Chapter 5

“Viv! Viv! Wake up!” Thomas shouted, banging on her door.

“What?”

Her door flew open, her former best friend standing there. “I’m tired, it’s early. What’s wrong?”

“Your date the other day. His name was Mark, right?” Thomas asked.

“Yeah. He turned out to be an asshole. Why?”

Thomas sat on her bed, handing her his phone. She had to blink and rub her eyes to clear them enough to read.

“Oh shit.”

“A man was arrested last night after evidence was found on his computer implicating him in multiple unsolved rape cases. Mark Gessin was charged with ten counts of rape and battery. He would drug his dates, found through local dating apps, and bring them back to his house. There he would film himself raping the women. One video even shows him slipping the drugs into a woman’s drink. Police are asking anyone to come forward who may have more information. If you were a victim, please reach out to the police to help put this man away behind bars. There are medical and mental health professionals standing by to help.” The screen had both a help line and the police department phone numbers listed.

“Oh my god. I thought it was weird he had a drink ready, and I didn’t drink it.” She looked at her friend, shaken about what could have happened.

“No more going on dates without D checking them out first, okay?” Thomas demanded. “I can’t have anything happen to you.”

Viv nodded her head, holding on to Thomas. She had no idea how long they sat there, holding each other. D knocked on the doorframe, holding two cups of coffee in his hand.

“You okay, Viv?” he asked gently.

“Yeah. I just. I had no idea he was that kind of person. When he lost his temper with the poor bartender, I knew I wouldn’t go on any other dates with him. He was so mean to the guy. But this? I had a weird feeling with the drink, but I still didn’t expect it, I guess.”

“Here’s your coffee. No more dates without meeting me first, huh?”

“Yeah. I know I was lucky. I’m glad I have you,” she told him with a small smile. She was really lucky that she had such good friends, including a demon who could tell her if they were someone to avoid. He couldn’t always tell if they were rude or an asshole, but bits of evil he definitely could sense.

“I need to head to work. Is there anything you guys need before I go?” D asked. When they both shook their heads, he came over to give Thomas a kiss goodbye. Before he ported out, he switched to his demon form, the leather pants and black silk shirt filling out as his body bulked up.

“Hmm,” Thomas said appreciatively, giving his mate a heated look-over. “Need another kiss,” he said, tilting his head up.

“I’ve got to go or I’m going to be late. Call if you need anything,” D said before porting out.

“We’re both off today. What do you want to do? Movies, blankets, and junk food?” Thomas offered.

“That sounds perfect,” she admitted. Part of her wondered if she should tell the police about her date last night, but nothing had happened and she had no proof that her drink had been tampered with, so she really had nothing to add that could help them.

Sitting on the couch with her coffee, she grabbed the remote to turn on a rom-com movie, something cheery. She finally decided on The Proposal. They had both seen it, but it sounded like a great one to watch again. Thomas climbed in next to her, covering them both in a blanket before handing her a bowl of mini donuts.

“I didn’t know we had donuts,” she said.

“D ran out to get some this morning,” Thomas replied. “I figured I could talk you into relaxing today. I need to spend some time with you, so I know you’re okay,” he admitted.

“I’m fine,” she said, bumping his shoulder with hers. “D can clear all my future dates. Maybe the third time’s the charm?”

“I hope so. I love spending time with you, so does D, but I know you want to find your own person.”

They made it through three rom-coms before deciding to order lunch. They had an extra cheese pizza delivered, her mouth watering at the smell of their favorite pizza place. As they ate their lunch, she looked at her friend, wondering if she should ask. She was super curious though, especially after seeing D in his demon form this morning.

“What? I can hear you thinking,” Thomas said, taking a bite of pizza.

“Is there a dating app for nonhumans?”

“I’m not really sure. I can ask D about it later. Why?”

“Just curious. If they could have humans as mates if they used human dating apps or if they just wandered through life hoping to run into them. You guys met in a bar, so I was just curious if they dated the same way humans did.”

“Huh. I’ll have to ask him. I don’t know,” Thomas admitted.

“I’m feeling a little like veal,” Viv confessed. “Do you want to walk down and grab a coffee?”

“Sure, let me throw some real pants on. Give me a couple of minutes.”

Viv also ran to her room, throwing on something besides her pajamas. She grabbed her phone, keys, and wallet. It would feel nice to move around and see the sky. As they left the apartment’s parking lot, Viv could almost feel the shadows following her.

D’s phone rang, the ringtone for work. He put his fork down, grabbing his phone. “I need to get this,” he said getting up from the table.

“Hello? Yeah? You found him? Do you need help?” he asked, his voice getting fainter as he walked out of the kitchen.

Viv looked over at Thomas.

He shrugged. “My best guess is Mac. He’s been working on tracking a Shadow. The guy has been getting bolder in his kills and has been giving them grief trying to find him.”

“Does Mac have backup?” she asked. She had no idea how the demon system worked.

“Normally he works alone, but I’m sure there are others he can call for help if he needs it. He’s not the only Enforcer.”

D came running back into the kitchen. “I’ve got to go. Mac finally got him. We’re going to get him processed before he has a chance to escape again.”

“Be safe. Call me and let me know when he’s locked up,” Thomas demanded, standing to give D a kiss.

After he had gone, Thomas picked at his food. “I’m not really hungry anymore. I’m too worried about D.”

“He’ll be fine. He’s a high-level demon, he’s good at his job, plus Mac will be there. If he already escaped once, I bet they have a lot of support people there to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Viv said, trying to sound calm and assured. “Go find us a show to watch. I’ll be right there.”

She put the rest of dinner away and pulled out ice cream from the freezer. She had bought a double chocolate with pieces of brownies and nuts earlier this week and had hidden it in the back of the freezer. There was whipped cream and cherries in the fridge, so she went about making them both a sundae. Thomas’ comfort food had always been ice cream. She put a new pot of coffee on, not sure how long it would take D to process the criminal, but knowing Thomas would want to wait up until he got home.

“Nailed It? That sounds perfect,” she said when she saw the baking competition show on. It was something lighthearted and they groaned over some of the creations.

“I don’t think she added the right amount of sugar,” Thomas pointed out.

“I think that was salt,” Viv said, squinting at the container and trying to read the label.

“Oh, that’s going to be nasty. I’m glad I don’t have to eat it,” Thomas laughed.

They cheered when their favorite contestant won, a grandma who was atrocious at decorating, but her cakes had tasted nice. Viv pressed the ‘watch next episode’ button, not wanting Thomas to tense up again.

They got caught up on Nailed It and then switched to TheGreat British Baking Show.

“Spotted dick just sounds gross. Like some type of STI,” Thomas pointed out.

“It really does. I get the spotted part, but why dick? It doesn’t look like a dick,” Viv said staring at the screen.

“What’s suet?” Thomas asked.

Viv grabbed her phone. “Fat, I think. Let me double-check. Yup, animal fat found near the kidneys. Cow is the most popular, it seems.”

“Doesn’t sound as tasty that way. Let’s make some steamed dick dessert with kidney fat,” Thomas laughed.

“Ew.” Viv laughed with him. It did sound awful when you said it that way.

The Star Baker had just been announced when D ported back in. He looked exhausted and had a black eye. Thomas jumped up, rushing to his mate.

“What happened?”

“He really didn’t want to go to punishment. There were so many more crimes he’s committed that we didn’t know about. He’s been sent to the worst level there is, no chance for reincarnation, no release.”

“Can he escape from there?” Thomas asked.

D shook his head. “No. There are safeguards. If a soul tries to escape, they’re destroyed.”

“How did you end up with a black eye?” Thomas asked.

Viv started to quietly clean up, wanting to give them a minute alone. She would grab the frozen peas from the freezer for D’s eye.

“He tried to escape. We had him surrounded in the office, but he still tried. I stepped in to stop him from going after Mac again.”

“Is Mac okay?” she called out, unable to help herself.

“He’s a little banged up. He took a couple of good hits in the office and the guy had stabbed his leg when he was trying to subdue him to bring him in. He was at the doctor’s getting stitched up when I left. I’m grabbing a shower and then I’ll head back in to check on him. I wanted to let you guys know what had happened first,” D replied.

Stabbed? Viv was horrified that someone she knew had been stabbed. Well, kind of knew. Knew by association. What did she have that she could send over when D went back? Chicken soup! She had made some earlier in the week and froze it for emergency meals. She had a big bowl of it. She had made soda bread for dinner, but D had been called out right before they had really started eating and it hadn’t been cut into yet. She could add that. Viv wondered if she had enough time to throw together some cookies. When she saw Thomas follow D into their room, she smiled, knowing that it would be a long shower, giving her enough time to make cookies. Maybe a half batch of chocolate chip cookies and half of snickerdoodles? She wasn’t sure what kind of cookie Mac liked. Looking into the pantry, she changed her mind. She would make her Everything Cookies. Everyone seemed to like them, and they were both sweet and a little salty with pretzel pieces, chocolate chips, and caramel bits. She was pulling them out of the oven when she heard the shower shut off and she hurriedly grabbed the frozen soup, writing out a quick note on the best way to reheat it, wrapping up the bread, and sticking the cookies in a basket. They were still too hot to seal up in a container.

“D! Before you go, can you grab this?” she called out, not wanting him to leave without the food.

He came into the kitchen, dressed down in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. “Sure, what did you need?”

“Can you give this to Mac? There’s nothing worse than having to make yourself food when you don’t feel well,” she said. Or you know, when you’ve been stabbed, either way. “I remembered you saying he doesn’t have a lot of family, so I thought I could send this. I can make more if he needs it.” Thomas gave her a look, letting her know that they were going to be talking about this later.

“Oh, that’s nice. I’m sure he’ll love it,” D said.

“He should. Viv’s chicken soup is amazing. And those are my favorite cookies,” Thomas said.

“I’ll make you your own batch. I still have enough ingredients left,” she replied.

“Thanks,” D said, giving her a hug before grabbing the food and porting out.

Thomas spun to face her. “What was that?”

“What?”

“You know what.”

“I just thought it would be nice for him to have a homemade meal when he’s injured. It sucks being on your own and not having anyone help you.”

“Uh huh. That doesn’t explain the babbling,” Thomas pointed out.

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “I’ve only seen him a few times, never even really talked to him, but I’m attracted to him. Like if he asked me on a date, I would totally say yes. I,” she paused. “It doesn’t make sense, right? But I feel drawn to him.”

“He’s hot,” Thomas agreed.

“Yeah.” It wasn’t just that, she thought. She had met lots of attractive people, but she felt drawn to him in a way that she hadn’t experienced before. However, she knew it wouldn’t go anywhere. He seemed to leave as soon as she showed up. She had a feeling he was either uncomfortable around humans or didn’t like them.