Undeniable (The Druids Book 1) by S. A. Archer, S. Ravynheart Page B

his face, but the frown was serious, even from this angle.
    She debated saying something in greeting, but could tell he wasn’t in the mood to hear it. And the reason became more clear as she drew closer, and got a look at the right side of his face. The bruise was too large to be called a black eye. It covered almost the entire side of his face, discoloring it into a dark, purple bruise. “What happened to you?”
    “Your friend, Joe, and his little ninja-kicking buddy.” His voice was flat.
    London grimaced. “What happened?” Although she had a sinking feeling that she already knew.
    “I guess they thought I might be a vampire looking for you.” He straightened. “That’s what they said, anyhow.” He drew closer and scooped the heavier shopping bag from her arms. “I take it that the guy is still after you. Did you ever figure out why?”
    She hesitated, but couldn’t see any benefit in lying. “Yes, he’s still out there, and no, I don’t know why yet.”
    Hoping that Lugh hadn’t decided to stop by for a visit again, she opened the front door to the building, and led Granger up the stairs to her second floor flat. “I regret that you got caught up in things. It probably is best to just steer clear of me right now. My life tends to be more complicated than strictly necessary.”
    “I can imagine.” He followed her up the stairs, and waited by the door while she unlocked her flat. “With the friends you keep, I wouldn’t expect it to be any other way.”
    “They meant only to protect me,” she turned towards him, reaching to retrieve the bag from him, and leave him at the door. “Please don’t hold that against them. You won’t press charges, will you?”
    Granger gazed at her seriously, but then only asked, “May I come in? Or are you going to leave me out here like this? Bashed up by your boyfriend and unappreciated for my gentlemanly gesture?”
    Biting her lip didn’t help her come up with a good reply to that. “Yeah, come inside. I’ll get you some ice for your face.” She held the door open as he carried in the groceries, and then locked it behind them. One could never be too careful. When she turned back, he’d already set the bag down on the dining table next to her laptop and was beginning to unload it, sorting the things for the refrigerator from the ones destined for the pantry. Her protest didn’t make it past her thoughts. There was nothing in the bag she needed to hide, and to her relief, a casual glance didn’t reveal anything incriminating lying about. She was trying to be good about putting those things away every time she finished with them, as a precaution. Instead, she started moving the items he unloaded into the kitchen where they belonged. “Can I get you a beer?”
    “A beer would be excellent, right about now.” He crossed back into her living room and flopped onto her sofa like this had been an incredibly long day already. “Nice little club you like to hang out in. I wouldn’t have thought of you as much of a dancer.”
    “I’m really not that graceful,” she admitted, bringing him a bag of frozen peas, “but I like the music.” She handed the bag off to him. “Here, that might work better than ice cubes.”
    Taking the bag, he punched it a couple of times to break up the chunks inside so it could better conform to his face. “I want you to know that you make it really hard for me when you hold back information.”
    “Hold back?” She called; back in the refrigerator for the bottle of beer she’d promised him, and getting one for herself.
    As she set his on the coaster and settled onto the chair opposite the coffee table from him, Granger reached inside his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and slapped it down, face up, on the table between them. It was the only show of annoyance; that slap. Then he picked up the beer, giving her the chance to look at what he’d laid out.
    London had an uneasy feeling, seeing the