Page 49 of (Mostly) Human Resources

She must have been losing her mind, because when she peered up at him, she couldn’t help but notice that he looked damn good.Leaningagainst the doorway like some sort of Casanova, freshly showered with perfectly tousled, damp curls. The absolute audacity of the man to look so put together when she knew for a fact she was in an absolute state.

His gray eyes traced over her, and Alexys wanted to recoil. She felt disgusting.

“Tough day at the office, huh?” He gave her an amused wink.

She stood up, feet bare and fists clenched, and stormed past him into the house. “Opal,” she called out. “Opal, there’s a stranger in your house, and I strongly recommend shooting first and asking questions later!”

“She’s not here.” Nic walked past her into the kitchen and sat down at the table. There was a cup of tea and a newspaper at his seat. He stretched out in the chair looking all too pleased with himself.

Like it was his damn house.

Unbelievable!

“Breaking and entering is a bad look, Dyre, even for you.”

“Is it?” He laced his fingers together and tucked his hands behind his head. “I think criminal behavior looks rather good on me.” He smirked. She opened her mouth to speak but her brain hadn’t caught up yet. Had he always been this attractive?

No.

She shook her head and crossed her arms. She was just getting used to seeing him in normal clothes, that’s all. Surprising, but not attractive, certainly not.

“Look,” he started, “don’t get your knickers in a twist. Opal knows I’m here, I’m not entirely barbaric. She’s gone out.”

Still feeling the stress and aggression from her long day spent running for her life, Alexys let out a groan and collapsed into the seat across from him.

“I need a drink,” she muttered.

“Tea?” Nic gestured to his cup.

“No, gross. I meant a proper drink.”

“Tea is a proper drink.”

Alexys ignored him in favor of searching the kitchen for something,anything.

“Aren’t you at least going to ask how I got here?”

“I already did,” she snapped. “I’ve lost interest.”

“Well, I’ll tell you anyway.”

Groaning, she said, “Please, I’m waiting with bated breath.”

Nic scoffed, but she knew he was never one to pass up an opportunity to talk.

“Well, shortly after you heartlessly abandoned me, ignored my advice and generous offer for help, stole my rental car—I could report you for that—I had plenty of time to consider things on my way here. And you know what?” Alexys could have thrown a fork at his pretty little head. “I realized that I would have to be the bigger person.”

Alexys snorted. “Oh, that’s rich! Thebiggerperson, huh?”

“I like to be thorough before leaping into action,” he carried on, choosing to ignore her interruption. “Unlike some, I see.” He gave her a pointed look and shook his head disapprovingly. Alexys felt her cheeks flush. “In the end, it took very little detective work, I’ll admit. Turns out everyone knows everything about everybody in Mercyhill. So, a strange woman in town asking about the Hollow Walker? Easy mark.”

She nodded absently and she continued to rummage through the cabinets. Did Opal not have any snacks in her house? She eyed a bag of raw chocolate chips but decided she wasn’t that desperate yet.

“Anyway, I would have arrived sooner but there was a road incident. Otherwise, I’d have caught you before you went skipping into the woods without any field experience, sufficient protection, or monster knowledge.” He leaned back in his chair, and Alexys hoped the chair legs might snap from the precarious angle. “Fortunately, I was able to get a lift from a very kind man, Tom, and arrived here last night. Opal was kind enough to offer her shower and spare bedroom to sleep while I waited for you to return from your reckless escapade. Took you a lot longer than I expected. I was, dare I say, starting to worry.”

Alexys frowned at him, her search for breakfast momentarily forgotten. “Did you say Tom?”

“Old Tom, to be exact.” Nic didn’t seem to notice the disbelief on her face as he prattled on, still leaned back precariously in his chair. “He was a kind man, very hospitable. Can’t say the same about his truck, though. It’s a miracle we even made it up to Opal’s house in one piece.”