Page 3 of Maddie
“Now, to answer your question about giving up so suddenly… There’s something else you should know.” He bit his lip and gripped the back of his neck. “I have a new problem. A big one.”
Maddie released his shoulders and stepped back. “What is it?”
“Rav brought a human girl to become a new servant. I was supposed to bring her to the dungeon so she could go through her transition, but I stopped to see Mouse on the way. She asked me to save the girl—Alice.”
“You didn’t!” Maddie’s eyes widened. Why had he listened to her? “Bloody hell. What did you do?”
“Imogen had me dusting rooms with my fucking tongue, and this girl would’ve suffered the same atrocities. I couldn’t deny Mouse’s request. I could only stay long enough after rescuing Alice to grab Ever’s keys that you gave me from my room or they would’ve found them.” Ferris clenched his jaw. “Alice is back in London.”
“As a vampire?”
“A new one…”
“No…” Maddie clasped her hands over her mouth. Not all new vampires made a mess of things, but this was a fifty-fifty stab in the dark.
“She seemed stable enough.” He shrugged. “Not wild like some of the others I’ve seen transition. I promised to help her and will bring her back before anyone gets hurt.”
“Not you.” Maddie shook her head, her hat sliding against her hair. “We.”
Ferris’s nostrils flared.
“You know Imogen and Rav will still go after her.” If they found her then tortured her, they could discover that Mouse was part of the reason why Ferris helped the girl escape. What would they do to Mouse then?Horrid things. “Where are you supposed to meet her? I’ll help you.”
“Her brother’s place. She wanted to tell him goodbye.”
Chapter Two
Noah
The scent of freshly brewed coffee clung to Noah’s clothes. He hung his apron near the back door of Bean & Brew and stretched his arms with a satisfied groan. He’d worked a double shift making overpriced cappuccinos and lattes to keep his mind busy. Better to work himself into the ground than to have a weak moment and text his fucking ex.
“Heading out, Noah?” Ava, his co-worker, asked.
He wanted to, but it was getting late. Though London was generally safe at night, one never knew who was lurking about. Ava was a petite girl with a doll-like face and long blonde hair, so he felt better if she didn’t lock up alone. “I’ll wait and walk you to the Tube.”
“Okay.” Ava blushed. “Let me grab my purse.”
She returned a second later, bag slung over her shoulder, and flicked off the lights. Noah opened the back door and let her step out first. The minute he was out of the shop, he dragged in as much fresh air as he could. Coffee was great, but too much of a good thing … or whatever.
Ava locked the door and turned to him. “Ready?”
“Hell yes.” He couldn’t wait to take a long shower and crawl into bed until noon. It had been entirely too long since he’d gotten more than the bare minimum of sleep.
“What are your plans this weekend?” she inquired as they walked side-by-side toward the Tube entrance.
“I’m not sure yet. I haven’t had one free in a while, so I’ll probably hit up some friends.” One of them would undoubtedly be throwing a party and he wasn’t about to pass up a chance to drown his break-up woes. Even though Noah had been the one to end things, walking in on her fucking someone else inhisbed was a bit of a blow to his ego. “What about you?”
“I’m going dancing with some friends.” She paused and bit her bottom lip. “Do you maybe want to come along?”
Noah hadn’t missed how Ava blushed whenever they spoke or how her gaze landed on him more often than necessary. It had always made him feel good, but he never expected her to shoot her shot, even now that he was single.
“Noah!” Harper’s voice carried down the street with a shrill edge. He winced and kept walking as if he hadn’t heard his ex call out. “I know you heard me!”
Fuck. “Hang on, Ava. Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she said, backing away. Ava had been a witness to Harper’s meltdown at the company New Year’s party last year when Noah had tipped the barista more than Harper thought was acceptable. Months later, he still didn’t know if it had been jealousy or because she wanted the money herself. He couldn’t blame Ava for wanting to escape. “I’ll be fine from here—I can see the Tube. Let me know about this weekend?”
“I will,” he assured her. “G’night.”
