Page 99 of A Shade Too Far
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I didn’t geta chance to do anything more beyond flatten myself against a wall, the wolf knocking into me as he bounded past the card catalogue and up the rickety stairs.
Naveen gave a confused cry, then there was the sound of breaking glass, the Brit swearing and the demon laughing.
I went after Laurent on rubbery legs, almost crawling up the stairs.
The wolf pulled his head free of the hole he’d bashed in the glass door, blood oozing out from a nasty gash on one side.
“You’ll pay for that,” Chester sniffed, now fully healed.
Naveen fumbled with the lock, imploring Laurent to calm the fuck down. He’d barely gotten the door open before the wolf practically tripped him in his haste to escape.
“Arse!” Naveen shook a fist at the wolf’s back.
“Concerned, are we?” Chester smirked at me, twisting my ring around my finger.
I clasped my hands behind my back with a shrug. “Just annoyed at him being a prick.”
I marched back downstairs, my heart racing. I’d messed up, but I hadn’t realized how badly. Laurent’s anger wasn’t about his suspended powers; it was about him. Had I committed the grievous sin that our friendship couldn’t come back from?
Naveen stomped down the stairs, crunched over broken glass, and stopped. “What’d I miss?” he said lightly.
I lowered my voice so the demon wouldn’t hear. “Is Laurent…” All right? Sane?
Naveen’s expression turned bleak. “I don’t know.”
“It’s broad daylight,” I said worriedly. “Someone will see him and call animal services.”
“They won’t catch him before he gets to the Park.”
“How can you be sure?” I kicked one of the creepy marble eyes from the broken glass head out of my way.
“I’m sure. But just in case.” He dictated a voice text. “Clea, call the Lonestars and give them the heads-up. Laurent may not be capable of shifting right now, so leave him alone.”
Naveen jammed the end of his staff into the wall across from the cabinet. The magic weapon shivered, and the plaster rippled, revealing a pink, fleshy portal. Glistening jellylike strands coated the tubular folds ringing the slitted entrance. “The demon is through here.”
I clenched my pelvic muscles in horror. “You want me to step into a lubed-up demon vagina?”
“Absolutely not. I want you to wait for me. And keep your distance from Chester until I get back because he’s in a right mood and you don’t look capable of diplomacy right now.” Naveen pulled his still-vibrating weapon free.
Aaannd now all I could think of was Naveen, quivering staffs, and my ex. Ew. Ew. Ew.
“I’m going with you.”
“Guess again. I’m in charge here and you’re staying. You’re not in the right headspace for this. Not that I blame you,” he added.
“I’ll be fine.” I grabbed one of the tubular folds and shuddered.
Naveen raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t trust you”—I batted an errant goo-strand away from my face—“to exchange that eye for that woman’s name, all right?” A glop of mucus dripped into my hair. “Ugh! So I’m coming along to make sure you don’t destroy it. How about that?”
His eyes widened for a second, his brows furrowed, but he schooled his features into an insouciant expression. “By all means.”
Feeling guilty, angry, and hating every single thing about my life, I shoved past Naveen and into the darkness of Pussy Galore, whimpering when the squelchy portal made a wet, sucking noise at my entrance and slime slithered down the side of my neck.
The entrance was tight. “You couldn’t have fingered it first and loosened it up?” I spat out the taste of vinegar, trying not to breathe.
