Page 43 of Zombies, Satyrs and Vampires, Oh My!

“You need to learn some manners,” I tell him. “When a lady says no, she means it. Now get the fuck away from us before I knock out your other fang.”

He hisses at me, then turns and runs away.

I look at Harriet. “Did he just hiss at me?”

“He legit did. Oh my God, that was hysterical.”

Then I see the scratch on her arm. I pull her close to me. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine. Hope I don’t get cat-scratch fever.” She giggles.

“Let’s get back inside and get it cleaned up.”

I lead her inside where I reset the alarm. Once we’re in the kitchen, I lift her and set her on the counter, then use a wet cloth to wash her scratch. She’s right, it’s not a bad cut, barely more than a scrape.

“You were pretty bad ass out there,” she says.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, like a goddamn ninja.”

“Ancient goat ninja, I’m a black belt.”

She laughs and the sound is like the best song I’ve ever heard. I am head over hooves in love with this woman.

Her phone rings. She glances down at the screen and Vivian is lit up.

“Probably calling about the noise from the cat. You should answer,” I tell her. Then I leave her in the kitchen.

I go out into the sitting room that overlooks the back yard. There’s a pool back there, all lit up neon blue.

A ninja. I smile. She thinks I’m a badass. Of course, she initially must have thought I was helpless since she kidnapped me and brought me here.

It’s pointless for me to hope she did it for other reasons—that she has feelings for me that go beyond a girlish crush.