“Manga?” Kael settled into his chair and handed Ringo a cup.
“Yup. I love yaoi.”
The cup Ringo had begun to lift to his lips paused. “Aren’t they Japanese man-love comics?”
“Ever hear of Naono Bohra? She’s one of my favorites.” Michaela waited to see what would happen. Most guys had one of two reactions.
Sure enough, Kael made a face. “Not my cup of tea.”
Ringo just smirked and sipped his macchiato.
Michaela didn’t understand why she felt so comfortable talking to these two, but her instincts hadn’t steered her wrong yet. After all, Kael had proven more than once that he was a nice man, and so far Ringo was proving to be fun-loving. She decided to go with it and tease the hell out of Kael. She propped her chin on her hand and fluttered her lashes at him. “So you’re not looking for a big, strong seme?”
Ringo almost choked on his drink. He obviously understood what the word meant. Kael, however, appeared lost. He turned to Ringo. “I don’t want to know, do I?”
Ringo leaned back in his chair. “No, Kael. It’s best if you remain ignorant.”
Hmm. Maybe they weren’t a couple after all.
“Then color me blissful.” Kael sipped his drink and watched the fake fairies dancing outside the window. One gentleman in particular seemed to think that a strategically placed fig leaf meant he didn’t need briefs. Too bad he hadn’t secured the leaf properly. Kael whimpered. “Remind me to bleach my eyes later.”
She winked at Ringo, blushing when his gorgeous eyes narrowed. For a split second, she could have sworn they turned blue, but it must be some trick of the light. “Are you going to the fairy con?”
Ringo and Kael exchanged a look she could read quite well. She worked around children every day.
The two of them were up to something.
“Yes, indeed. Are you?” The speculation in Ringo’s gaze would have been flattering if not for the sharp look Kael sent him. What was going on, and why didn’t Kael want Ringo admitting they were going to the con?
“Oh, yeah. I’ve been looking forward to it.” Michaela almost bounced in her seat, she was so excited. She’d managed to finagle the graveyard shift at the hospital just so she could attend the con. She’d be tired, but it would be worth it, and the kids would love the pictures she was planning on bringing them. “I have the prettiest pair of light-up butterfly wings. I’m wearing them to the fairy ball.” The gown had cost a pretty penny, too, but it would totally be worth it.
Ringo sputtered, nearly spraying them with macchiato. “Fairy ball?”
Kael groaned and dropped his head in his hands. “Butterfly wings,” Kael moaned. “Not more butterfly wings.”
Ringo’s lips twitched. “They light up too.”
Kael sobbed.
Michaela just stared at them. “You have something against butterflies?”
“No.” Kael made a face. “It’s…complicated.”
All righty then. Maybe he had mottephobia, fear of moths and butterflies, and was too ashamed to admit it. If so, he’d have one hell of a time at the convention. Almost all the women had butterfly wings strapped to their backs.
“So I guess you’ll be going as something else, then.” With his thin build, golden eyes and blond locks, he’d make an excellent— “Oh, I know! You’re going dressed as Puck!”
This time, Ringo did spray the table.
Chapter Four
“You heard?”
Robin watched Michaela leave the coffee shop. He still couldn’t understand why she’d been so vehement in her defense of him. The passion in her voice had both amused and humbled him. “Yes.” He tilted his head. “Tell me about her.”
Kael took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. “She’s twenty-eight, works in medicine, but I’m not sure where or in what capacity. She’s human, as far as I can tell. She has several friends she spends time with, but no boyfriend. Either that or she’s dating multiple men at once.”
Robin did not like that thought one little bit. Green fire danced in his eyes before he could subdue it. “Anything else I should know?”
“She goes away on the weekends sometimes with her friends. Sometimes she brings equipment, like skis or a snowboard, others she doesn’t. And you heard her—she’s got a thing for Puck.”
Robin smiled. That, he could live with. It was the thought of other men that would drive him insane.
Kael’s amused expression deepened, became wicked. “She thinks I should dress as you.”
Robin felt his eyes flare with green light. He quickly masked it by closing his eyes. It wouldn’t do to have the Unseelie alerted to his presence so quickly. “So she did.”
“Robin?”
Robin shot the boy an inquiring look.
“Go after her.”
He smirked. He’d caught sight of an unknown Sidhe sidling up to the coffee bar. Chasing after Michaela would not be wise. Black Court, Gray or White, the Sidhe were indistinguishable until they chose to reveal their allegiance. “While her defense was flattering, I hardly think we have the time to—” But Kael wasn’t looking at him. Instead, he was sitting straight up in his chair, his gaze glued to something outside the window. Something that had the pooka on high alert. “What?”
“I saw someone I recognized following her.”
Hell and damnation. That could mean only one thing. One of the Black Court delegates had seen the girl speaking with Kael and marked her as prey. If they recognized him as Prince Evan’s cousin their cover was already blown, despite the fact Kael lived and worked in the city. They would see his presence as a direct result of their kidnapping of his cousin and respond accordingly.
Michaela would be nothing more than a statistic to the humans. To the Black Court, she’d be something worse. A bargaining chip, one they would ruthlessly use and cast aside if it proved less than valuable to them.
Robin stood, threading his way through the sudden crowd of convention goers streaming in for a hot cup of coffee. Why was it whenever he had the need to move quickly someone, or something, blocked his way?
By the time Robin made it out the door, his quarry was gone, lost in a sea of humanity. He glanced at his watch and realized the time. Rush hour in the city. With a muttered curse he headed the way Michaela had, hoping he would find her on the way to her apartment building. If the Black Court got hold of the female her chances of survival were slim at best. Her bright smile would be dimmed forever.
That would be a tragedy, one Robin fully intended to avert.
“OW! Hands off, fucker!”
Robin froze. Was that—?
There. Down that small side street, with no other pedestrians, Michaela struggled against the pull of a tall, dark-haired man with shoulders so wide he took up almost the entire pavement. Robin scented the wind and snarled.
Redcaps. The aroma of mushrooms and earth was unmistakable.
“Hey!”
Robin watched, appalled, as Kael dashed to Michaela’s rescue. The redcap whipped around, throwing Michaela into the street so hard Robin could hear her hit the ground even over the sounds of the city. He would be surprised if there were no bones broken.
His eyes flared green. Robin dug out his sunglasses, hiding behind them, as he began to stroll forward.
The redcap would pay for harming her.
Kael threw a punch at the redcap that it easily avoided. Idiot boy. Redcaps never traveled alone, and certainly never attacked alone. Kael would be dead within moments, brutally torn apart before Michaela’s horrified eyes.
Robin quirked his brow, and behind him the lights changed. A car, unable to stop in time, slammed into another one in a shower of steam and the crunch of fiberglass. The redcap, attention diverted, didn’t stop the blow Kael threw this time, the pooka’s fist landing on its jaw.
The redcap’s head barely moved.
Robin sighed. The boy would have to learn quickly, it seemed.
Robin sauntered down the pavement, hands in his po
ckets. He yawned, and a door sprang open, to the astonished cursing of the human chefs hidden behind it but knocking into the redcap, startling it. Robin kicked at a piece of paper and the redcap howled, clutching the thumb that suddenly bent backward.
Robin stood over Michaela and held out his hand. “Are you hurt?”
She winced. “I think my wrist is sprained. Other than that, just some minor scrapes and contusions.” She took his hand and Robin pulled her to her feet.
Just as she went to brush her hair out of her face her eyes went wide, her mouth dropped open, and Robin smiled. He’d wondered when the other redcap would show up. He winked at Michaela, pleased when another howl of pain shattered the air. The redcap behind him was hopping up and down and clutching its foot. Robin tilted his head, amused, and the redcap tripped over the curb, landing on its ass with another yowl.
“Oh, shit. Your friend’s in trouble.”
Indeed, Kael was. The redcap had his hand around Kael’s throat and was choking the life from him. Before Robin could move, Michaela pulled something out of her oversized purse without even looking. How women could do that, just reach into a bag like that and find exactly what they needed without thought, defied logic.
Even to the Hob, the bloody things were a mystery.
“Hey, asshole!”
Robin’s breath hitched as Michaela dashed past him. What was she thinking? He took a step toward her, ready to rip the redcap in half if he dared lay a finger on her. None should so much as make her frown.
Before he could reach her she held up her hand, spraying something in the redcap’s face that had him screeching like a troll giving birth. Kael, released, reeled back, sucking in air and coughing.
Leaving Michaela open for the blow the redcap almost landed.
Almost.
Robin grinned up at the redcap as he squeezed its fist, breaking every single bone and joint with a brutal crunching sound. His eyes were a shining, iridescent green, and he didn’t care. Either the sunglasses shielded them or they didn’t. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to hit girls?”
The redcap fell to its knees, in too much agony to even scream.
The sound of limping footsteps had him glaring in the direction of the redcap’s fleeing partner. A car blew past the entrance to the side street, sending the redcap flying.
“Crap.” Michaela took off once more, this time in the direction of the accident, a determined expression on her face.
Robin was stunned. The woman was insane. There was no other explanation.
Robin didn’t even hesitate. He eliminated the redcap at his feet, and then raced after Michaela as if his hair was on fire, leaving Kael to destroy the remains however he saw fit.
Michaela dashed through the crowd and landed on her knees at the victim’s side. “Call an ambulance!” She quickly assessed the damage, praying the ambulance would arrive in time to save him. It didn’t matter to her that just moments ago he’d been attacking her and her friends. His life was in danger, and Michaela would do her best to save it.
“He just ran right in front of me.” The panicked tone of voice made it clear that the speaker was the driver of the vehicle who had hit her patient. Michaela didn’t even look up. She didn’t have time. She began CPR, counting out thirty compressions before she pinched his nose, tilted his head back, and breathed for him. She kept it going despite the ache in her wrist causing her to see spots before her eyes.
Definitely a bad sprain, one she’d have to wrap. She’d have to find a nice colorful bandage the kids would enjoy.
Time to breathe for him again. She barely noticed the protective stance Ringo had taken up behind her and to one side, or the sound of Kael keeping the crowd back. She had a patient under her hands and that was all that mattered.
“They want to talk to you.”
Michaela nodded absently at the stranger and accepted the cell phone. She balanced it between her shoulder and her ear as she kept the compressions going. “This is Michaela Exton, I’m an RN with Philadelphia General Hospital. I’ve got a patient on the ground, nonresponsive. Performing CPR. Vic ran out into traffic and was hit by a car. I need the ambulance to come in hot.” She handed the cell phone back to the stranger. “Thanks.” She breathed for him again, two quick breaths that barely moved his barrel chest.
She bit back the urge to spit when she was done. What was that funky taste in his mouth? It was like old mushrooms. Blech. She’d have to avoid ordering mushrooms on her pizza later.
She heard sirens in the distance and knew help was almost there. Even better, the man beneath her began to breathe on his own. Michaela took his pulse, and while it was not as steady as she would’ve liked it was there. If they could stabilize him in the ambulance he stood a good chance of surviving.
“Why?”
Michaela looked up at Ringo, most of her attention still on her patient, monitoring his breathing and heart rate. “Why what?”
“Why did you save him?”
She didn’t like it, but she understood why he asked. Most other people wouldn’t have hesitated to leave their attacker to his fate, but Michaela just wasn’t built that way. “This is who I am.” She looked down at her patient, smiling when she saw his eyes were open. She stroked his cheek, knowing that simple human touch would reassure him despite the pain he must be in. “Hey. My name’s Michaela and I’m a nurse. You’re going to be just fine, okay?”
The man studied her for a moment, then relaxed and nuzzled his face into her palm. He shut his eyes, his breathing harsh with distress.
Michaela tried to soothe him as best she could, stroking his hair and shushing him as he whimpered.
“That’s going to the top of my list for oddest things I’ve seen today.” Kael knelt beside her. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”
Michaela shot him a horrified look. “Of course he does. He’s been hit by a car.”
Kael rolled his eyes. “Not him. You.”
Michaela winced as the pain of her sprained wrist registered once more. “It’s not broken. I’ll ice it and wrap it once I get back to my apartment.”
Ringo tilted his head, his sunglasses reflecting the glow of the car’s headlights. “You are a strange woman, Michaela Exton.”
Michaela hummed her agreement. It wasn’t like she hadn’t heard that one before.
“Michaela? Is that you?”
Michaela glanced up to see one of her weekend buddies climbing out of the ambulance. “Hey, Will.”
He knelt by the injured man and grinned at her. “We on for this weekend?”
Damn. She’d forgotten about that. “I’m going to the fairy con, so I’m going to have to pass. Next weekend?”
“You’re on. This time your ass is mine.”
Ringo took a step closer to her, almost close enough to interfere with Will as he tried to take the vic’s vitals.
The hood of the car behind her flew into the air, setting off the car alarm. Michaela jumped, and she was used to dealing with loud noises.
“What the hell?” Will glared at the car before turning to the patient once more. “Damn foreign cars.”
“Michaela. Trust you to be in the middle of trouble.” Will’s partner Ed joined Will by the victim. “Vitals?”
Michaela rattled off what she knew while Will took his own readings. He corrected her as needed, but otherwise let her speak.
“I think we have some internal injuries. Let’s get him loaded.” Will grinned at Michaela. “You’re seriously giving up a weekend with us for a fairy con?”
Ed looked horrified. “No way. You promised us Camelback and good powder, remember?”
Ringo coughed.
One of the streetlights toppled over with a groaning screech of metal.
“Shit!” Ed took off, checking to see if anyone was hurt.
Will shook his head. “Maybe there are some bad luck fairies at the con.” He smiled sweetly. “In that case, you need to come with us and avoid the bad juju.”
“
Aw, shit.” Kael’s soft curse was almost drowned out as all four tires on the ambulance went flat with a loud, wheezing pfffft. “Uh, Ringo? Can I talk to you for a moment?”
Ringo backed away, joining Kael on the sidewalk for what looked like a very intense discussion.
“Shit.”
Michaela stared, dumbfounded, at the ambulance. “I think I’ll skip the snowboarding for a little while.”
Will blinked and backed away from her. “Yeah. Camelback Mountain can wait a couple of weeks.” He ran and got a board from the back of the ambulance. “I need to get this guy on the board. Ed! Call for another ambulance.” He shot a rueful glance at the flat tires. “And a tow truck.”
Michaela shook her head. Most of the people on the sidewalk had their phones out, snapping pictures and typing furiously.
I guess some days are meant for Twitter.
Chapter Five
“I still don’t understand what the hell you were thinking yesterday.”
Robin gritted his teeth and ignored Kael. The pooka had been nagging at him since they’d seen Michaela to her door the previous evening, turning down her invitation for pizza to return to Kael’s apartment. Was that not supposed to be his line? He wasn’t the young, foolish lord who’d leapt, unprepared, into battle with a redcap.
In truth, he’d been in a foul mood ever since the human had saved the redcap. If he had his way the creature would be eating its own anus, but Michaela had done her level best to give it a chance. He frowned, ignoring the squeal of an alarm behind him, at the memory of her sweet, full lips pressing against the creature’s mouth. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t been tasting the creature.
All that mattered was that her lips had not yet touched Robin’s own.
“Um, Robin? I think you need to calm down. Unless you really did have it in for that poor artist’s display case, in which case feel free to continue.”
Robin took a deep breath. His power was slipping out of his control, his eyes glowing with green, feral light, his nails black and sharp. If he didn’t get it under control, bad things would begin to happen. The humans here didn’t deserve the sharp edge of his anger. He would reserve it for the Black Court lackeys Titannia had sent.
The Hob (The Gray Court 4) Page 4