Free Semi-Human (Harper Hall Investigations Book 2) by Isabel Jordan

sniffed. “I did, but I’m over it now.”
    “’Did I ever tell you you’re my hero?’ You’re everything I wish I could be…’”
    Mischa told her to fuck off in Italian, and hung up on her before she could burst out laughing.
    Now, she just had to formulate a plan to convince Leon to help her find or create an antidote for Harper. Surely she could complete that one little task without asking for help from a cocky, ridiculously hot, overbearing, jackass of a vampire. Right?
    Cane, her beagle mix, curled up on Mischa’s bunny slippers and gazed up at her adoringly. “What do you think, baby? We can do this, right? We don’t need Hunter.”
    At Hunter’s name, Cane’s tail began to thump frantically.
    She sighed. “Yeah. That’s what I was afraid of.”

 
     
     
Chapter Twelve
     
     
    Riddick didn’t come back to the hotel until dawn. Harper followed him into the bathroom when he walked right past her without even bothering to greet her, as if nothing had happened the night before.
    He whirled around to face her when he found the bathroom empty. “Where the fuck is he?” he growled.
    She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “Good morning to you, too, Sally Sunshine. Nice of you to come home.”
    Riddick grabbed her wrist and hauled her to him. “Where. The. Fuck. Is. He?”
    She grabbed his hand and gave his thumb a hard yank backward until he winced and let her go. She should feel bad about it, but she didn’t. He should’ve known better than to manhandle her when she was sleep-deprived and angry at him. And he’d taught her that move, anyway. Dumbass.
    He continued glaring at her until she jerked her thumb toward the balcony. “I moved him out there last night.”
    His incredulous look pissed her off, so she hissed, “You weren’t here and I had to pee. I made a judgment call, OK?”
    “Perfect,” he muttered under his breath, turning his back to her as he started washing his hands.
    That’s when she noticed his appearance.
    She’d gotten used to the bluish circles under his eyes. He barely ever slept anymore, so those were to be expected. But the angry gash on his cheek and dried blood stains on his knuckles? Those were new.
    “What did you do?” she whispered, moving to stand behind him.
    He glanced up and met her gaze in the mirror, but didn’t turn. “I told you I was going hunting. That’s what I did.”
    Her blood ran cold at the hollow look in his eyes. He wasn’t just pushing her away emotionally as Romeo suggested, he was shoving her away, hard , and trying to slam the door shut in her face.
    Yeah, well, fuck that .
    She’d gone through this once with him and she’d be damned if she’d let him do it again. She told herself a year ago that all of his I-can’t-be-with-you-because-I’m-a-big-mean-dangerous-slayer crap was never going to darken the doorstep of their relationship again, and by God, it wasn’t .
    Harper ducked under his arm and wedged herself between him and the sink so that they were nose to nose.
    He eased back a half step and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. “Harper, what the fuck?”
    “What the hell’s going on in your head? Why are you pushing me away and not talking to me?”
    “I’m not pushing you away.”
    She narrowed her eyes on him. “And now you’re lying to me. What the hell, Riddick? And don’t tell me this is all about Romeo and the cleaner killer, because I know that’s only part of it. You haven’t been sleeping for months. What are you so stressed about?”
    His jaw set mutinously, reminding her of Romeo. She assumed he wouldn’t appreciate the comparison, so instead of pointing that out, she guessed, “Is this somehow about your ridiculous, overprotective need to guard me all the time?”
    This time she actually heard his teeth grind together. She wasn’t sure if that indicated she was making progress or not.
    “It’s not ridiculous. I let my guard down here and you were