Page 23 of Deceiver

“Magic. Come on.”

He follows me outside, walking slowly to my SUV while looking back at the house. Using my key fob, I unlock all the doors. Keagan climbs in and settles in the passenger seat, clicking his seat belt into place and clutching his bag to his chest.

I join him and start the vehicle, but before I back out of the drive, I turn to face him. “Listen, Keagan, there are a lot of things about me that won’t make sense, but I promise that my entire purpose right now is ridding you of that Horror. It’s my job, and I’m very good at what I do. You are safe with me. You have my word.”

“Okay,” he says softly. “I’m pretty fucking freaked out though. I always thought this stuff was bullshit, but it’s not, is it?”

“No.”

He shifts in his seat, directing his gaze out the window. I can only imagine what he must be feeling, especially knowing his own father is haunting him, but based on what I experienced, this is not a safe place for him to be right now.

I rarely resort to bringing a target to my home if there are other options, but it’s not the first time I’ve done it. I put the car in gear and back out of the driveway slowly.

As we drive down the street, I notice Keagan glancing at me. “I have questions.”

“I’m sure you do.”

“Do you live alone?”

“Yes.”

“No wife or, um, partner of any kind?”

“My job makes partnership difficult.”

“I see. How old are you?”

I snort a dry laugh. “Older than you think.”

“You look thirty-five.”

I say nothing in response.

“Not telling me? Okay, fine. Can you at least tell me your last name?”

“Wilkins.”

“Wilder Wilkins?”

I chuckle at that. “Wilder is a chosen name.”

“Oh.”

“Edward,” I offer. “But I don’t use it and my surname is rarely needed.”

“Gotcha.”

“We’ll get you settled in and then we can figure out dinner. I’ll have to wash some bedding for you.”

“Okay.” He’s silent for a few minutes before he says, “Thanks for helping.”

“It’s my job.”

Chapter 8

Keagan

Ishould definitely not be thinking about how attractive Wilder is. Or about how intense his green eyes are when he looks at me, how sexy the set of his jaw or the veins in his hands are. I wondered why he had gloves on earlier, if he was hiding something, but maybe he wears them to keep people from drooling over how ridiculously hot his hands are.