Dog Eat Dog World: Limited Edition Bundle (Black Dog)

by Hailey Edwards

  She groaned, unable to resist. “Met as in arrested?”

  “Well…”

  No one was perfect.

  Sixteen hours, many drive-thrus and several rest station potty breaks later, my hands were cramped into arthritic claws and my elbows ached from how I had wedged my arms against the dash. I had given up on taking protective measures fifty or so miles back and made myself as comfortable as I was likely to get.

  Darkness falling helped. The bright lights from passing cars—or should I say cars Mai zipped past?—did not. The landscape blurred less with night cloaking the world beyond the windshield. Even Diode had forgiven my earlier fervor and climbed back into my lap to be admired.

  He practiced his meowing each time I got distracted.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, resuming his petting.

  “Someone’s getting excited,” Mai singsonged. “Can you believe how huge these buildings are?”

  “They’re massive.” Some reminded me of the skyscrapers in Dallas. Galveston Island had been cluttered with them, too, but those memories were faded. I whistled when we drove past a complex so tall I had to crane my neck to see the aircraft warning lights flashing at the top. “Jon’s skulk must be loaded.”

  “Mom asked for a credit report and a bank statement before he was allowed to date my sister.”

  “Are you serious?” I blurted before my brain caught up to my mouth. “Of course you are.”

  “Mom is Mom,” she said with a shrug.

  “I hear you.”

  We drove until a crosswalk stopped us. Teen girls wielding unfastened glow necklaces as whips giggled and swatted at boys who chased them across the asphalt to a boardwalk starting at the opposite curb. A leaning sign staked into the sand read Public Beach.

  Between the two buildings on either side of the narrow walkway was my first real glimpse of the ocean in years. My throat squeezed tight at all that open sky dotted with winking stars, the black water rippling and crashing under the moon.

  Mai surprised me by proving she did know how to decelerate. “What’s with that face?”

  I poked her side. “The face you shouldn’t be able to see because it’s dark and you’re driving?”

  “It’s called peripheral vision. Your bottom lip is sticking out so far it could be a speed bump.”

  I traced the glass over a cresting wave with my fingertip. “It reminds me of home.”

  Mom and I had lived in Galveston, Texas until my fae heritage reared its ugly head.

  “Now that you’re a marshal,” she said, “maybe you’ll get to go back some day.”

  “Maybe.” I had been back, sort of. When Rook had Mom kidnapped, a fae in his employ, Bháin, had cast an illusion to keep her entertained. She was still lounging in her make-believe Galveston the day I arrived to bring her home. Seeing that familiar place again after so long… It was kind of nice.

  “You know I meant to visit, right?”

  I snorted. “Scared you might lose me?”

  “Yeah,” she said seriously. “I am.”

  Galveston might as well have been on the moon, and we both knew it. I was moving to Faerie in a few short months. Earthly accommodations wouldn’t matter then. Once I was crowned, I would be bound to that realm for one hundred years. No more visits to this one. That meant no more Mai, Shaw…or Mom.

  “Sorry.” Mai drummed her fingers on the wheel. “I forgot the plan. No more talk of the future. Deal?”

  “Deal.” I sighed with relief. I didn’t want her sad—I didn’t want to be sad—not when we had a perfect week planned.

  Mai leaned forward, lips moving as she read signs. “Help me look for— Oh! I see it. Hold on.”

  She jerked the wheel to the left, and my head bounced off the glass. “Gah. Mai.”

  Diode, whose claws anchored him to my lap, peered up at me. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m lucky her hard head didn’t shatter the window.” Mai cut the wheel again, gentler this time, and nosed up to the curb to park in front of the condo.

  “Your concern for my well-being is, as always, touching.”

  “Let me take a look.” She cupped my cheeks and pulled my head down. “It’s not even irritated.”

  “That makes one thing that isn’t,” I grumbled.

  “Sheesh. I’m sorry.” She released me. “It’s not like you haven’t been brain-damaged before.”

  There were times in my line of work, after subduing particularly brutal fae, that my brain turned as shaky as gelatin and almost as cognizant. My rock-hard noggin had taken a beating, several in fact. That didn’t mean I wanted my best friend to finish me off with a glass sliver to the gray matter.

  “Let’s just go.” I grabbed the door handle. “I’m cranky from being trapped in the car for so long.”

  …with a driver who thinks stop signs are suggestions and red lights are decorative accents.

  Outside, the air was briny and warm. A cool breeze off the water sliced through the humidity. Spotlights illuminated the front of the condo, making me squint after our late-night ride.

  Mai stepped out and locked up the car. “Let’s check in and find out about parking.”

  I leaned against my door, angled away from the entryway, and tilted my face up toward the moon. “I think I’ll wait here.”

  “Are you still mad?” she grumped. “I did apologize. Besides, your hair will cover the bruise.”

  “I’m not mad. Sore, yes, but I’m not angry.” Diode, who’d leapt onto the curb when I opened my door, flattened his ears against his head. I toed Mai with my shoe. “We’ll guard the car, okay?”

  Her consideration lasted all of about a second. “Good idea.”

  “Foul water. Salt air.” Diode’s fur stood on end from nose to tail. “Sand.”

  “Are you sure you want to be here?” I bent to scratch behind his ears. “You could go home.”

  “And leave you to be guarded by those—” He decided against whatever slur he had readied.

  “They’re not so bad.” Righty wasn’t as diehard as Lefty, even if he put on a good show.

  Diode’s green eyes narrowed. “You have a kind heart that makes allowances where it shouldn’t.”

  I got the feeling he wasn’t talking about the guards now. “My heart isn’t the problem.”

  I didn’t love Rook. Though I would be lying if I claimed to be unaffected by his beauty. He was handsome in the way sidhe men were, tall and leanly muscled. His eyes, though, haunted me. I might have dated him, if we had met under different circumstances. Maybe. After Shaw and I disintegrated, the smart thing to do had been for me to date humans. They were tamer than what I was used to, but nice. None of the guys had been forever material, but I wasn’t exactly on the market for a soul mate.

  I thought I had one of those once, and I was pretty sure now I knew why they were called that. It wasn’t some matching of essence, some perfect fit of personalities. A soul mate was the person who wielded the greatest power imaginable over you, the person who cupped your happiness in their hands. If the worst happened and the relationship crumbled, they used the power you so foolishly lent them to crush your dreams under their heels as they walked out of your life. Those same hands that had so delicately held your joy were plunged in your chest as they ripped your heart out by its roots.

  Okay. Fine. Maybe I wasn’t quite as over what Shaw had done to me as I pretended. It was hard forgiving and forgetting when the men in my life took turns screwing me over. Not in the literal sense.

  Being raised by a single mom, I had no illusions that all romances ended with happily ever afters, and it was selfish for me to want to be an exception, but I did. Even though my parents never married, Mom must have loved Mac to have been with him in the first place. Now here I was in the same situation, only mine was reversed. Fae law stated I was hitched, but love had nothing to do with it. Honestly? I didn’t know which of us I felt sorrier for.

  Chapter 9

  Flip-flops slapped pavement, and Mai’s voice ra
ng out over the dull roar of the nearby ocean. “Did you get into my stash of Sour Patch Kids while I was gone or something?”

  Her reappearance dragged me from my thoughts and from my appreciation of the view. “Hmm?”

  She stopped in front of me, hands on hips. “The I French kissed a lemon face you’re making?”

  “Why would I—?” I put up my hands. “Never mind. I was thinking. That’s all.”

  “Tee.” She sighed. “This is a vacation. No thinking allowed. Stop that right now.”

  A smile crept up on me. “You’re right.”

  “I know.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “But it’s always nice to hear you say so.”

  Rolling my eyes, I noticed a guy trailing her. “You picked up a stray that fast?”

  He looked to be in his late teens or early twenties. About her height, he had the bronze skin that tanning-bed manufacturers promised their clients. His hair was sun-bleached blond, and his eyes were a soft gray. The wind shifted, and I inhaled discreetly to be sure. Huh. The guy was one hundred percent human.

  “Tee.” Pink blossomed in her cheeks as she passed him the keys. “This is Matt. He’s the valet.”

  Seconds later, another young man joined the first. Blond-haired and blue-eyed, her favorite combo.

  I checked him, and he came up human too. “And who might you be?”

  “I’m Tim. I’m here to help her—um, you—” he flushed, “—both of you—with your bags.” He elbowed Matt. “Pop the trunk, and I’ll take the ladies to their rooms.”

  The poor guy’s expression tightened as his thumb jabbed her key fob. Clearly, Matt was second-guessing his choice to drive Mai’s sporty car into the parking deck. His friend might be stuck with the manual labor, but he also reaped the rewards of knowing her floor and room number.

  Not that it would help him. Kitsunes weren’t human compatible. She wouldn’t even test him.

  A sharp ping had everyone checking their phones. When I reached into my top to retrieve mine, the guys’ eyes followed, widening when I accidentally flashed the frilly white edge of my bra at them. Awkward. Maybe Mai was right and I did need a holster of some kind. Since I was still being stared at, like the guys had just registered that there were two women present and one’s boobs received text messages, I skipped checking my phone and shoved it into my shorts pocket instead.

  A sudden snap of sound startled Matt and Tim into action.

  “Chop, chop.” Mai clapped her hands. “Let’s hurry this along, guys. Momma needs her beauty sleep.”

  Matt lurched into motion, and a screeching yowl filled the air.

  “W-what is that?” He stumbled backward, pointing at the ground near my feet.

  Diode.

  “He’s just a…” My mouth fell open. Diode’s calico pattern held, but his natural bright yellow color was seeping into his fur. He looked like someone had dumped a lemon ice on his back. When we left the apartment, he had been about calf height. Now the pointed tips of his ears tickled the bottoms of my kneecaps, and he resembled a bobcat more than a housecat.

  “Meow,” he said in a clipped voice.

  The guys exchanged a tense look. Matt recovered first. He jogged around the car, jumped in and peeled out before Tim recovered. At a loss, Tim stared after his friend and wet his lips. “Your bags are still in the trunk.” He sidestepped Diode. “I’ll just, um, go get them.” He slapped an envelope into Mai’s hands. “Grab the first elevator on the right in the lobby. I’ll meet you upstairs.”

  “And people say chivalry is dead,” I deadpanned.

  “Maybe chivalry is just allergic to cats.” Mai nudged Diode with her toe. “We might have to get him a leash.”

  Diode hissed. “I will not be dragged about by a leash like a common dog.”

  I bent down to ruffle his fur. “Keep hissing and spitting and someone will think you’re rabid.”

  “Hmph.” He turned his nose up at me. “I am not susceptible to earthly disease.”

  Of course he wasn’t. “Any clue as to why your camouflage is fading?”

  He managed to look chagrined. “Stress would be my guess.”

  “Then take a chill pill,” Mai quipped. “We just got here. Don’t mess this up for us.”

  His tail cracked the ground like a whip. “Far be it from me to ruin your fun.”

  Mai let his snark roll off her back. “Exactly what I’m saying.”

  I stepped between them, resting a hand on Mai’s shoulder. “Let’s change and hit the hay.”

  “It’s barely ten p.m., and I downed six cups of coffee in the last hour alone. I can’t sleep yet.” A grin spread across her face. “Let’s go for a swim. That ought to tire us out.”

  Catching her enthusiasm, I smiled. “I could go a few laps before bed.”

  “I will stand guard while you two…” Diode almost gagged, “…swim.”

  “I’ll call down to the front desk and check for warnings before we hit the beach.” The night was clear, but I hadn’t seen the local forecast, hadn’t expected to do more than flop into bed on our first night.

  “Actually,” Mai said on a chuckle. “I have other plans for us.”

  With the roar of the ocean at my back, I couldn’t imagine anything better than the crash of waves and the call of seagulls. Tomorrow I was eager to slather on sunscreen and trudge through the valleys cut between those white sandy dunes.

  After reminding myself it was Mai’s vacation too, I managed to stop from pouting. “Do tell.”

  The smile she flashed me was radiant. “I’ll show you as soon as we’re changed.”

  Not trusting her mood, I stepped onto the elevator after she was inside, and we rode up to our rooms. Diode was too bulky for me to carry comfortably with the illusion spell weakening. Plus, he had the same hands-off attitude as Mai did when she was in her fox form, so he trotted alongside me. Small mercy, he was used to elevators from riding the one in our apartment building, so there was no screeching or mewling like there had been during my first attempts at immersing him into my world. For a cat that lived in the wilds of Faerie when he wasn’t crashing with Mac, entering my home that first time must have been like stepping onto a spaceship for him.

  Mai opened the envelope she had been given by the front desk and tugged out several credit-card-sized keycards.

  I whistled. “Do you think they gave us enough?”

  She spread them between her fingers and fanned her face. “Pick a card, any card.”

  Rolling my eyes, I tapped one. It didn’t work on the door. Neither did the next three. By process of elimination, the fourth card popped the lock. We entered the living room, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

  All the other crap faded. Faerie. My crown. Rook. Shaw. All of it.

  A wall of glass cast our reflection back at us when I switched on the overhead lights. At night, it wasn’t much to look at, but in the daylight? The view would be spectacular. Mai would settle for nothing less. The walls were painted stark white and kept bare, meant to keep the focus on the no-doubt-stunning view. Beige carpet cushioned my feet, and equally nondescript leather furniture filled the room. I caved to the smile tugging my lips.

  For the next week, this was my reality. Sun. Beach. Ocean. My best friend.

  Diode yowled when the door shut, pinching his tail.

  And my psychedelic calico bobcat.

  We explored our accommodations while waiting on our luggage to arrive. I was impressed. There were two bedrooms, each with its own bath. We even had a kitchenette, which meant I could buy groceries and skip the tab on eating fast food this week. The living room was cramped, but it had a great view of the Atlantic. French doors opened onto a narrow patio overlooking the glistening sea. This was a lot nicer than anything I could afford even when I wasn’t flat busted.

  Mai made the rounds, too, wrinkling her nose whenever an item failed to meet her lofty standards.

  “This place is great,” I said to distract her.

  Her hands found her
hips, and she glanced around. “We must be paying for the location.”

  “Stop being a snob.” I jostled her elbow. “This is great, and you know it.”

  She cracked a smile. “Thanks.”

  “You have nothing to thank me for.” I was mooching off her, not the other way around.

  “Yes, I do.” She turned serious on me. “You call me on being a bitch when Mom’s programming kicks in.”

  “She didn’t totally brainwash you.” For the most part. “Besides, she just wants you to be happy.”

  “As long as my idea of happy means settling down and popping out kits, then yes, she does.”

  “Mai…” I slung my arm around her shoulders.

  “No.” She shrugged me off and crossed the room. “We agreed. Life can wait. We’re here to have fun.”

  “Yes.” I nodded. “Fun.”

  She snorted. “Dork.”

  Chimes rang through the room.

  “Finally.” Mai bolted to answer the door.

  While she was occupied, I took out my phone and checked the earlier text I had missed. I darted a quick glance at my bedroom door before I dialed the number on the screen. One ring. Two. Three.

  Shaw answered on the fourth ring. “How’s the view?”

  “Dark and moony. How’s yours?”

  “It depends.” A smile lurked in his voice. “How do you feel about boxers versus briefs?”

  A flush zinged up the back of my neck. His question reminded me of the first time I saw Rook in the flesh. There had been plenty of his perfect fae flesh out on display. He had met me at his door wearing nothing but a pair of faded jeans and an enigmatic smile.

  I rubbed the sting from my nape. “Did you forget to pack your undies?”

  Shaw’s chuckle did confusing things to my stomach. I should have texted him instead of calling.

  “I’m checking out the store where my sister-in-law was spotted.”

  “Any reason why you’re looking for her in menswear?”

  “I’m not. Exactly.”

  I knew him too well. I could tell he was hiding something. “What is it?”