Wicked Thing (C.O.A Series Book 2) (33 page)

“No breakfast then?” Kayn questioned.

Grey chucked her a granola bar and Kayn grimaced as she took it.

Lexy smiled as she recalled the fixation with food she’d had back in the beginning when she’d first joined clan Ankh.
It had been a different situation. She’d been starving for years.
She turned to look out the window at the view of endless black. The only light came from their vehicles headlights as they barreled down the backroads. Grey slipped his fingers through hers and gave her hand a squeeze. She recalled Grey’s words the day he’d convinced her to come with him, ‘Come with me to clan Ankh and I will always be your friend.’ He’d stayed true to that promise even though he had gotten a lot more than he’d bargained for out of that deal, when they’d made him her Handler. As always, holding Grey’s hand felt right.
Would a piece of her always wish that they could be more? They couldn’t be together and no passage of time would ever change that fact
. Grey released his hold on her hand. Free from the connection she started to fantasize about what could be, her thoughts travelled to Orin and the uncomplicated night they’d shared. He’d shown her what it was like to be with another Healer. It had been unexpected and simple. She turned her thoughts to Tiberius and his wickedly naughty ways. He understood the Dragon that slept beneath the surface of the woman that she was pretending to be. Lexy identified with the dark parts of him because those were the parts that she kept hidden away so other people would be comfortable. Grey took her hand and squeezed it again bringing her back to the here and now.
Neither of them was Grey.
She looked into her Handler’s eyes as he raised her hand to his lips and pressed a tender kiss on the back of it. She took note that even though he knew the bad parts of her, it had never stopped him from falling back in love with her, time and time again.

They’d been driving for what felt like hours, when the sun began to rise. They pulled over and parked at a look out, perched over a small town. Everyone got out of the truck and stood side by side as the sun peaked over the mountain top in the horizon, just as the street lights flickered out in the town below.

Grey put his arm around her, and held her close while gently stroking her side with his thumb where his hand curved around her waist. Her heart began to thud.
This was his move. The thing that he did, that caused her to fold like a cheap deck of cards.
Even though her mind had been focused on trying to shut down her reaction to his touch, she’d heard the gist of the conversation that the others were having.
They would be staying here for a couple of days, and they’d buy everything they needed in town.
Lexy looked at the population of 207 on the large green sign and her stomach cramped.
She knew what they were here for…This was her favorite kind of job. Her Dragon would finally have the opportunity to come out and play.
Lexy looked at Grey, gave him a knowing smile and teased, “Awe, this is so sweet Greydon. You shouldn’t have. My birthday isn’t until next week.”

Grey crinkled his nose as he smiled and teased, “Anything for you, Babe.”

Frost motioned towards the truck and nudged, “Come on, everyone. Let’s go have some breakfast.”

As they pulled in to a picturesque little town with perfect sidewalks, and cobblestone planters full of flowers, Lily rolled down her window.
There was just a hint of fall in the air.
They drove slowly and as they passed a man walking out to his vehicle, Lexy could tell he was mortal by his aura. Her stomach muscles kept clenching at regular intervals. Her predatory instincts rarely led her astray. That man was probably just passing through. This town was full of dangerous things and they would meet their match in her.

Kayn looked at her and stated, “Now, that’s trippy.”
Kayn had borrowed some of their healing energy, by using her Conduit ability so she could take part in healing the new girl.
Lexy chuckled, “You haven’t seen anything yet, Hun.”

Zach twisted around in the front seat and enquired, “What are you guys talking about?”

Kayn pointed at the man that was now a speck in the distance and replied, “I could see that guy’s aura and it’s been almost a month. I guess I just assumed it would be gone by now.”

It had been closer to three weeks but she wasn’t about to correct her
.

Lily squirmed around in her seat and proclaimed, “There it is. That’s the place. Jenna said it was named after a children’s poem.”

Humpty Dumpty’s. That was irony at its best for she was going to make sure every last demon in this town fell down and hard.

The group of Ankh strolled through the doors and there were only a few patrons dining in the restaurant.
They were mortal. She wasn’t wrong about this place. She knew she wasn’t wrong
. Her instincts had shifted into high gear and her stomach kept tying itself in knots. It was then that her heightened senses put a species to the scent of the meat they were cooking in the kitchen.
Mental note… Warn the others about the people meat.
There was a time when it wouldn’t have mattered what species she was ingesting as long as the aching desperation of starvation was quenched but she wasn’t desperate or starving anymore.
These demons were cannibals.
This was only one more reason why she was proud to be a part of their destruction. There was a seriously creepy amount of burgundy in this room. It was everywhere, from the pleather seating to the light fixtures, everything was burgundy. A waitress appeared from the kitchen area, trailing behind her was an aura with misty hues of black and smoky gray. She froze when she saw them at the table. The demon possessed shell of a waitress, gave them a well-acted overly hospitable smile and quickly darted back into the kitchen area.

Kayn and Zach looked panicked. She hadn’t made them. She was probably just checking the freezer to see if there was enough space.
Lexy grinned at her own comical inner commentary as she kicked Kayn under the table and whispered, “They can’t tell that we are anything other than normal people unless they see the symbol of Ankh on the palms of our hands. Just play it cool.”

Her attention was brought back to Grey as he nudged her with his elbow and quietly spoke, “Are they all good?”

Lexy was just about to say, yes they’re fine, when Kayn rather abruptly stood up and walked away from the table. Zach grabbed for her arm.

Kayn darted out of the way and chuckled, “I’m just going to go over there to get some menus. They’re sitting in plain sight on the counter. Our waitress appears to be missing in action.”

The fledgling Dragon wandered over to the counter and snagged six menus just as their not so mortal waitress appeared from the back room. The lady with the smoky aura immediately began to apologize as Kayn assured her that everything was fine, she just thought she’d save her the trip and grab the menus for the table.

“I’m sorry about the wait. We’re a bit under staffed at the moment. Would you all like some coffee?” the pleasant voiced lady asked.

Kayn smiled sweetly back at her and answered, “Yes, coffee would be wonderful. How come you guys are open so early?”

The waitress responded, “We get a lot of truck drivers passing through early in the morning. It tends to be our busiest time of the day. This morning is obviously an exception. I’ll be there in a second with your coffee.” She nodded at Kayn and briskly marched back into the kitchen area.

Kayn strolled back to the table with menus in hand and a knowing smile on her face, as she passed the menus out to everyone at the table and slid back into her seat with a sweet self-satisfied grin.

Lexy smiled to herself.
Miss Brighton had done well… Extremely well.

Frost started to laugh, “You should have seen the look of sheer terror on Zach’s face when that waitress came out of the back room. It was amazing.”

Kayn glared at Zach and said, “Mello yourself out, my friend. Have a beer or something.”

“It’s six o’clock in the morning. Who drinks at six am?” Zach mumbled as he opened his menu and tried to pretend he was interested in ordering and not the least bit terrified at what Kayn might do next.

Grey started to laugh. Lexy scowled at him and questioned, “Is something funny?”

“Nope, nothing at all,” Grey stated as he opened the menu that was sitting in front of him.

Lily shook her head slowly from side to side and sighed, “You guys are so whipped.”

Zach looked up from his menu and questioned, “How exactly am I whipped? She’s not my girlfriend or anything.”

Lily grinned, hid behind her menu and teased, “That’s not what I heard.”

Damn it, Greydon. Lexy had known he was going to tell someone but Lily…really?

“That was just a distraction to get out of a sticky situation with Trinity and then it went a little further than it was supposed to because our Kayn had some amped pheromones and I am…” Zach stopped speaking because Frost looked stricken.

Frost looked at Zach and questioned, “No headaches or anything when you kissed her?”

Zach raised one eyebrow, and gave him a strange look as he responded, “No, why would I get a headache?”

“Interesting,” Frost replied, and then stared back down at his menu.

Frost was seriously choked
.

Lexy glanced up from her menu as the door to the kitchen opened with a squeal and a groan.

“They should grease the hinges on that door,” Grey noted from behind his menu.

The waitress made her way back to the table, coffee pot in hand and one by one they passed her their mugs and when she was finished she courteously added, “I’ll be right back to take your orders.”

Lexy looked directly at Kayn and mouthed the words, “I’d avoid ordering anything that has meat in it.”

Kayn knit her brow and nodded.

Lily gave Frost’s arm a squeeze when the waitress appeared and whispered, “It’s your turn.”

Frost looked up from his menu, ordered some oatmeal and handed the waitress the menu. They all did the same as they ordered. Lexy felt her adrenaline race as the door to the restaurant opened.
Calm, she had to be calm.
Grey took her hand under the table as half a dozen human shells with ominous smoky gray and black auras strolled into the establishment. Lexy sensed the anxiety from her fellow Dragon, kicked Kayn under the table again and whispered, “Shut it down.”

Kayn nodded at Lexy as her stomach growled loudly. So, loudly that everyone at the table turned and looked at her. Lexy felt a slight jerk as Grey followed her example and kicked Zach under the table.

Zach moved closer to Kayn and whispered, “Just breathe.”

“I need to get out of here for a second,” Kayn asserted as she tried to stand up but couldn’t because Zach had a death grip on her hand.

Frost questioned, “Where do you think you’re going?”

Kayn looked directly into his eyes and explained, “I’m just going to the bathroom. I need a minute. I’ll get it under control.”

Lexy whispered, “Just think about something else.”

At that moment the waitress arrived with Kayn’s breakfast and she placed an omelet in front of her. Kayn politely thanked the waitress, grabbed the hot sauce and dumped a disgustingly impressive amount of it on her omelet.
She was putting it on everything now.

The waitress placed Zach’s order in front of him and Lexy grimaced.
He ordered the bacon. Oh, crap she’d just assumed Kayn would warn him
. She winced as he took a bite and scrunched up her nose. Lexy turned to alert Grey and he was already watching Zach with morbid fascination as he devoured his first strip of human meat.
Shit
.

Zach made a strange face, as he picked up his next piece of bacon and whispered to Kayn, “I think there’s something wrong with this bacon. It smells off. Should I tell the waitress?”

They both had to bite their tongues to stop themselves from laughing as Kayn’s eyes widened as she realized that she’d forgotten to warn her Handler about the meat. Kayn picked up one of Zach’s pieces of bacon and sniffed it. Lexy smiled and she had to look away for a second as Kayn realized what her Handler was eating. The scent of burnt human flesh always left an imprint on one’s memory.

Lexy slowly moved her head from side to side and mouthed the words, “Don’t tell him.”

Kayn whispered in Zach’s ear, “It’s probably gone bad. Don’t eat any more.”

Zach grimaced and complained, “That was a waste of money.”

The waitress popped back to their table to refill their coffee and Zach addressed her, “Excuse me, but I think there’s something wrong with my bacon. It’s gone bad or something.”

The waitress gave her token response, “I apologize. We serve thin strips of moose meat as bacon. It’s not pig. I keep telling them they should have that written on the menu somewhere.”

That hadn’t made sense but seemed to pacify Zach’s need for an answer.
Zach smelled a piece and took another bite of it, right in front of the waitress. He looked at Kayn and she had to look away from him.

The waitress smiled as Zach chewed up his mouthful and swallowed it. She wandered to the next table to refill their coffee. The restaurant was now completely full to capacity and everyone was surrounded by the black and gray smoke.
Lexy was trying really hard to fight the urge to decapitate everyone in the diner. They were all demons hidden beneath a veil of mortal flesh. They needed to leave because she had a reasonable amount of control and Kayn did not.

Lexy squeezed her Handler’s hand as tightly as she could and he in turn gave Frost a good shove.

“Let’s go buy some toiletries and clothes. Then we’ll find somewhere to stay for the night,” Frost announced rather loudly, just as the waitress walked past their table.

She paused and made a suggestion, “There are some really great cabins with a lake view a few blocks away. You’ll see the sign. It says, Eagle Perch. Those are really reasonable.”

Frost nodded, smiled at her and said, “Add an extra ten dollars for the tip.” He handed her his card.

She thanked him and replied, “I’ll be right back with your receipt. After she brought it back to the table, they all rose from their seats and made their way out of the restaurant appearing to be nothing more than tourists.
They’d look like easy targets, a group of teenagers planning to spend the night partying in one of the cabins by the lake.