The two demons shared a look then nodded timidly at me. I waved toward the door, and they moved around Draegan and the other demons, giving them a wide berth. As soon as they were in the clear, they ran for the door. By the time Jordan and I reached the door, the mox demons had already disappeared down the stairs.

Roland and Peter were standing right where we’d left them, and they practically sagged in relief when we came through the door.

“What the hell happened in there?” Roland asked.

I hiccupped as I headed for the elevator. “We’ll tell you in the car.”

“Did you take care of Greg’s debt?”

Jordan let out a burst of laughter. “Oh, she took care of it all right.”

The elevator stopped on the first floor, and I pulled out my phone as I walked across the lobby. David answered before we’d reached the main exit.

“Everything go okay?” he asked.

“Perfectly.” I stepped outside and stared up at the glass building. “I need one more favor tonight.”

Chapter 8

I threw the covers off me and shivered in my T-shirt and shorts. Rolling out of bed, I quickly changed into jeans and a long sleeve top. I pulled a warm hoodie over the top and hunted around for a pair of socks. It almost felt like I was back in Idaho. “Damn, I thought LA was supposed to be warm,” I grumbled as I opened the bedroom door.

“Morning, sleepy head,” Roland called from the kitchen. “We thought you were going to sleep all day.”

I looked at the clock on the TV, surprised to see it was almost 11:00 a.m. “Why didn’t you guys wake me?”

Peter stirred something in a pan on the stove. “We figured you earned a good sleep after last night.”

The door opened and Greg came in carrying a bag of groceries. He handed the bag to Roland and came over to me. He still looked tired, but less haggard than yesterday. It was probably going to take a little while for last night’s shock to wear off. Suddenly finding out you’re safe after weeks of living in fear was a lot for anyone to process.

“Hey,” I said before he pulled me into a tight hug. “What’s that for?” I asked when he released me.

“I think I was too stunned last night to thank you for what you did,” he said hoarsely. “I still can’t believe it’s over.”

“You were too busy yelling at me for going to Draegan’s, remember? And then you drank half a bottle of rum.”

He winced. “Oh, yeah.”

Roland snickered. “And then you threatened to take her over your knee if she ever did anything like that again.”

“I’d kill to see that.” Jordan laughed as she set glasses on the table.

I started to retort, but the set table caught my attention. “Are we celebrating?”

Roland raised an eyebrow at me. “You forget what today is?”

I gave him a blank look.

“Happy birthday!” He sang and the others chimed in.

My birthday? How could I have forgotten that?

Greg nudged me, and we went to join the others at the table. “I didn’t have time to get you a present yet,” he said.

“Spending my birthday with you and knowing you’re safe is the best present you could give me.”

“Oooh, better not let Mr. Tall, Dark, and Moody hear you say that,” Jordan teased when I took the chair next to her.

Roland and Peter piled my plate high with French toast, sausages, and every other breakfast food I could imagine. I tried a bit of everything, but I didn’t have much of an appetite. Roland and Peter were more than happy to finish off the food that was left.

After breakfast, Jordan figured out how to work the espresso machine and treated me to a birthday latte. The coffee was heavenly, and I cradled it to ward off the chill in the apartment.

Greg sat beside me, drinking his coffee. “Sara, you don’t seem worried that Draegan might come after you for killing his other demons.”

I smiled over the top of my cup. “I’m not. And I have a strong feeling Draegan won’t be collecting any more blood debts.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Last night when we left Draegan’s, I asked my friend David to contact the Mohiri and let them know about the dangerous demon living in that building. I’m betting the world has one less gulak demon in it today.”

“Three less, actually, if you count the two we took out.” Jordan looked very pleased with herself.

Greg crossed his arms and frowned at me. “I feel like I should be mad at you for going to see Draegan after I told you to stay out of it.”

“But you see now that I was right and we were the best people to handle this.”

“That’s beside the point.”

Roland chuckled. “Dude, it’s easier if you just nod and move on. Trust me.”

Greg opened his mouth, but he was interrupted by his phone. He smiled when he saw the number. “Hey, buddy.” He looked at me and mouthed the word Danny before he went to sit in the living room. Hearing Greg sound like his old self again made my heart swell.

We stayed close to the apartment that afternoon. After lunch I made a quick call to Nate and Tristan because I knew they’d be upset if we didn’t talk on my birthday. They spent half the time trying to get me to tell them where I was. I reassured them we were doing well, and I asked Nate to pass that on to Roland’s mom, Judith. The boys couldn’t call their families because they were afraid Maxwell would order them home. They couldn’t refuse a direct command from their Alpha, even over the phone.