1. One
ONE
Sam
My office door bursts open, and six-feet-five of hellhound races in. I leap to my feet, my claws sliding out as I brace for whatever danger Alistair’s come to protect me from.
Except… it looks like he’s… fleeing?
That can’t be right. What would a highly trained, deadly hellhound flee from?
“ALISTAIR!”
I sigh and sit down again as my best friend comes to cower behind me. Like I’m going to protect him from whatever chaos he’s created.
“Don’t let him get me!” Alistair begs as my infuriated demon boyfriend appears in the doorway.
“Really?” Gideon growls. “You think Sam’s going to save you?”
“We’re bestest besties! He has to protect me. It’s the law.”
“What did he do?” I ask Gideon, and he stalks across the room to drop something on my desk.
I blink. It’s… a stuffie. More specifically, a stuffed devil. A stuffed crochet devil, with button eyes and little black horns and a Post-it Note stuck to its belly that says, in Alistair’s handwriting, “My name is Gideon.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose so I don’t laugh and make this worse, I mutter, “I don’t get paid enough for this.”
“It’s perfect, right?” Alistair demands, and Gideon lunges over the desk. I get out of the way just in time.
And take the crocheted devil with me.