Page 24 of Bound to the Griffin (Hillcrest Hollow Shifters #3)

Gwendolyn

I floated into the B not human, not quite.

The eyes reminded me of Jackson’s. A griffin, maybe?

Now I was seeing the mysterious and magical in everything.

It made me feel silly, for all I knew, this guy was as human as I was.

Since he looked like a man who worked with his hands but still took care to look neat, I didn’t immediately get “criminal vibes.” But what did I know about that kind of thing?

This was probably a resident of the town, and it would be rude not to open my door.

He hadn’t knocked a second time and seemed to be patiently waiting for me to make up my mind.

That, more than anything, decided it for me.

The door didn’t creak when it swung open, and it wasn’t crooked either.

I couldn’t recall if it ever had been, but I was damn certain it had creaked before.

The man dipped his chin and offered a polite smile.

“Morning,” he said, his voice easy and deep.

“Name’s Ted. I own the plumbing and repair shop down the street.

Welcome to the Hollow.” He had a lovely voice, warm, kind, a little melodic, actually.

There was an accent under that charm I couldn’t quite place.

Then I saw something glint in those not-quite-human golden eyes, and I knew I was dealing with something just like Jackson.

Maybe not exactly alike, but there was a side to this man I did not know.

I hesitated in the doorway, caught between manners and the instinct that told me not to let strange men into my home.

The instinct that said I might be dealing with something more powerful, more dangerous than I could imagine.

Well, I could imagine a lot more now than I could have even yesterday.

There was no one in the street, but it still felt like eyes were on me, peering out from darkened windows, staring, judging.

Would they judge me for letting him in, or judge me for leaving him out in the cold?

With a dry throat, I said, “Uh, hi. Nice to meet you.”

He nodded toward the house and offered another calm, easy smile.

I felt myself relax a notch under that gaze.

He certainly seemed polite, centered, not like a beast that could leap at me at any moment.

Not that Jackson would ever do that, but I had just had fireballs lobbed at my head that morning.

“Heard your heater’s been out. Thought I’d come take a look,” he said, cutting through the spinning thoughts in my mind with that polite, neighborly offer.

I blinked, then peered around him, down the street, to the shop he’d said he came from.

The shop where I’d once been greeted with feral silence and fierce glares.

Cowboy hat guy, Kai, wasn’t it? Yeah, that’s why this guy seemed familiar; they had to be related.

“Oh. That’s… very kind of you.” Suspicion prickled low in my stomach.

I hadn’t exactly shouted about my heating problem from the rooftops, and this guy’s relative, he might be a wolf. A wolf that had bitten me.

As if summoned by my doubt, Drew appeared, sauntering around the corner of the B he’d put him on guard duty, after all. Guarding me, damn it.

Drew shook his head, planting himself against the wall beside the door like he owned the spot.

“I’ll keep watch.” He tipped his hat at me, smirking.

I didn’t know how he did it, but he seemed to go still, somehow getting comfortable and just…

blending, right there against my wall. Turning into the oddest garden statue I’d ever seen was a little eerie.

My more insistent guest shifted closer, blocking my view of the deputy and drawing my eyes to the soft crinkles at the corners of his; laugh lines.

Then, motion flickered just over his shoulder: a curtain shifting in a window across the empty main street.

I thought that house had been empty too, but no, there was definitely a man visible: pinstriped suit, black hair, and tawny skin catching a ray of early sunlight.

Then he retreated into the dark of the house.

Ted brushed past me then, and I pushed the watchers to the back of my mind for now.

He moved with a confidence that made me stiffen, and my skin prickled.

That was the kind of thing a man like Evan used to do, brush his way inside, expecting a graceful reception at all hours.

“No need for tea, thanks,” Ted said, however, which would have been at odds with Evan’s response.

Not that my ex would drink tea, but he’d certainly expect to be served.