Chapter 10

"Hannah,what the hell are you doing?" I barked, kicking my apartment door shut.

"Looks like I arrived just in time. I found this guy hiding in your bathroom," Hannah stated.

Aidan had his hands raised and appeared unamused. No shit. He had a dagger to his throat. "Not hiding," Aidan growled. "Looking for my flathead screwdriver."

"Sure, you were," Hannah drawled.

I stalked into the bathroom and glanced around before crouching to peek under the vanity. I emerged waving the tool. "Aidan isn't lying. He's the building maintenance guy. He was here the last two days fixing my shower."

My explanation didn't remove Hannah's scowl. "Are you sure that was true? Maybe he just claimed he had to do repairs to get into your place."

"Because I don't have better things to do than creep on women," Aidan drawled.

"The shower was leaking. I saw the damage myself," I explained.

"If you say so." She made it clear she remained suspicious. Hannah leaned away from Aidan, the dagger dropping to her side, but she remained alert.

"He's a good guy." Then to him. "Sorry about that. Hannah is a bit overzealous when it comes to looking after her friends."

"Does she always try to slice people without asking questions first?" He remained belligerent.

Hannah smirked. "Honey, I've killed more assholes than you could possibly imagine, sometimes just for looking at me wrong."

I rolled my eyes. "She's kidding." I lied. I didn't think she joked one bit. "You should probably go." I edged Aidan in the direction of the door.

As he hit the hall, I realized I still gripped his tool and not the fun one in his pants. "Here's the screwdriver." I slapped it into his hand.

He took it but eyed me warily. "Everything okay, Red?"

"Yeah. Hannah's just an old chum from my training days with the bureau. She's staying with me a few days. But we're keeping it on the down low on account of problems she's having with her ex. So if you could not mention it to anyone…"

"That would involve me talking to people and then, for some reason, telling them your business, which isn't even my business. Sorry about being in your place without permission. I literally thought I'd be in there thirty seconds to grab the screwdriver and be gone with no one the wiser."

"Hannah's a little on edge, you know, given circumstances in the city."

His expression turned somber. "I can't believe we've got a serial killer running rampant."

"Hopefully not for long. The bureau is working hard to identify and capture the wolf."

His brow lifted. "So it's been confirmed it's a wolf? The speech the police chief gave today called the killer an unknown assailant."

"We only just got word that the hair on the scene was indeed from a canine breed, and since the Grimm Effect loves wolves…"

"I wouldn't say love. Seems to me, those who get turned get the raw end of the stick."

My brow creased. "How so?"

"Because everyone always assumes the wolf is bad."

"Well, in this case, he most definitely is. I've got more than a dozen bodies as proof. And more to come if I don't crack this case."

"Guess we won't be talking COD strategy tonight over Chinese food," he offered with a wry twist of his lips.

Wait, was he talking about a gaming date? And one that I totally would have enjoyed? "I have an errand to run later, but I'll be online after that if you wanna party up."

"I'd like that." He paused, then added, "Be safe, Red. City's a little dangerous right now."

Didn't I know it.

He leaned in to brush his lips against mine. It took me by surprise and also stole all thoughts of reply. Bemused, I watched his ass as he headed up the hall to the stairwell. Nice view. I reentered my apartment to find Hannah waiting.

"You and him an item?" she point-blank asked.

"No." Not entirely a lie. I wasn't sure at this point what to call us. We'd kissed. Barely. Would it go somewhere? Time would tell.

"He's hot in a rugged don't-give-a-fuck kind of way."

I tamped down the spurt of jealousy. "He's not bad."

She snorted. "Please. I could see you devouring him with your eyes."

Was I? "We only recently met."

"If it doesn't pan out, let me know. I'm always looking for no-strings stress relief."

I definitely had to clench my fists at that remark. "I'm more into the battery-operated kind. Less messy."

The remark had Hannah chuckling. "Those do work, but I'm a gal who likes the real deal. My biggest issue is I attract beta males because I intimidate the alpha type."

"They're not really alpha if they can't handle a strong woman." I understood where she came from. My at-times abrasive nature had scared off more than one dude.

"My friend Chloe says I just need to wait for the right guy. But it would help if the right guy would show the fuck up. But enough of that. Let's get back to the mission. Your windows should be secure enough. No exterior handholds to reach them, but I did lock them, so if they did try to enter, they'll have to break glass. Your door has a decent enough lock. Anyone picking or kicking it in will give us ample warning. Any issues I should know about, re the building or neighbors?"

"Rats."

She blinked. "You have a rodent problem?"

"Not sure." I explained the oddity that had occurred, and her lips thinned. "This isn't the first time something like this has happened."

"German rats pouring out of a ceiling?"

"No, the fact that things that belong in one place are showing up suddenly in others. And by suddenly, I mean blink of an eye."

It reminded me of what Cinder hypothesized. "The Grimm Effect is changing the rules."

"Did it ever have any to start with?" her dry response.

"Levi says you and your brother beat the curse."

"Gerome is not my brother, but yes, we did. We were runaways who happened to both stumble across the witch around the same time. Although, instead of a candy house, she had a minivan and offered us hot food and a shower. Before you say it, I knew I was dumb for accepting the offer, but she looked like a suburban soccer mom. Nicely dressed. Frail seeming. A fa?ade, of course. Soon as she got me in her house, she stuck me in a cage to fatten up. That's how I met Gerome. With his help, we managed to escape and rid the world of her evil ass."

"I thought the Hansel and Gretel curse was always about siblings."

"Like we just said, the Grimm Effect is changing and has been for longer than some realize."

"How long have you been part of the Knights?"

"A decade now. When we reported the witch's death to the bureau, they kept us in custody to study since, as you said, we weren't the traditional sibling pair. Given we had nowhere to go, they asked us if we'd like to work for them. We started out as office agents but eventually got reassigned when Levi put the team together."

"You think this plan will work?"

"Honestly? No. This wolf has shown himself to be smart. Smart enough to stay unseen. Smart enough to have killed all those folks without anyone noticing. Smart enough to taunt."

"Meaning he's going to see right through me prancing around and bide his time." My lips pursed.

"Most likely."

"Then why are we bothering?"

She shrugged. "Because Levi gives the orders, and honestly, what else can we do? If the killer is watching, then most likely he's going to wait for a moment when you're vulnerable. It could be while you're at work. Or visiting friends or family. Speaking of which, I hope they're taking precautions."

My lips turned down. "I tried talking my mom and grandma into taking a holiday from the city. They refused. Said the wolf wasn't interested in two old women."

"Have they not read the story?"

"That's exactly what I said but they insist they're safe since I beat the curse."

"That's only if it's not making another run at you. If the wolf is indeed fixated on you, your family could be in danger," Hannah pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I might have not told them about the killer possibly being obsessed with me. My mom already hates my job as it is. I didn't need to give her more ammo."

Hannah stared at me.

And kept staring.

I shifted uncomfortably. "Okay, I get it. I'll give them a shout and give them a few more details to light a fire under their asses."

A great plan that didn't work. Several minutes in and my mom still didn't grasp the severity of the situation. "Mom, you are not listening. The curse could be coming back for round two. That means the killer might come after you to get to me."

"I appreciate your concern, baby girl, but I'm fine. We promise to stay in at night, and I won't wear red."

"Mom, he broke into the last victims' house."

"In the city. We're far from there, baby girl. We'll be okay."

"Mom…" I growled, and she sighed.

"Since you're going to be so insistent, would you feel better if we took off to June's for a few days?"

"Yes." Was that so hard? I kept my exasperation in check. "Call me when you get there. I'll be up."

"We are not going tonight. It's much too dark to be driving. We'll leave first thing in the morning."

I hung up with a scowl, and Hannah snorted. "Damn. That was painful."

"No shit. But at least she agreed to go. In the morning."

"Don't worry. I texted the boss. He's sending Sully to watch their place in case the perp decides to go after them tonight instead of you or someone else."

"Thanks." That slightly reassured. "What time am I going for my jaunt?"

"Let's wait until dark. Say about nine? I see you've got something red to wear." Hannah pointed to the cape. "Way to not give in to stereotypes."

"My mom made it for me ages ago. She still believes Red Cap and the huntsman are meant to be together, even though her own huntsman abandoned her. She still thinks he'll come back someday."

"Some people prefer the hope of a happily ever after."

"This is beyond hope and right into stupidity. It's been decades."

"The curse doesn't care about time."

The curse also didn't care about anything except getting its pints in blood.