“Oh Lord,” I say on a groan as Mama opens my bedroom door. She ain’t wrong, but damn.
“Go on, HB. Scoot,” she tells me, holdin’ out an arm for me to precede her.
I take a deep breath and walk out, not at all sure what the hell I’m walkin’ into. One thing’s for certain, though. I have a feelin’ that my life changed the moment I stepped foot onto Hairy Dog Tavern’s property.
And now...I’m either hallucinatin’ and crazy, or...somethin’ else. And damn it all if that somethin’ else doesn’t seem worse.
7
I shut the door behind me, my mama’s hollers of y’all be sure to come back now, ya hear? now muffled by the barrier. Flint has a wide grin on his face like he’s lovin’ every minute of this, but Alder is watchin’ me intently, as though if he just stares hard enough, he’ll be able to figure me out.
I move past them down the steps of the porch and further away from the trailer just in case my mama embraces her curious side and has a cup to the door or somethin’. I spot a couple golf balls in our yard and pick them up, droppin’ them in the half-full bucket next to the car port.
The two men watch me as though they’re in no hurry to get on with things, and I once again get the distinct impression that they’re studyin’ me somehow, like I’m an enigma to them or somethin’.
“Y’all ain’t mafia or somethin’, are you?” I ask, once again takin’ in their T-shirt and jeans and general casual vibe. They don’t scream gangsters, but I’ve only ever seen the Hollywood version, so really, what do I know? They did say they were interested in the things I’m capable of, and that’s downright ominous. When the blackness hits, it’s like a hurricane that leaves nothin’ but broken things in its wake.
Alder snorts out a laugh at my question, and Flint gives me a smile that I know he thinks is sexy.
“You practice that grin?” I ask him, ignorin’ the butterflies that are once again flutterin’ around in my insides. “Bet you time yourself too, keep a log of just how long it takes between givin’ that smile and a girl’s panties endin’ up on the floor.”
My mama would give me the look if she heard the rude tone I was usin’, but I can’t seem to help myself. They’re too pretty despite their odd appearance. There’s somethin’ a little too smooth and temptin’ about them, and I trust it about as much as I’d trust a dog to watch over a juicy steak.
“A minute six seconds is my best time to date,” Flint answers without missin’ a beat, and as much as I want to roll my eyes, there’s a part of me that’s wonderin’ if he just might be tellin’ the truth. I wouldn’t mind puttin’ that time to the test...
“No, we’re not mafia, and yes, he practices that grin,” Alder tells me evenly as he smoothly slips his hands into his front pockets.
Flint shoots him an unamused look before turnin’ back to me. “So, your parents are…” he trails off.
“Saints,” I fill in for him. “They’re also off-limits. Which means if I see you here again, uninvited, we’re gonna have an issue.” These two can pretend to be harmless, but an undercurrent of intuition tells me they’re anythin’ but.
Flint holds up his hands placatingly and tilts his head like he’s tryin’ to calm a spooked horse. “You’ll have no trouble from us, darlin’, but we’re worried you may run into some trouble on your own, or at least the other Guardians said Delta did when they first found her,” Flint offers, as though that should make sense to me.
It doesn’t.
My brow furrows. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”
“Well, we’re not exactly sure how it happened. We have theories, but we’re waiting to hear back from Rafferty and his Guardians to see if they can shed any more light on this. Strut said he wasn’t sure when they’d get back from their trip down under, so it may be a bit before we hear back.”
I blink at Alder, waitin’ for anythin’ to make a lick of sense, but it doesn’t. “Yeah, I’m still not catchin’ what you’re throwin’,” I tell him, completely bewildered.
The guys share another loaded look. I really wish they’d stop doin’ that.
“Shit, I wish we knew how this went over with Delta. She didn’t know either,” Flint mutters to Alder as he rubs the back of his neck, worry pooling in his dark gray gaze. “This is harder than I thought.”
“If I had known we would stumble across our own, I certainly would have procured more information,” Alder admits.
I have never been so confused in my life.
“Are you two messin’ with me?” I demand. I have no clue what they’re talkin’ about, and every time I tell them that, they just get even more confusin’.
“Well, here goes nothing…” Flint announces awkwardly, and for some reason, I tense, like he’s gonna hit me or somethin’.
“We’re demons, and we think you’re supposed to help us guard our Hellgate,” Flint blurts in a rush, like he’s verbally rippin’ off the Band-Aid.
I stare at him blankly for a moment, waitin’ for him to crack a smile or for humor to twinkle in his eyes. You know, somethin’ to give away that this is all some game they’re playin’.
But I get nothin’. Nothin’ but serious stares as they watch the information sink into my expression.
“Did Shelia Dumarsh put you up to this?” I ask, crossin’ my arms over my chest and feelin’ very suspicious.
That stupid bitch has been tryin’ to get back at me for years, and this just reeks of the kind of nasty shit she’s been pullin’ since I “dumped” her brother half a dozen years ago. Not that Allen and I were ever anythin’, but he was goin’ around tellin’ people we were, and I
