“I still have nightmares about what happened sometimes," Janie admitted. "Do you?”
“Unfortunately,” Larissa agreed. “So does Roman.”
“How do you deal with them?” Janie gazed at her. “Oh wait—you have each other.” She exhaled with a slump. Having someone there with you, for you, had to be a comfort.
“Yes, there’s that, but it’s also knowing that they’re gone. The portal has been sealed. The demons can’t return.”
“How do you know that for sure?” Janie tapped her mug with her fingertip.
“Nobody can say that with any certainty, but it’s been almost five months without a sighting, so I’m pretty confident they’re gone. It’s a strong case. If you want me to stay here with you for a few days, I will. Or you can stay at the compound.”
“I know, thanks. Arto has offered the same thing, but I’ve declined.”
“Why?”
“Because the demons have already taken enough from me.” She exhaled, pushing her chest forward and edging her chin up. “I have to stay positive and look for brighter things. I can’t let them make me live in fear for the rest of my life—even when I’m afraid.”
Larissa sighed. “We’re all afraid sometimes.” She took a sip of her coffee and then gestured at Janie. “But I admire you. Always have. Your optimism is something a cynical former cop like me could never have.”
“That’s not true. You’ve lightened up so much since you met Roman, even after all the hell we’ve gone through. There’s something about him that brings out a softer side of you—and it’s a good thing.”
“I think you’re right. Although I still have a hard time letting my guard down, but it’s easier to do so around him.”
“Because you trust him?”
“Yes. I don’t fear that he’ll judge me—or reject me for being, well, me.”
Janie slanted her head. “It must be nice to be in that kind of relationship.”
Larissa’s lips twitched into a knowing grin. “I’m sure one like that is within your reach.”
Janie arched her brows. “Arto?”
“Yes, of course Arto.”
She pictured her shifter friend with his intense eyes that often tracked her, and her skin flushed. “That moment has passed,” she dismissed. “We’d never work. He’s so patient and good, and I’m so screwed up. I’m a walking beacon that attracts bad guys and danger. If we ever tried to date, he’d regret doing so immediately.”
“No way. He adores you.”
“And I feel the same—on a platonic level.” She rolled one shoulder. “Okay, I admit there’s an underlying attraction, but I make myself ignore it.”
Larissa sipped her coffee, and when she put down her mug, her brows edged closer together. “I get why you did that in the past after what you went through. But even now? You’ve grown so close.”
“And that’s exactly why I won’t risk it.” Janie rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Come on—look at my history with relationships. I have a terrible habit of going for the bad boys.”
“That’s not Arto.”
True, he was amazing and brave. “Still, nothing has lasted more than six months. If I try with Arto, and we fail, we ruin what we have. And I care about him too much to risk losing him. So, we’re better off as friends.”
Larissa jutted her bottom lip out. “It doesn’t have to fail.”
“The odds are against us. I’m still a mess after all I’ve dealt with and don’t know if I’m ready for a relationship, or if I’ll ever be. They’re hard enough, and that’s with humans who are the same species. If you throw in the whole gargoyle shifter and human combo into the mix, it could be a disaster waiting to implode.”
“Roman’s a shifter, and I’m human,” Larissa countered. “I’m not saying a relationship like this is easy, as there are plenty of challenges, but we’re dealing with them and making it work.”
“You’re not an ordinary human. I haven’t met humans who can spark magic from their fingertips or project a magical shield that blocks out demons.” She emphasized the motion by spreading both hands in a semi-sphere.
“True.” Larissa tapped her fingertips together. “I have a bit of witch in me.”
Janie’s gaze drifted to the window facing the street to where a small group of people passed by, their muffled conversation coming through the closed window. Were they human? She wouldn’t make that assumption about anyone who looked human anymore, especially after being seduced by an incubus who’d looked like a hot guy out at a club.
She ran her fingers through her hair, loosening her bun. “Maybe that’s part of the problem. I’m good friends with a witch and a shifter, both who have magical abilities. I’m just human, which makes me vulnerable. I have no superpowers to defend myself.” She brought her fingertips together. “That’s what I need to do.”
“Develop superpowers?”
She fixed a steady gaze on Larissa. “No, I mean self-defense.”
Larissa nodded. “I can help with what I’ve learned at the police academy. I still train with Talia when it comes to fighting supernaturals or using weapons. Do you want me to ask her if she’d work with you?”
“That’s a little too intense for me.” Janie chuckled. “You’ve told me how much she kicks your ass.”
Larissa laughed. “Yes, she’s relentless.” She gestured at Janie. “But you’re also badass. I’ve seen you take out a demon.”
“Yeah, well, I had to reclaim something.” Janie rolled one shoulder. The image of the incubus who’d tormented her flashed in her mind, and she recoiled. She’d plunged a sword into it. “Arto guided me.”
“Why don’t you ask him to train you?”
Janie scoffed, “He’s busy protecting the city and doesn’t need to deal with my nonsense.”
“He can’t be that busy with other matters,” Larissa countered. “Because before I left to fly over with Roman, Arto said he’d be over here soon.”
Janie narrowed her brows. “What? Why?” She squirmed on the sofa and glanced out the window, but only saw the street view with houses opposite hers.
“When he overheard me talking to Roman, he insisted. You know him. He’s probably here by now and scoping the area for any threats.”
A twinge of excitement curled in her core. She turned her head, heat rising in her cheeks. “Right. He’s just doing his duty to ensure I’m safe. Old habit.”
Since Arto had been assigned to guard Janie while she was in the hospital recovering from an incubus attack, they’d grown close. He continued to watch over her since then.
“I think it’s more than that.” Larissa pushed her dark braid over one shoulder.
“And what pray tell do you mean?”
Larissa’s eyes brightened with speculation. “You may say you’re just friends, but I see how he looks at you.”
As Janie pictured his steady gaze, her pulse rose. “It’s just a gargoyle thing,” she dismissed. “I’m a disaster magnet; he’s a protector.”
“Perhaps.” Her friend glanced at the front door. “Why don’t you invite him in so you can ask him?”
Janie’s heart thumped. “Ask him what?”
“To train you. Who better to show you how to protect yourself than a gargoyle fixated on keeping you safe?”
