Page 14 of Demon’s Desire (Lovers of the Damned #3)

NICO

The Herb Emporium was quiet first thing in the morning, so Nico took the time to organize the new stock that had been delivered the afternoon before, then brewed a pot of coffee in the back room.

He had a steaming mug in hand when Harper bustled in.

“Morning.” Harper slipped past Nico to put his bag away, returning with his own mug of coffee, drowned in hazelnut creamer by the looks of it.

“How was dinner last night?” Nico asked.

“So good.” Harper sighed at the memory. “I’ve been in Shearwater Landing for over a year, but I didn’t explore much in the way of food before I left my coven. I’ve been missing out.”

Nico’s pulse spiked at the casual mention of Harper’s abusive coven. He should have tried harder to figure out what was going on with Harper from the moment he’d met the nervous young man trying to sell him potions. He’d had no idea it was anywhere near as bad as it turned out to be.

He swallowed the apology. He’d said it before, and Harper had waved him off, claiming Nico would have spooked him if he’d pushed, and in that case, Harper probably wouldn’t have come back.

“You should check out the food trucks by the river park at lunch. Tino is always there on Fridays, and his spread is to die for.”

“Okay.” Harper had a hearty sip of coffee. “Want me to bring you back something?”

“Na, that’s all right. I’ll walk over on my break and say hi.”

Harper shook his head. “You’re friends with everyone.”

“I’ve been around this neighborhood a long time.” Nico didn’t have many humans in his social circle, but he liked to be on friendly terms with the locals regardless.

After finishing his coffee, Harper got started on the custom potions that had been ordered that week. Some might say an apothecary shop owner should be able to brew their own potions, but Nico never begrudged having to hire a brewer. Running and manning the shop was enough work.

Nico’s father had opened The Herb Emporium well before Nico was born, running it with Nico’s mother, who had the potion brewing ability. Nico had grown up in the shop as much as he had in the little apartment his parents had rented in the South Banks.

Nico’s parents had been on the older side, and Nico’s father had passed away when Nico was in high school. From then on, he’d helped his mother keep the shop open, and when she’d fallen ill a year later, he’d taken it over completely.

Caring for his mother, running the shop, and finishing school all at once had changed Nico’s life.

Onyx was right. He’d never really been young.

Even before taking over the shop, he was too busy working after school to get up to the kind of youthful mischief his peers had.

But Nico didn’t resent it. He’d had loving parents and made a solid living, and that was more than a lot of people had.

The bell above the front door chimed, and a familiar woman walked in.

“Hi, Evelyn.” Nico set down the cooling dregs of his coffee. “How are you?”

She glanced over her shoulder, moving closer to the counter. “I’ve been better, if I’m honest.”

Nico’s heart sank. “What’s up?”

“I hate to bother you again.” She paused, tucking a lock of brown hair behind her ear.

“You aren’t bothering me,” Nico said sternly, but not without kindness.

“Thanks.” She sighed. “I heard Michael might be back in town.”

Nico cursed internally. “I’m sorry to hear that. He hasn’t contacted you, has he?”

“No.” She shook her head vehemently. “Nothing like that, and I can’t kick him out of the city altogether, I get that. But one of my friends said her cousin heard he’s popped up again, and I don’t like it.”

“Does your friend’s cousin know where you’re living now?”

Nico and Evelyn had gone to high school together.

She was a witch and wasn’t associated with a coven, like Nico wasn’t.

They hadn’t kept in touch over the years, but she’d come to him about six months ago, asking for help getting away from an abusive relationship after hearing around the neighborhood that he was trustworthy.

Michael was a powerful witch, and though he was also unassociated with a coven, he’d gotten the idea to start his own, gathering friends he’d met through various less-than-legal business ventures he’d dipped his toes in over the years.

In the end, everything had worked out as best it could.

Rowan had crushed the new coven’s attempt to claim territory—the Valeros didn’t tolerate covens involved in the drug or weapons trade, or who took advantage of unsuspecting humans—and Nico had helped Evelyn move and get a new job.

Michael had left, presumably to try his shit somewhere else.

Evenly stepped closer. “No, my friend, Clare—her cousin Ty doesn’t know where my new place is. He wouldn’t tell Michael even if he did. He never trusted him.”

“That’s good. Do you have any idea where Michael is staying?”

Evelyn shook her head. “I’m not even one hundred percent sure he’s here. Ty said it was a rumor he’d heard.”

“I appreciate you telling me. Michael better not be trying to set up here again, but either way, if you need somewhere else to stay, I can find something.”

“Thanks.” Evelyn looked relieved. “I think I’ll be okay with my roommates for now, but it’s good to remember I have options.”

“Of course. You still have my number?”

She nodded.

“Call anytime, and even if I can’t get there, I’ll send someone.”

“I will. Hopefully, him being back isn’t about me, but when I heard…”

“I totally understand. Is your security all up to date?”

“Yeah, it’s solid. My roommate is dating a seriously powerful woman who cast all sorts of stuff on our place.”

“Perfect. I’ll call if I hear anything, and if it turns out to be a rumor and Michael’s not here, I’ll make sure to pass that along too.”

“Thanks, Nico.” She smiled. “Hope you’re doing well. It was nice to see you, even like this.”

“Same to you.”

She left, and Harper drifted out of the back room. “I can make her a magic suppressant so she can’t be tracked. Do you think that would help?”

Nico appreciated it. He clapped Harper on the shoulder. “We checked that Michael didn’t have blood or anything of hers he could use to track her before he was asked to leave the city. She should be safe from tracking, but if that changes, we’ll do whatever we have to.”

Harper seemed relieved. “Okay, good. How did you get her ex to leave town?”

Nico summarized the issues with Michael’s new coven and how Rowan had put his foot down.

“The Valeros have a strong presence here and work hard to keep criminal-minded covens out, both witch and vampire. Last year, there was a serious issue with the Orlov Coven trying to move in and get access to the port, but Rowan shut it down. Made the issue with Michael feel like a breeze.”

“Why did they want access to the port?”

“Trafficking, most likely. The Orlovs had a reputation for mistreating humans, to say the least, but their leader was killed, along with most of the members, and their operations shut down.” There were hardly any Orlov vampires left as far as Nico knew, and none were in Shearwater Landing.

Harper seemed to hang on Nico’s words. “Oh, man. That’s a lot.”

Nico smiled ruefully. “Rowan’s used to it.”

Harper’s eyes widened. “If you say so.” He returned to the back room and his potions.

Could Michael have had anything to do with the break-in? Trashing Nico’s place seemed like the kind of petty thing he’d do, even if he wasn’t willing to risk attacking Nico outright and having Rowan’s wrath come down on him a second time.

If he had been the one to break in, he wouldn’t be able to get in now. Nico would have to track him down to figure out if he’d been involved.

He shot off a text, telling Rowan the guy might be back, in case he tried anything.

As he closed out of his text conversation with Rowan, his finger seemed drawn to his message thread with Onyx. He clicked it, even though he had nothing to say. Nico had already thanked Onyx for protecting his apartment, and it was too soon to ask him to come over to game again.

Still, he didn’t close out of the thread.

As Nico stared at the screen, three little dots appeared, indicating Onyx was typing. Nico’s heart leapt like he was a kid with his first crush. Ridiculous, but he waited with eager anticipation as the dots popped up and disappeared.

No message came through. After a while, the dots didn’t reappear. Onyx must have changed his mind.

What had he been about to say?

Nico put the phone away and returned to work, more disappointed than he should be.