured hand and stepped into the front room of his antique shop. His human heart stilled.

The man in the doorway had long, raven hair, and a face so beautiful queens had thrown themselves at his feet, but Malek knew what lurked inside was far from beautiful. Tristol’s eyes turned red as blood. “Where is my book?” he hissed.

***

The scent of fear drifted to Tristol, making his mouth water. He watched Malek’s face tighten, his shoulders tense as he tried to control the shift. It was too late. Malek’s human clothes and skin fell away, leaving a thick, gray hide, long arms and fingers tipped with lethal claws. Tristol sneered. Nearly a thousand years in this dimension, and still Malek couldn’t control the veneer of sophistication he wore as his disguise.

“What book?” Malek asked, trembling.

Tristol moved toward him, feet barely touching the floor. “The one you stole from my lieutenant as soon as my back was turned.”

“I don’t know what book you’re talking about.” Without the human shell, Malek’s voice was guttural, harsh. “Maybe Druan took it.”

Blame the dead demon, Tristol thought, but he remained silent. He had his methods of obtaining information. “I’ll be watching.” Tristol withdrew from Malek’s office, rang the shop doorbell, but didn’t leave. He shifted to mist and rose, slithering along the ceiling, then hovered outside Malek’s office.

Malek pulled out his cell phone. “Have you found Shay Logan? She’s left Scotland? Then find her. And find the book, or I’ll have you destroyed.”

Malek had stolen the book and lost it. Rage stirred inside Tristol, but he reined it in. He hadn’t lived this long to be undone by anger or one pathetic demon. Certainly not a human female. He had time, enough to make Malek wish he had never lived, and he had the name of the thief. Shay Logan.

Chapter 3

After an hour of tossing, Cody climbed out of the guest bed and put on his jeans. He moved quietly down the hall and slipped through the open door of Shay’s bedroom. She lay curled on her side, her breasts rising and falling in an even rhythm. How many times over the years would he have given his sword arm to be this close to her? He touched the lock of hair spread across her pillow and brought his fingers to his lips. The sight of her braless in his T-shirt made him long to crawl into bed with her. He cursed himself as soon as the thought crossed his groin. It would be wise to leave before he did something he would regret. He noticed a lump under the covers beside her. He lifted the edge and saw the candlestick in her hand. A weapon? What did she expect him to do? Molest her? Then he saw the black and white picture carefully taped underneath. He studied it for a minute, then rubbed his hands through his hair. His chest felt hollow. What had they done to her? He reached down and tucked in her covers, letting his thumb stray across her cheek. Sighing, he walked to the sofa, sat down, and watched her sleep.

***

The light was so bright the man seemed to glow. She tried to look at his face, but it made her eyes hurt, so she concentrated on his deep, melodic voice, attempting to understand his words. He was speaking to someone, another man, she thought, but she couldn’t see him clearly either. A baby began to wail, and then she heard the glowing man say, “Take her back. It’s not time.”

Shay woke with a gasp, heart hammering against her ribs, arm stinging. She looked around the room, half expecting to see the glowing man. Cody sat on the sofa, head slumped to one side, asleep. His hair was messy, as if he’d been running his hands through it, the way he did when he was thinking. In the hours since she arrived, she hadn’t had an opportunity to really look at him. She eased out of bed and moved closer. There were shadows under his eyes, but his face was relaxed. A hint of beard darkened his jaw. She watched the subtle movements of his body as he drew and released each breath, making his tattoos move. The grip on her heart tightened. For months after she left, she dreamed of him every night and woke crying with his scent still in her head, as if he were in the room with her. She’d spent the last nine years thinking he betrayed her. He’d spent them thinking she had done the same to him. Granted, he lied about her past, but he believed he was protecting her, as they all had. She forgave Nina and Cody’s brothers, but not him, not her best friend.

She stretched out her hand to touch his arm, but stopped. He was a stranger now. At one time they’d shared everything, thoughts, fears, and dreams. They kept no secrets—or so she thought—but she had no idea who this Cody was, what he liked, what he didn’t, what made him smile, or what made him sad. What were his mornings like? His evenings? Did he go to bed content at night? Did he go to bed alone? Had he loved? Been loved?

The feeling hit her in a sickening wave, like waking up and finding her legs were gone. She backed away. She needed to get some air, refocus. She was a grown woman, successful. She had built a life. One that didn’t include Cody, an empty voice whispered.

Shay quietly brushed her teeth, trying not to wake him. He’d looked exhausted last night. Grabbing a small throw from the bottom of the bed, she wrapped it around her shoulders and tiptoed from the room. She went to put her clothes in the dryer and found that Cody had already done that too. He’d even gotten the bourbon stain out of her shirt. It made her want to run upstairs and wake him, tell him she was sorry for ruining their friendship, but she didn’t.

She changed her clothes and looked outside. The sun was peeking above the trees. If she hurried, she could make it to the tree house in time. Throwing the blanket around her, she stepped outside and breathed in the crisp, morning air. She crossed the back yard and headed for the woods. Her ankle was still tender, so she moved gingerly over branches littering the woods from last night’s storm. Shay remembered Old Elmer’s warning, but it was daylight. What danger could there be? All the predators would be asleep.

She climbed the small hill, heading for the pink blotch showing through the red and gold leaves. The color had faded with time, but Shay still smiled, remembering her victory. It took them weeks to build the tree house. They threw darts to see who chose the color. She won… that time, her victory recorded for posterity in Nina’s photo albums, Shay smiling triumphantly while the boys looked like martyrs being burnt alive.

Shay tested the ladder. The boards were still strong. Her ankle ached, but she wasn’t going to stop. She climbed inside, gently stretched out her leg, and felt an irrational sense of joy watching the pink ribbon in the sky turn to gold as it slid over the trees.

She was home. She was safe.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She peered over the edge. Cody stood with his hands folded across his bare chest, jeans low on his hips, glaring at her.

“Watching the sunrise.”

“Are you crazy? You sprained your ankle. Not to mention there could be poachers around.”

“No, I’m not crazy. My ankle’s okay.” Or it had been, before she walked up the hill.

“Then why are you holding it?”

“Go away or shut up. You’re ruining my sunrise.” She settled back in her blanket. The leaves around her shook, and Cody’s head appeared. He climbed inside and plopped down beside her. He had chill bumps on his arms. “Here,” she said, opening the blanket. After all, he’d given her his T-shirt.