Victor writhes on the ground, bleeding from multiple wounds I didn't even know he had. He must've injured himself quite a bit throughout this battle, and now he's paying the price.

"Holy shit," I curse under my breath.

I turned Vic human... and now his blood is pooling on the cement floor.

After a moment, his groans stop and he goes limp.

"Victor?" Kieran asks, stepping toward him and looking him over.

"What's happening?"

Kieran looks back at me with a mix of emotions in his eyes.

"Red, I can't hear his heart beating anymore. I think he's gone."

I don't know what I'm supposed to feel. Happiness? Grief? Shock?

But all I feel is relief—relief that I don't have to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.

There's a pang of guilt in my chest.

Maybe I should be mourning the loss of a man I once loved. Maybe that makes me a bad person.

"Are you okay?" Kieran asks, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me in for a hug.

"I don't know. I think so."

"In the end, he got what he wanted. He wanted you to be safe... and you are now."

He kisses my forehead and hugs me tighter.

The truth is, I don't feel bad for Vic at all. After seeing him hurt Kieran—or, technically, TJ—and then go after me, I don't have any sympathy left.

Wait...

"Oh my god, TJ..." I gasp and look over at the lifeless body on the floor several feet away. It looks like Kieran—the face, the build, even the clothes—but I know it's not him. "Is he...?"

"Dead?" Kieran asks, walking over and kneeling beside him. "No."

Kieran grabs the hilt of the dagger stuck in TJ's chest and tugs it out. A small amount of dark blood coats the blade and seeps out around the wound. It's hard to tell with his black T-shirt, but it's not as much blood as I'd expect for being stabbed through the heart.

"Are you sure?" I ask, still taking in the visual of Kieran hovering over his own dead body.

"I'm sure. I told you it's near impossible to kill an Incubus. Demons can heal from almost anything. In our case, we just need to be topped up on sexual energy. In TJ's case that's rarely an issue, but I can help him along."

He leans in like he's going to kiss him, but stops a few inches from his face. A puff of white smoke snakes from Kieran's mouth to his. I try my best not to laugh at the visual of Kieran almost making out with himself.

"So that will he-"

I'm interrupted by a sharp gasp as TJ lurches upright, clutching his wound. His eyes dart around for a moment like he's scanning the room for threats.

"We're good, man," Kieran says, giving him a pat on the back. "We won."

"Good," he says with a nod. "And Victor?"

Kieran tilts his head in the direction of Victor's body. TJ's brow furrows as he looks over.

"Did you... Is he...?"

"He won't be coming back." Kieran shoots me a quick glance before looking back at TJ.

"Finally," he says, a smirk stretching across his face. "I was really sick of that traitorous son of a bitch."

"And you didn't get any blood on my pants, so double good news!" Kieran laughs as TJ looks down at his own pants—a pair I now recognize as borrowed from Kieran's wardrobe.

"I'll take that as a thank you." He stands up and his features morph back into his own, the long black hair retreating until just a buzz cut remains. He gains about an inch of height but the clothes fit him about the same. "Should I call a cleanup crew while you meet up with your friends?"

The room is trashed and littered with bodies. There are scorch marks on every wall and blood spattered across the stacks of boxes behind Kieran. Most of the shelves are knocked over and those that aren't are twisted and bent.

"Yeah," Kieran says with a laugh. "Can't really leave it like this, can we?"

*****

The first few minutes of the drive are quiet. I think we're both in shock. After a few minutes, I decide to break the silence.

"Thank you," I say. "For coming to get me."

"Of course, Red. I'm just glad I got your text. I was freaking the fuck out when I got to the cafe and you were gone."

"You went to the cafe?"

"TJ called me. He said you were sitting at a table for a while and it looked like you were meeting someone. I realized immediately that you were meeting Victor, but by the time I got there, TJ was unconscious in the alley and you were just gone."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone around you, I just..."

"You had to be the white knight." He glances over with a slight smile. "It's okay, Sam. I get it. We were running out of time and options. You're a good person and you wanted to do the right thing. People like Victor think humanity is a weakness, but I know better. Never underestimate my girl when she's fighting for something she believes in."

"Yeah well, I got drugged and kidnapped, so things didn't exactly go to plan."

"Such a bitch-ass move. His buddies hit TJ from behind too, three on one. Fuck fair play, huh?"

"The other demon said he knocked TJ unconscious. I guess he was telling the truth."

"Yeah, he was pissed when he came to. Dude wanted to go in himself to get you, but we decided it would be better to send me in as him and have him waiting in the wings in case of emergency."

"You could have told me you were you, ya know?" I slug him lightly on the shoulder. "I thought they killed you!"

"I guess we both should have told each other about our little suicide missions, huh Red?" He gives me a teasing smile and a sideways glance.

Well, he's got me there.

"Touché."

"Honestly, I would have if I could have. Demons have great hearing, so I couldn't have come clean in front of them without exposing myself and putting everyone in danger. I did not expect you to go rogue and start lighting shit on fire."

"Oh," I say, realizing I may have unintentionally outed him. "Did I mess up your plan?"

"I mean, it was pretty badass, but yeah I was kind of counting on them not knowing I was there. But TJ was listening in, so he ran with it. And we had already swapped clothes so I could pose as him, so he was dressed for the part."

"So yeah, I royally screwed up the plan?" I groan and cover my face with my hand.

"Hey, it's fine. Hell, that's probably why it worked. Victor's the guy who plans everything. I thrive in chaos, when shit's hitting the fan and the plan has already fallen apart. Guys like Victor can account for everything—except my crazy ass when I'm improvising. That's the one thing they'll never see coming."

I watch as we pass the exit we'd usually take to my place and give him a questioning look.

"Wait, where are we going?" I ask. "You just missed our turn."

"Yeah... we have to meet up at Zane's first. He said he was gonna bring Rose there."

"Oh my god," I say, resting a palm on my forehead. "In all the chaos, I completely forgot about Rose. What are you going to say to her?"

"I have no idea." He stares ahead at the road with wide eyes. "Where do I even start?"

I have absolutely no clue. It's not exactly a familiar situation. My usual strategy for having difficult conversations is avoiding them entirely or panicking and saying something stupid. Neither is a technique I would recommend.

"Maybe just start with 'hello'?"

*****

Finn opens the door to Zane's penthouse and a wide grin stretches across his face.

"Oi, c'mere you fine thing!" he shouts, pulling Kieran in for a tight hug.

"I can't tell if you're flirting with me or just thought I was gonna die," Kieran jokes, patting Finn's back.

"Bit of both."

"Oh you tease!" They break their hug and Finn turns to me.

"Samantha," he says with a smile, then gives me a big hug. "So glad you're alright, love."

"Is Rose, uh...?" Kieran asks.

Finn nods and ushers us further inside. We reach the living room, where Rose, Ava, and Zane are seated around the coffee table talking. She looks a bit more composed and seems to have changed into a fresh pair of oversized gray sweats. Her hair is pulled back with a black claw clip. It doesn't suit her quite like the cardigan set she was wearing earlier, but the circumstances are certainly better. The chatter stops instantly when Rose looks up and her eyes find Kieran. I hang back to give them their moment.

"Kiki..." she says softly. "It's... it's really you."

"Hey Rosie," he says, his shoulders hunched slightly as he rubs the back of his neck with one hand.

She stands up and steps toward him until they're just a foot from each other.

"You look the same." She grabs his face in her hands, looking at him in disbelief. "Okay, maybe a little bit older, but still. You're so young!"

"Yeah," he says with a laugh. "I moisturize."

"You always had a smart mouth," she scolds with a smile. She drops her hands and looks over to Ava and Zane and then back to Kieran. "They told me you're... not quite human anymore. Your friends don't seem human either."

"Yeah that's true..." He combs his hand back through his hair.

"Is that where you've been all this time? Why you didn't visit me?"

"You seem like you were doing better without me."

She raises a hand and flicks him in the middle of his forehead. In an instant, she's yelling at him in what seems to be another language, but she's talking so quickly I really can't be sure. He starts laughing and before I know it, they're both hugging and crying.

The rush of emotion from them has me teary-eyed myself.

"Are you okay?" he asks, pulling away slightly and looking her over.

"I'm okay," she says with a nod. "I gave birth to three kids, Kiki. It takes a lot more than this to traumatize me."

She turns and focuses her attention on me.

"And are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?" she asks.

"You sound like Mom."

"You shut your mouth!" she scolds, holding up a finger and giving him a dirty look.

She turns back to me and extends her hand.

"You're Sam, right? I'm Rose."

"Hi," I say, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm so sorry you got roped into this."

"Nonsense. You got me to safety. I appreciate it. And Kieran is clearly in love with you."

"Whoa," he jokes. "Selling me out, sis!"

"Oh please, it's all over your face. If you don't want everyone to know, then stop telling on yourself." She looks back to me and smiles. "My brother deserves to be loved."

*****

I must've crashed the moment I got into Kieran's truck, because when I open my eyes we're parked out in front of my building. I blink a few times to clear my foggy vision.

"You want me to carry you in, baby?" Kieran asks.

"I... no I'm okay," I say through a yawn. I wipe my watery eyes and get out of the car.

It's relatively late and the walkway is dark. I walk toward our door but am jerked back by Kieran gripping my arm.

"What?" I ask, giving him a confused look.

A figure steps out from the shadows—a handsome man with short blond hair and a bit of stubble. His brow is furrowed and his lips are pinched into a straight line.

"So this is my great-niece?" he asks in a British accent. His eyes dart between my face and Kieran's hand on my arm. "I think you might have left out some details in your message, Kieran."

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