Page 73 of Mortis

“Yeah. Lo’s just being paranoid. He reckons he keeps seeing some dodgy bloke hanging around outside.” I turned my head towards the window. “But that’s . . .”

The words died in my throat.

The old man was gone.

In his place, leaning casually against the opposite wall, was Sebastian.

Watching us.

When our gazes met, the corner of his mouth curled into a knowing smile. He lifted two fingers in a lazy salute, and even from across the street, I saw how his mismatched eyes glinted in the low afternoon sun.

Sucking in a sharp breath, I stiffened against Kael’s chest.

“Teddy.” Kael cupped my chin, gently turning my face back towards him. “What’s wrong?”

I shook my head as much as his hold allowed. “Nothing. I just⁠—”

I looked back towards the window. The wall was empty. No old man. No Sebastian. Just the weathered brick I’d been looking at from this desk since I was a child.

My brows knitted together.

Had I actually seen Sebastian?

Or had my imagination gotten the better of me?

I’d definitely seen the old man standing there while Arlo was complaining. I was certain of it. But maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me. Maybe I was just exhausted. Kael had been keeping me awake half the night all week, seemingly determined to earn a Guinness World Record for giving a human the most orgasms in a single sitting.

Despite that thought making me want to smile, the unease didn’t leave. It settled beneath my skin instead. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me.

I glanced around once more, but the only eyes on me belonged to Kael, and they were full of concern.

Swallowing the knot in my throat, I forced myself to smile.

“Nothing,” I repeated. “I’m fine.”

The slight crease between his brows told me he didn’t believe me. I reached for his hand anyway, threading our fingers together before leading him towards the Staff Only door.

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s go and see the body you brought me.”

My demon followed without protest. He said nothing, only tightened his warm grip around my hand. I appreciated his silence, but I doubted his feigned ignorance would last forever.

Kael still had secrets about his past, I knew that. So maybe I was allowed one or two of my own. For now, we’d just keep entrusting them to the quiet company of the dead.

11

TEDDY

Things grew stranger as the days passed. Strange enough that I began to wonder if I’d been wrong to accuse Arlo of being paranoid.

We never saw the old man lurking outside the window again. And I never saw Sebastian again either. Not after that one time. Hell, I still couldn’t be sure I’d actually seen him at all. That my mind hadn’t been messing with me.

But his failure to reappear did little to reassure me.

Instead, I convinced myself I’d imagined it. That Sebastian hadn’t been standing across the road, smirking at me like he knew something I didn’t before disappearing into thin air. Something he seemed to have a habit of doing. He was nothing more than a stranger who’d only just moved to Blackthorn.

We’d met once, and while the encounter had certainly been odd, there was no reason for him to take the slightest interest in my life.

Unless it’s not you he’s interested in . . .