Page 18 of Demon

“What the fuck have you done this time?” The grey-haired man complained.

“This fucker was about to attack Ciara.”

“So, you took her car windows out with his head?”

Demon shrugged.

“Fucking hell. One day, you’ll learn to control that temper,” he grumbled, scrubbing a hand across his face. “Right, Fury, get him in the van. What we doing about the lass?”

My heart jolted. Had I seen too much? Would I end up in the River Tyne with bricks tied to my ankles?

“I… I won’t say anything to anyone,” I squeaked.

The grey-haired man looked at Fury, who’s face cracked into a wide grin and then suddenly the pair of them were laughing loudly.

“I meant about getting you home, love,” grey-hair said eventually after he’d stopped chortling at my expense.

“I’ll get her home safe, Indie, if you and Fury see to this twat.”

“Please get him out of my car,” I asked, turning to Demon, the only one who hadn’t laughed at me.

Demon tipped his head at the other men and then together, they pulled him out of the back window, blood dripping a wet trail, before sliding the unconscious man into the back of the van.

“Alright, we got this. Get her home before the police or unsuspecting passer-by rocks up,” the man Demon had called Indie instructed.

I felt like I was driving a convertible with the top down all the way home. The wind whipped my hair around, and the constant thudding in my ears from the two open windows on the right-hand side of the car was giving me a headache. Behind me, the low growl of a motorbike accompanied me. All the way home. Closely. In fact, he was so far up my ass I was going to have to charge him. Guess it would get my windows fixed.

Any hopes the neighbours might have had for a peaceful sleep were probably shattered when we slowed at the door, the offensive noise from the bike’s exhaust even louder in the surrounding silence. I locked the car on getting out. A habit. Because it sure as hell wasn’t going to do anything towards keeping my car safe now that it was gaping open on one side. Good job I owned nothing worth stealing. And now who would want to steal that? I was probably more at risk of the police passing by and impounding it because it looked like the sad victim of the ASBO kids in the area.

Despite the late hour, or early, depending on which way you looked at it, I scanned the street, watching for shadows moving. For people watching. Today was almost too coincidental to be a coincidence. The woman in the coffee shop and then the attack at the club. My brain scrambled to add the odds up and came out with a fifty percent chance they were coming for me. Overreacting much? But I still couldn’t shake the unease that had been taking hold inside me from this morning.

“Ciara, what’s wrong?” Demon said suddenly from behind me as I stood on the last step at the door to the property, staring down the street into the darkness. “You’re really jumpy tonight.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. Maybe I should be just totally blasé about some fucker who probably intended to rape me?”

“We don’t actually know what his intentions were.”

“No. Because someone knocked him out with a car window, or two, before we could even ask him.”

I was angry. And I knew that anger was seriously misplaced. If Demon hadn’t have come back for me…actually, it really didn’t bear thinking about. I pushed the key towards the lock, my hand suddenly shaking so much that I couldn’t hold it steady.

“Here, darlin’. I’ve got it.”

His voice was as soft as I’d ever heard it. Not a hint of mockery or exasperation. Just a quiet calmness. And I let him take the key from me, sliding it into the lock and pushing the door open, nudging me inwards and stepping in right behind me.

The hallway inside the shared house was dark, and I reached for my phone, turning on the torch and shining the little beam of light in front of me.

“There no lights or summit?”

“No. Lightbulb popped a few days ago. Stu hasn’t fixed it yet.”

“Stu’s the landlord?”

“Aye. Sleazy Stu. Or Stingy Stu, depending which mood he’s in.”

“What do you mean, sleazy?” Demon caught me by the elbow just at the bottom of the stairs, spinning me round to face him.

“Nothing. He’s just… It doesn’t matter, Demon. It’s not important.”