Chapter 33

33

Tracy smoked and groaned her way through the streets, almost certainly violating several emissions laws as Lilis pushed her engine dangerously into the red zone. You have one job, you rust bucket. You will not fail at it.

“Lilis, stop! You’re killing Tracy, and we’re not going to make it! We only have three minutes.” Simon clutched the grab bars on the dashboard and above the window.

“I’ve got news for you, Simon. This is what cars are supposed to do. Get you where you need to be. Faster than walking. You wouldn’t let me fly you, so you’re going to have to put up with my driving. Just focus on not puking or passing out, okay?”

She wrenched the wheel to the right, skidding them around a corner and nearly tipping onto two wheels.

“Trackers aren’t stunt cars!”

“Have a little faith, Simon.” Lilis downshifted and careened around another corner. “Tracy’s agile!”

Tracy’s tires screeched, and the white smoke coming from under her hood turned sooty. The smell of burning rubber and oil filled the air.

“Lilis, I—Jesus, those are pedestrians!”

“I see them.”

Lilis swerved neatly around the cluster of students hanging out by cars parallel parked in front of a large church. Now that she had a better sense of Tracy’s capabilities, it was time to find out what this excuse for a vehicle had left in it.

“Almost there. Hang on, Simon, we’re taking a shortcut.”

“Through a cemetery? ”

The path through the gated graveyard was considerably narrower than the street, but it cut directly across the streets they needed to pass in order to get to the medical building. Tracy bumped her way through the gravel, bursting back onto the road just before the signal light changed to green, releasing the afternoon traffic into their path.

Lilis pulled Tracy to a stop in a parking spot just as her motor gave a last desperate sputter and belched up a mushroom cloud of horrible smoke.

Simon turned in the passenger seat, mouth open as though he was going to say something. Lilis gave him a quick kiss. “Yell at me later. Now go ace your test!”

He ducked in for a second kiss, stumbled out of the car, and ran into the building.

She’d done it. She’d kept Simon alive and kept his life on the track he wanted. He wouldn’t have to only walk the passage her life seemed determined to carve for him. Lilis stood a little taller than usual as she exited Tracy, probably for the last time. She dug into her pocket for some coins and loaded the meter with as many as it would take before heading in the other direction.

The station house was on the other side of town, but Lilis took the time to enjoy the walk and take in the sights of the university campus. Imperious buildings were scattered among paths through parks and local businesses. Small boutiques sat proudly advertising their designs and antiques in bright windows sandwiched between coffee shops and restaurants.

While the fire raged, she’d barely noticed anything but it and the firehouse. It seemed like an entirely different world now. Even the firehouse would be different. Now that the fire was extinguished, many of the Flame Jumpers would be gone, headed back to their families for much-needed breaks before being sent to the next big inferno.

Without Lilis to watch their back.

You don’t need to care. And she didn’t. Not really. But despite the shit Johnson and Carter had put her through on Shepherd’s behalf, there were still some people she would miss a little. Like Ramos. And Vega. And Hoyt.

She rounded a bend in the road, and the station came into view. From a distance, Lilis could see several of the Flame Jumpers moving around outside, loading gear into one of the trucks.

Why the fuck am I here? They don’t care, I don’t care. I have what I came for. The asshole responsible for killing demons is dead.

Just as she was about to give up this stupid idea, turn around, and flee away from the humans she had no business seeing anymore, Ramos caught sight of her. “Hey guys! Look who’s back!”

Hells . There was no hiding now.

He jogged over to her. “ Oye wey . Am I glad to see you, Gerru.”

“We all are.”

Lilis’ dragon nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Johnson’s voice behind her. She tensed. You can go fuck yourself with Mary’s rustiest piston, with your “we’re all happy to see you” bullshit. She turned around to tell him just that, but the words died on her tongue.

Johnson’s shaggy hair stood up at odd, greasy angles, and he had a considerable stubble as though he hadn’t shaved in days. Dark circles shadowed eyes that appeared haunted and guilt-ridden. He averted his gaze, as though unable to look at her.

“You are?” Spectacularly put, Lilis. But she couldn’t comprehend Johnson’s statement, much less his appearance. Or, for that matter, the number of Flame Jumpers still hanging around, most of whom joined their little group to nod their agreement. “What the hell are you guys doing here, anyway? Fire’s out. Shouldn’t you be going home to your families or?—”

“Not ‘til the investigation concludes.” Vega’s authoritative tones carried over the group, for once not silencing them. “We all need to talk to the police. We saved you a turn.”

Lilis’ brain stalled. “Wait… what? What police? Why are they?—”

Johnson hung his head. “Shepherd shot Carter.”

What?!

“He’s fine. Carter’s fine,” Vega corrected. “They can’t find Shepherd anywhere. Asshole lost his shit at Hoyt. Kept shouting something about everything being Hoyt’s fault. Carter stepped between them and got a bullet to the shoulder as a thank you.”

Lilis cringed. If the police were looking for Shepherd, they would never find him. Not after Naleli and Kas had finished cremating the body and sinking his remaining crumbs into the deepest chasms of the Pine Barrens.

Her only regret was not taking him apart herself.

Vega’s voice lowered and his expression darkened. “Shepherd better pray to La Fucking Virgen herself that the police find him before one of us does. You don’t shoot one of mine and walk away on two legs.”

Several other Flame Jumpers nodded their approval. Huh. Maybe that’s why she got along so well with this group. They defended their own as fiercely as she did.

Vega nodded at Lilis. “Walk with me.”

The elite firefighters returned to their tasks as Lilis fell into step next to Vega.

What the hell does he want now?

Not that it mattered. With her mystery solved, Lilis no longer needed Vega’s approval or a spot on his team.

Vega led her away from the rest of the group, back to where a metal swing set with two empty chain swings dangled and drifted in the breeze as if the ghosts of dead children played on them, waiting to jump out at one of the firefighters.

Lilis could not wait to get as far as possible from this creepscape the humans called a firefighting station house. She was beginning to have the sneaking suspicion some of the station’s benevolent benefactors were actually demons with nothing better to do than thoroughly unsettle the local humans by donating macabre furniture and decorations that would haunt their nightmares.

Vega paused as though searching for the right words, finally landing on, “Are you okay?”

Lilis smiled and shook her head. “What, no ass-chewing first?”

One side of Vega’s mouth quirked up. “ Cálmate , Gerru. I’ll take you down a notch, but not before I make sure Shepherd didn’t mess you up. I told you already. I don’t tolerate violence between members of my team.”

Lilis fought against the heat rising in her cheeks. Vega protected his team.

And still considered her a part of that team.

“First, you’re begging onto my team,” he continued when Lilis didn’t respond. “Then you go missing for days. Shepherd swears up and down he’s been texting you, telling you to get your ass to the sta?—”

“That lying motherfucker! He told me you benched us all while the special investigators dragged their feet!” Lilis’ adrenalin spiked hard. If Shepherd weren’t already dead, she’d track him down just to kill him again.

Vega watched her carefully, as though assessing her reaction. He stayed silent for several moments. Finally, he leaned against the side of the swing set. “We’ve got a two-week break, and then we’re headed west to take over with the Furies in Pennsylvania. I expect you ready to go.”

“Pennsylvania? Why?”

Vega ran a hand through his hair. “What part don’t you get? I’m down a man without Shepherd. I could really use you.”

“Weren’t you the one texting me a few days ago asking me where the fuck I was? I barely helped. You said it yourself, I left my post?—”

“To pull out one of my firefighters.” His entire demeanor grew solemn. “I saw the spot where Hoyt went down.” He crossed himself. “I still don’t know how you did that, but I’m damned grateful.”

“What about the texts?”

For the first time since she’d met him, Vega laughed. “I do expect you to answer your goddamn phone when I call. I could give a fuck about anyone else texting you with instructions. But you will answer my calls. And follow my orders.”

Lilis hesitated. She’d never settled with any firefighters for long. She’d learned the hard way how fleeting human lives were, and she couldn’t bring herself to become attached to a group of humans whose lives were at risk of being shortened violently nearly every day.

Besides. As much as she could barely stomach the thought of working with even more endirim, Kas and Naleli’s story of what had happened to their friend terrified her. If they needed her, Lilis was no longer certain she could turn them down.

At least not easily.

But the group of firefighters had grown on her.

Vega smiled, clearly reading some of her thoughts from her expression. “Think it over. You may not have had the greatest experience with us so far. But I promise you, it won’t always be like this.”

“I’ll think about it,” she promised.

Three hours later, Lilis sat on a bench outside the plain, gray medical building where she’d dropped Simon off. Two paper sacks served as trash bags for the styrofoam and tin foil containers that had once held a chicken salad, two gyros, a fruit and yogurt cup, and some amazing creation the diner owner had called “scrapple.” She dug into her thick slice of blueberry cheesecake. Thank gods for New Jersey’s obsession with diners—an excellent source of calories when she needed to feed her dragon.

Said beast was curled up, sated and happy, waiting unhurriedly for its mate.

Lilis sighed. An animal’s life was so much simpler than her human life. Tests and courses, hopes and dreams meant nothing to a creature that existed in the here and now. She’d existed in that life for so long, not really living but maintaining what she needed to keep herself isolated from her own desires. And now she worried about someone else’s dreams.

What if he failed? What if everything her world had put him through over the last two weeks had ruined what he’d worked so long to achieve?

How long did these exams take, anyway?

Just as her worries were beginning to drown her, several students filed out of the building wearing exhausted and downtrodden expressions. “Nearly thirty hours prepping for this thing, and I still only scraped by.”

Shit. Thirty hours? Simon had been lucky to have an hour to himself in between all his near-death experiences in the last week.

Lilis scanned the thinning crowd, searching for Simon’s face.

He finally exited, and for once, Lilis couldn’t read a thing in his expression. No emotion, no nothing. She waited for him to notice her, and when he did, his entire body seemed to melt into grateful relief. He gave her a big smile and swept her off her feet into his arms.

“I did not study long enough for that exam.”

Lilis’ heart broke. What could she say when it was her fault he’d lost all that time? “Simon, I’m so sorry. I will help you prepare for it again in whatever way you need me to?—”

“Oh, I passed. Barely.” He chuckled as they walked. “But I think I could’ve aced it had I been able to put in more time.”

Lilis sighed deeply and relaxed. Her world hadn’t overrun his.

“What about you? What did you get up to while I was battling my way through paragraphs on acute inflammation and the role of oxidative stress in the development of chronic diseases?”

“Nothing as riveting as you.” Lilis laughed, then cleared her throat. “I uh… I might have gotten a job.”

“A human job?” Simon’s face brightened with interest. “Where?”

“Well, Vega needs someone to fill Shepherd’s spot since the lying asshole turned out to be a murderous sociopath. And I need something to keep me busy while you’re taking classes so those endirim bastards leave me alone. For a while, at least.”

Simon draped an arm over her shoulders and squeezed. “I’m glad you’ll have somewhere safe to be as a dragon. I hope you’ll take the job. Who knows? You might grow to enjoy your colleagues and meet more people this way.”

“Yeah, well.” Lilis blew out a breath. “Nothing’s decided yet. I told Vega I’d consider it.”

“No matter what you choose, I’m happy for you, Lilis. Oh! Look what I got at the school store on my way out of the test.” He dug through the pockets of his jacket, pulling out several pens, a mercury thermometer, a handful of bandaids, and two rubber gloves. “Damn, I just had it. Hold these.”

Lilis accepted the random heap and pursed her lips. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you were part dragon with all your collections. And you say my treasure is weird. Surely you can find better medical equipment to hoard?” Her eyes widened as he dug through his pants pockets, and something poked at the fabric. “Except that. You can keep whatever that is.”

Simon laughed and drew out something long and cylindrical. “You mean my penlight?” He winked, and his voice deepened as he spoke again, continuing to search through his pockets. “I’ve got better things in here than that. Just wait until we get home and—got it!”

With a triumphant smile, he pulled her to a stop in front of Tracy and held up two small metal rings with plastic pink circles. He attached one ring to the penlight and secured the pink plastic to his shirt, then tugged on the penlight. It came out on a string before retracting back to his shirt. “Now,” he boasted, “I won’t keep losing this.”

Lilis rolled her eyes. “ This is what you’re so excited about? A pocket protector for your flashlight? You’re the reason nerd and nurse practically rhyme . ”

Simon’s eyes flashed. He nudged her against Tracy, pinning her with his bulk. “Listen, Patient Twelve,” he said in a low voice, “you didn’t let me finish my exam of you the first night we met.” His hand lifted to her hip, and he squeezed, bending his head to her ear. “If you want me to be thorough ,” he said, his breath raising goosebumps along her skin, “then I need to know where all my tools are.”

He withdrew just far enough to kiss her, and Lilis moaned into his mouth as his lips slid along hers in a motion that grew increasingly demanding. “Is that a second penlight in your pocket?” she teased.

“Not when you’re around.” Simon brought his hands up to cup her face as he continued to ravish her mouth. “Let’s go somewhere else so we can celebrate properly.” He pulled back from her with a last kiss and held up the other retractable reel by the metal ring. “I’ll need to find a place to store the spare so I don’t lose it, too.”

His eyes met hers, the woodsy brown deepening. “Lilis, I know we’re mates. And I have a lot to learn about what that means. But I love you. And one day, I’d like to propose to you.”

Her breath caught. The longest any of Simon’s prior selves had lived after meeting her was four years. They’d all loved her, but not one had spoken of human marriage. That Simon wanted that with her, wanted to claim her as his own with a human ceremony for the rest of the world to know how much he cared…

He inhaled sharply. “Are you okay, Lilis? I think I’m getting some of your emotions through?—”

She cut him off with a kiss. “I’m more than okay. I’m just enjoying the moment of you telling me you love me without being seconds from death.” She kissed him again when he seemed ready to argue. “And I would love for you to propose to me someday.”

He grinned broadly and slipped the metal ring with the pink circle onto the ring finger of her left hand. “Think of this as a promise until I can get you something not pink. I know you don’t like?—”

“I love it. I love you, Simon, and I’m not in a rush. I’ve claimed you as my mate, so as long as you don’t die again, I’ll be happy.”

He wrapped his arms around her, and Lilis settled into the warm protection of his embrace. “You may have claimed me, Lilis Gerru, my beautiful dragon. But you’re mine now.”