Not Your Ex's Hexes (Supernatural Singles, #2)(80)

A wave of excitement washed over her as she thought about Damian. Guess she wasn’t the only one who’d thought about making that FB call. He’d just decided to do his in person.

She hightailed it out to the front bar, a grin already on her face, but he wasn’t the demon waiting for her.

Julius Kontos leaned against the edge of the counter, a woman at each side in heavy flirt mode. Unlike other times she’d seen him, he didn’t seem invested. He stood politely and listened to what they said, occasionally giving them a nod or a smile, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

On anyone else, it might have been cause for alarm.

On Julius, who almost always seemed to find amusement in everything, it was cause for panic.

His gaze met hers, and after saying something to his admirers, he met her by the front door.

“Hey, Julius. Is everything okay?” Rose asked, concerned.

“Have you any idea where my wayward brother may be?”

Not what she’d expected him to ask. “My guess would be at the sanctuary like he is on most nights. Is everything okay?”

“Not in the least … and he’s not answering. Not at the sanctuary, and not his cell. And before you ask, I also had a third party ring him, knowing the high likelihood of him not answering my call.”

Rose tugged her cell from her pocket and dialed. It rang twice before his voice mail picked up. She hung up and tried the sanctuary, getting the same result, and then she tried both a second time.

“I’m sorry,” Rose apologized. “If I hear from him, I’ll let him know you need to speak with him. Is there something I can do?”

“No. No, this requires a…” He looked at her, desperation straining the corners of his eyes. “What the hell. I’m desperate.”

“Way to make a witch feel special, Julius.”

“I don’t have the luxury to guard feelings, Rose. There’s not enough time to go through the proper channels to find someone adept to handle the situation.”

“I’m still waiting to hear what situation you’re talking about.”

“Remember the Gryndor brothers you and Damian very efficiently brought in? It turns out their Mate is demanding their release … or else.”

Okay, so that sounded bad. “Or else what?”

“I’m not certain we want to find out. In fact, I know we don’t, and since releasing the captured Gryndors is out of the question, we need to go on the offensive. Quickly. Before things go too far and people get hurt. Damian may be a pain in my ass, but he’s the only Hunter equipped to do this job … except for you. You managed the first trio pretty well.”

Rose nibbled her lip as she weighed her options, which were not good. “Under different circumstances, I’d be first to help you out, but I promised Damian I wouldn’t do any Hunt jobs without him. It was one of his conditions.”

“Normally, I’d accept that, but I’m at a loss as to what to do. If it makes you feel better, I’ll go with you. It’s been a day since I’ve been in the field, but I hear it’s like riding a bicycle.”

Saying no would be the smart thing. Two letters. One syllable. N-O.

But then she thought about the money, and all the good it would do the sanctuary animals, and yeah, the load it would lighten from Damian’s shoulders.

Rose redialed Damian’s number once more, and this time, left a message.

“Don’t get grouchy, but Julius is in a huge bind and neither of us can reach you, so I’m helping him out. And you don’t have to worry because he’ll be with me. I’ll let you know how it goes, so … bye.”

She hung up, already knowing Damian would blow a gasket when he listened to it. “So where do we find a Gryndor Mate?”



* * *



They didn’t seek too hard. The second they got into Julius’s car, the news blared about the massive winged demon terrorizing Times Square, but hearing about it and seeing it firsthand were two vastly different things.

Mouth gaping as she crouched behind a cement barricade, Rose looked up at the massive female Gryndor sitting on top of the jumbotron TV, her wings stretched out wider than a minivan was long, and cursed.

“She’s huge … and pissed. Why is she so huge? She’s like easily double the size of the Blood Moon Gryndors,” she pointed out.

Julius snuck a glance from around the corner, keeping his head low. “Gryndor females are notoriously larger than the males, and quite a bit more volatile.”

The demon howled into the skyline, the noise shaking the ground.

She snorted. “Gee, I never would’ve guessed.”

“Their venom is quite a bit more potent, too. It’s one of few poisons that can knock another demon on its ass. Even an upper-level one.”

She shot Julius a hard glare.

“What?” he asked innocently.

“I feel like there’s an awful lot of information that could’ve been shared on our drive here, Julius.”

“Would it have changed your mind about coming?”

Damn it, no. And he knew it, too.

From beneath the red-step bleachers, a group of tourists broke into a run, making a mad dash toward the hotel across the street. With a mighty roar, the massive Gryndor took flight. She swooped through the air like a scary hang glider with scales until midway, a fuzzy Elmo caught her attention. The street character beelined for a tearstained little girl crouched alone by the wheel of the nearby pretzel stand.