Her First Mistake

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Who Put A Hole in my Wall?

   Tate ducked and his hands covered his head out of panic. The gun fell out of the demon's hand. He stumbled forward, collapsing behind Tate. Tate whipped around, claws sharpening from his fingertips.

   Simone lowered the shotgun from her eye-level, her face dark with outrage. She stood framed by the hole in the wall, her hair askew and her eyes wild. Dust covered her clothes. "Who," she seethed, "the hell, put a hole in my wall?"

   Tate and I both pointed at the wizard. The wizard glowered. "The shapeshifter threw me through it."

   "I threw you out of it," corrected Tate hotly.

   Simone fished another shell out of her pocket, glaring. "Hold still, you son of a bitch."

   Both Tate and the wizard froze, unsure of who she meant. The wizard narrowed his eyes and stepped backwards, vanishing into the wall. His hand reappeared to grab the unmoving shifter's arm and he yanked her away. Before he could take the white-haired woman, I dragged her away from the wall with a snapped, "That's my leverage, moron."

   The dust in the room began to settle. The fae was unconscious on the floor, knocked out from snake venom. The white-haired woman glowered at her, her mouth gagged with a crimson bandana. Tate pressed his hand against the demon's throat. "He's dead," confirmed Tate. "Simone caught him as he materialized fully. That shotgun at point-blank range killed him pretty quickly."

   Jennifer appeared to the side of Simone. She sheathed her sword, and I noted the blood on it before it was hidden. The way she held her weight on one leg suggested her scuffle with the demon hadn't gone well. Simone jumped, flabbergasted, as Jennifer blew out a breath. "Lucky shot."

   Simone finally took a step back. I pursed my lips, unsure about what was going to happen. She looked at the woman wildly. "Where did you just come from?"

   Jennifer looked at her blankly. "You really haven't connected the dots already?"

   Simone shook her head. "I'm going nuts. Right?"

   "Uh--" I started.

   Simone lifted the shotgun at me immediately. I yelped and put my hands up. Her eyes bored into me threateningly. "You had better explain what the hell is going on!"

   "I will! Just put down the shotgun!"

   "Oh, hell nah. I just saw a woman appear out of thin air, two men explode my wall into pieces, and a guy that somehow seemed to be invisibly attacking me. If you think I'm dropping this thing for a damn second, you're way off."

   Yeah, taking it about as well as I thought she would. I grimaced. "Okay. Let's go sit outside, okay?"

~

    Simone, true to her word, hadn't let go of the shotgun since I started talking. It sat across her lap. Her fingers drummed a distressed beat on the barrel. It took around ten minutes of talking before I was able to stop. She stared at her fence, chocolate eyes distant. I fell silent and watched her expression, worried.

   After a moment, she muttered, "This is bullshit."

   My lip quirked. "Sorry?"

   Her hand dug into her pocket. I pursed my lips as she pulled out the box. Damn. I'd hoped she wouldn't have a pack on her, but I was wrong. She broke it open -- at least it had still been taped closed from purchase -- and pulled out a cigarette. Simone had a smoking problem, and she'd had it since high school. She'd broken the habit a while ago, but the stress of the last hour had pushed her too far.