Her body buzzed with nervous energy, and Caine’s dark gaze rooted her to the spot. If it came down to a fight between them, would she have any chance of survival, or would it only be a matter of time before he hypnotized her to bash her skull into the street?

An unnatural stillness overtook his body, like a beast of prey waiting to pounce. “If I’d wanted to take away your free will, this night would have gone very differently.”

Nearby, heels pounded on the pavement, and Caine’s gaze cut away.

Rosalind let out a long breath, and turned to spot a tall, blonde girl struggling to run in high heels.

She frowned, straining her eyes in the dim light. “Tammi?”

The charged air calmed, and Caine’s eyes cleared as the air began to thaw. “Please tell me that’s not another Hunter. I can’t take any more of your kind.”

“Rosalind!” Tammi sprinted over. Her blonde hair flew wildly around, and her usually impeccable makeup streaked her face. After nearly crashing into Rosalind, she stopped to rest her hands on her knees. “That’s it,” she gasped. “My life is over. My parents disowned me years ago, and now I can’t go back to Thorndike.”

Panic coiled in Rosalind’s chest, and she touched her friend’s shoulder. “Tammi, what’s going on? What are you talking about?”

Tammi straightened, still catching her breath. “I can’t believe I found you.”

“Are you okay?” Rosalind asked. “How did you find me? What’s going on?”

“I’ve been following Josiah from a distance,” she said. “He took the train here, and I trailed after him, but I lost him in the park. He walks fast. And by the way, I know way too much about him now. Did you know he reads billionaire romances? Am I babbling? I’m kind of jacked up on the excitement. I’m basically a fugitive now. From the law.”

Rosalind’s blood turned to ice. “What are you talking about?”

“Did you say billionaire romances?” Suddenly playful again, a smile played about Caine’s lips.

Tammi’s eyes landed on the incubus. “Oh, hello.”

“Tammi, meet Caine. He’s a demon, but he’s helping me solve my… issue…” She’d gloss over the fact that she’d just called him an abomination. Clearly that was a bit much—even if he had hypnotized Josiah. “Anyway, what do you mean you’re a fugitive?”

“Okay. We really need to talk. You would not believe the shit storm that’s been going on since you left. The Brotherhood have been hounding me ever since you disappeared. They yanked me out of my art history final and then pulled me in for a bunch of interviews in the Chambers. During the last interview, I was interrogated by some asshole named General Loring—”

Rosalind’s mouth went dry. “Randolph Loring interrogated you? The red-haired guy? What did he want to know?”

“If I’ve ever seen you conduct magic. If you had friends who used magic. And what were the names of all your friends? And did I notice if there were any deformities on you, signs of corruption by magic? And if I wasn’t going to be helpful, they were going to arrest me and try out some of their enhanced interrogation techniques. And I don’t imagine he plans to put me in the women’s prison. I got kind of a fanatical vibe.”