"Are you human?"

I toss the words around in my mind for a minute; like they might make more sense if I let them settle.

"What?!?" I ask, the reality of the question finally hitting me. I back away, running my hands back through my hair. "What the heck does that even mean, Kieran? Of course I'm human. What other option is there?"

He raises a brow as if the answer is obvious.

Demon? Does he think I'm a demon? Or a—what was it—Siren?

I don't even know what else there is.

"You think I'm a demon?" I ask.

"No, I mean... If you say you're not, I believe you." His brow is pinched in an expression that's a mixture of concern and confusion.

"You honestly think I would be lying about that this whole time?"

"No, no, I'm not saying that." His brows soften and he reaches out and trails his fingers along my upper arm. "I just... maybe I just assumed and you didn't feel comfortable telling me. I dunno."

"I think I would know if I weren't human."

The second the words leave my mouth, I realize I'm not as confident in that statement as I thought.

I would know, right?

"I don't know, Red. I honestly don't know too much about this stuff, just that Zane's powers should work on humans and they didn't work on you."

I hear the door to the terrace swing open and my eyes dart to it. Ava steps through with a small friendly wave.

"Is everything... Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, I'm... I'm fine." I say. I'm not sure if it's loud enough for her to hear, but it seems to be all I can muster.

"I've got her," Kieran says with a soft smile.

"Can I help?" she asks, her voice soft and laced with concern. She takes a step forward and I take an equal step away.

"No!" I shout, drawing annoyed looks from the outdoor diners. Kieran wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his chest. I tuck my head and murmur into his shirt. "No, no, I don't want her near me. Get her back inside—please!"

He strokes my hair with one hand and seems to signal her with the other. After a moment, I hear the door softly close and I huff out a relieved breath.

"What's happening, Sam?" Kieran asks, placing a kiss on my forehead. "Talk to me."

"I don't... I don't know." I'm asking myself the same question. "I think I'm having a panic attack or something."

I rest the back of my palm against my forehead, feeling for a fever. It feels like my insides are on fire, but my skin temperature feels normal.

"Okay, well, first thing—let's get out of here. Ava and Zane live in the penthouse upstairs. We can head up there."

I shake my head.

The full weight of my behavior hits me. I've just met Zane and I barely know Ava and I've just acted absolutely possessed at dinner. There's no way they're coming out of this experience with a good impression of me. I'm doomed to be 'that chick with too much cleavage who lost her mind at dinner.'

"I've already fucked this up royally. I don't want to take over their space. I just want to go home."

"You wouldn't be taking over their space."

I turn back toward the restaurant. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, I can see them still sitting at our table. Ava's eyes dart quickly away as she does her best to pretend she hasn't been watching my breakdown this whole time. Zane, on the other hand, has his stare locked on me and a protective arm wrapped around Ava's shoulders. His tense jaw and raised shoulders tell me he's on high alert, like a cautious wild animal that just spotted an unknown creature in the distance. He's sizing me up and trying to determine if I'm a predator. His gaze says it all: Are you friend or foe?

"Zane looks like he's debating pushing me off the ledge."

Kieran looks over at Zane and then back.

"That's just his face. He's a grumpy-ass bastard. He's not going to hurt you, I promise."

Part of me wants to try and apologize and salvage our dinner, but I feel exhausted and overwhelmed. I think I've embarrassed myself enough for one evening.

"I'm just saying I think I've worn out my welcome. If it's all the same to you, I think I'd just like to go home."

"Okay, Red. Do you want to say goodbye or do you want me to handle it?" He seems to see my answer in my eyes before I even say it. "I've got it. Wait here."

*****

Kieran pulls his truck into the lot outside my apartment. He turns the key and the metallic rattle of the engine whirs to a stop. He pulls the handbrake and it screeches and clicks.

"You know cars aren't supposed to make that sound," I tease in a pretty transparent attempt to break the tension.

"Which one?" He smirks and raises a brow.

"Any of them, really. It sounds more like a clogged garbage disposal driving by than a truck." I giggle and he starts to laugh too.

"That's cold, Red. I'll have you know this baby is a classic." He gives the dashboard a loving pat. "She doesn't mean it, babe."

"Babe? You call your car babe?"

"His name is Johnny. Babe is just a pet name."

I pull my lower lip between my teeth, biting back a laugh. He smiles and opens his door, stepping down to the pavement. I get out too and we make our way to the front door.

"So why Johnny?" I ask, pulling my keys from my purse and unlocking the door.

Knowing Kieran, there's some smartass meaning behind the name.

"After Johnny Depp. I was a big fan when I bought the car."

"That's it?"

"That and I wanted to tell people I spent the weekend riding Johnny Depp." A playful grin stretches across his face and he chuckles.

Zahra is watching a movie with Omar in the living room, so I signal Kieran with a finger to my lips as we step inside. We head upstairs quietly to avoid disturbing them. I hear Pumpkin thumping up the stairs behind us. When we reach my bedroom, he waddles past me and settles into his bed.

I close my bedroom door and shrug off my coat as Kieran sits on the edge of the bed. His gaze is distant and heavy.

"We should talk about this." He rests his elbows on his knees and presses his fingertips together, tenting his hands.

Oh.

"Which part?" I walk over and sit down beside him.

"The not human thing," he says with an apologetic expression.

"I am human, Kieran. You said you believed me!"

"I do. I do." He rests a hand on my knee and looks into my eyes. "But maybe you are something and you don't know it. Think about it—it makes sense. Asmodeus was targeting you for some reason. Maybe it wasn't because of who you are, but what you are."

"How is that even possible?"

"I don't know. I have people I can ask, though." He pauses for a moment, squinting as he stares off into the distance. "Do you bleed?"

I tilt my head at his bizarre question.

"Yes. Like all humans do."

"You age?"

"Yeah. I think I would have noticed if I didn't."

"And your parents, both mortal?"

"Well my mom died, so yeah." There's a touch of irritation to my reply, but I can't help but be defensive. It feels like I'm being interrogated.

"I'm sorry, Doll." He rubs my thigh and squeezes it. "I'm not trying to be an asshole, I'm just naturally gifted at it."

A smile tugs at the corners of my lips.

This man is impossible to stay mad at.

"So what do we do now?"

"Well, now I say we order pizza because I'm starving."

"Oh shit. We totally didn't have dinner! I'm sorry. I totally derailed the whole evening."

"It's okay, really. I'm not really a fancy restaurant kinda dude anyway. Pizza's more my speed."

"Then what? What do we do about this whole... human or... not-human thing?"

"I've got some friends I can call. They'll help us figure out the details."

*****

In the morning, I wait patiently in my bedroom for Kieran's supernatural friend to arrive. We decided to move the discussion there so Zahra doesn't hear all the non-human talk. The doorbell rings and, after a moment, Kieran returns with a familiar man. I recognize him as Finn—the friend I met once before at Pike's. He has mussy red hair and a beard with a jolly, relaxed smile.

"Cheers," he says with a nod. "Sam, init?"

"Yep, that's me." I shrug my shoulders.

That's me—the human that's not a human, apparently.

He looks over to the corner and his brows shoot up.

"That's Pumpkin," Kieran says

Finn chuckles and scrubs a hand over his face.

"Didn't see that one coming, I must admit. You have a pig?"

"Yep."

I really thought the pig would be less of a shock than the non-human-ness.

Finn smiles and looks back at me.

"So Kieran has filled me in on your little problem. It's curious, to say the least. But hopefully we can figure it out for you, eh?"

Who even is this guy, though? What can he tell us that we don't already know? Is he human or is he whatever the heck else there is?

Finn raises a brow and smirks.

"For context, I'm an Immortal—not too important that you know the details of that, just that I'm not human. Kieran called me because I know a lot about Immortals, especially locally. And I have a gift for getting to the bottom of what's really going on with people."

"Okaayyy... And what's going on with me."

"Well, I'm gonna try to figure that out. Can I sit and ask you some questions?"

"Sure," I say. Finn takes a seat in my chair and Kieran scoops me up and sits me on his lap on the edge of the bed.

"So first things first, your parents—still alive?"

Okay then, I guess we're getting right to the awkward questions.

"My dad is. My mom died when I was young."

"How?"

"Heart defect."

"Mmm... okay, she's unlikely. Tell me more about your father."

"I'm sorry, hold up... Are you saying you think my dad is an Immortal or demon or whatever?"

Clearly he's never met Todd Fox—the world's most boring, buttoned-up human.

"Well, if you were a demon, you would know. But some Immortals could, in theory, not know. Borns, specifically."

"Borns?"

The fuck does that even mean?

"It means they were literally born," Kieran chimes in. "Some Immortals are created in a way, but not born to a mother and father. Then there's demons, who were either the original creations of the Kings, or they made a deal as a human and were converted."

"There's a third option," Finn says with a furrowed brow, tucking his tongue into his cheek.

"Demons, Immortals, and... what? Humans?" I ask.

"Oh shit, yeah." Kieran grips my upper arm and sighs. "Cambions."

"Cambri-whats?"

"Cambions. Half-demons, half-humans."

"How would I know if I'm... wait, what? No. My dad would have to be a demon?"

"Have you ever seen his baby pictures? Did he look unusual?"

"Yeah—he just looked like a baby."

Like any baby, he looked like a chubby blob of skin with big eyes.

"In that case," Finn says with an awkward expression, "I would guess dad would be—probably not your biological dad."

"No, that's not possible. People always say we look just alike."

"And why would Asmodeus care about a Cambion?" Kieran asks. "They're not exactly rare. And you certainly wouldn't send your best man to cozy up to one. They're too easy to kill."

"True," Finn says with a nod.

"And that would mean my grandma would have to be a demon too?" I ask.

"Interesting... You know your grandparents? That could be useful. Have you met all of them?"

"My grandma and my mom's parents, yes. But Grams doesn't know who my grandfather was. It was a one-night stand type situation."

Finn strokes his beard for a moment.

"Now that could be something. Where's your Grams from?"

"She's from here—Port Charlotte. She's always been inconsistent about exactly where my dad's dad was from, but somewhere in Europe."

"Europe?" He squints at me and leans forward. "And she's local?"

"Yeah, why? Is that important?"

"Well, love... I've lived here a long time. I've known most of the Immortals who have passed through here. Maybe I knew him."

"But she can't even remember his name or the country he's from. She's told us everything from Spain to Switzerland."

"Does she live nearby?"

"Yeah..."

What is he getting at?

"Okay then." He rubs his hands together and stands up. "I think we need to go meet your grandmother."

*****

I anxiously knock on Grams's door with Finn and Kieran standing behind me. I called to let her know we're coming, but I have no idea how to explain what we're doing here.

Hey Grams, just popping by with my supernatural friends to ask you questions about the guy you banged in the early 60s.

The door swings open and she greets me with a smile, but her expression changes as she looks behind me. Her mouth falls open and she pushes her glasses up on her nose.

"Is th..." she mutters. "F-... Finn?"

◆

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, y'all. <3 Thanks as always for your continued support! I'm getting into the last quarter of the book. I think it's going to be around 41-43 chapters based on my current outline. (Yep, I'm a planning/plotting/detailed-outline kinda girl!) Is there anything you're hoping will happen or want to see more of?