“That’s right. Hmm…” I straightened up and sat down behind the desk again as I tried to search for an answer to her quandary. “All right. Let’s look at all our available options.” I wasn’t really sure just what those available options were. “Have you spoken to anyone on the Council about Angelo?”

  Fifi nodded. “That was the first thing I did. Interspecies politics don’t count in a Hollow, but if someone has a problem with anyone in their own species, you have to deal with those problems in-house. That means the Council wouldn’t do anything. I was told to take care of my issues myself first.”

  “Was that when Ophelia was on the board?”

  Fifi nodded. “Yes, but that wasn’t Ophelia’s rule. It’s in the charter of the Council.” She took a breath. “They can only intervene if my family tries to kill me and Angelo doesn’t want me dead, so the Council’s hands are tied.”

  I frowned. “That isn’t at all helpful.”

  “Removing my succubus side is the only way out of this, Poppy. I’ve already looked into every other option and I’ve come to realize there aren’t any.”

  I nodded as I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth. “I’m still not convinced that removing your succubus nature is the right thing to do. It just… it doesn’t feel right.”

  “It’s the only way.”

  “I just want to tread cautiously. I don’t like the idea of you altering your nature so drastically, especially when we really don’t know what the side effects will be or what you might end up as.”

  “This is the only way,” she insisted again. “Removing my succubus is the only option to stop my family from coming after me—once I’m human, they’ll turn their backs on me. Angelo told me as much in an attempt to scare me, but he didn’t realize that’s exactly what I want them to do.”

  “I can understand wanting to emancipate yourself from a family that would force you into doing unspeakable things. I don’t blame you for that at all.”

  Fifi stole a peek at me from under her bangs. “I’ve tried everything I could think of and I came up with blanks. That’s why I came to you, because I was fresh out of ideas.”

  I nodded. “Fifi, there must be side-effects if you go through with this. I mean, I just can’t imagine that you could remove this part of you and you wouldn’t pay for it in some way.”

  There was a look in her eyes that said I was onto something. She took her time in responding and when she did, her voice was soft. “I know I won’t have the same amount of… energy, because I will have essentially pulled out a part of myself and the succubus part of me is… dynamic.”

  “What does that mean?”

  She shrugged. “I’ll probably feel weak and exhausted—maybe for a few months afterwards or maybe… for life. But I won’t die, no matter how weak I get. I mean… I won’t die until it’s my time to go.”

  “So you’d be exhausted all the time?” She nodded. “Fifi, that sounds terrible! That would be a horrible way to live.” I motioned to her as I continued to shake my head. “You’re so healthy…”

  A tear streaked down her cheek again, and her voice twisted. “I can’t live like this anymore! I can’t stand being this energy vampire. I’m no better than a real vampire who sucks blood—we’re just parasites, living off the life fuel of others. And I hate it.”

  No matter how I tried to argue there was another way, I was starting to believe maybe there wasn’t. “I’ll help you, but if there is any way we can resolve this without performing the spell, we’ll try that first, okay?”

  “There is no other way, but the spell.”

  “That you know of so far,” I nearly interrupted her. “All I’m asking is that you be open minded if we do find some other… possibility for you, okay?”

  She nodded, but didn’t seem convinced.

  “We’ll only consent to you doing the spell as a last resort,” I finished. Even as I said the words, I couldn’t help but think about the fact that five years was a long, long time to go without sex, even for a non-succubus. If Fifi was struggling after two months, I didn’t hold out much hope for her going the distance.

  Even if she did manage to make it, a lot could happen in five years. That meant there was no guarantee she’d perform the spell anyway, even if she was convinced it was what she wanted. Furthermore, how was she hoping to hide away from her family for that long? Clearly, she’d have to move out of Haven Hollow, and she hadn’t even broached that subject.

  Fifi reached out and took my hand, smiling broadly. “Thank you so much. You don’t know how grateful I am for your help. I was going out of my mind not knowing what to do.”

  She stood up and threw her arms around my neck. A rush of warm energy flooded me at the touch of her curvy body against mine. I’d never experienced anything like it from a woman before, but she could tempt anyone, no matter their sex.

  I started to stiffen against her embrace, but then I remembered.

  She’s not coming onto you, Poppy, I reminded myself. She’s in trouble and I promised to help her… somehow.

  I made myself soften into her embrace as I reminded myself she needed a friend—a real friend. I might not be able to solve all her problems, in fact, I was very cloudy where that subject was concerned, but I could be her friend.

  Chapter Four

  Marty pushed his chair under the table and helped his friend, Bailey, out of her seat. Bailey was a psychic and worked at a place called Spook Society, a bunch of psychics who helped out in cases, both personal and police-related.

  “You kids behave yourselves,” Marty said as he looked at me and gave me a broad smile which was always more endearing, owing to his underbite. “We’ll catch you on the flipside.”

  “See you around,” Roy called after him.

  I laughed under my breath as I watched Marty and Bailey leave the Half-Moon. “Catch you on the flipside? Who actually says that?”

  “Marty and his looney friends. That’s who,” Roy answered, and his tone surprised me. I mean, I could always tell Marty was jealous of my relationship with Roy—mainly because he insisted on referring to Roy as ‘Roid’ whenever the sasquatch wasn’t around. But, I wasn’t sure why Roy would return the same almost… antagonistic feelings.

  Men.

  Roy picked up the check and scanned it, apparently making sure his people had itemized everything correctly. Even as he looked at it and I looked at him, I detected his sharp eyes skipping around the restaurant every few seconds.

  For a fleeting instant, those eyes glanced over to Fifi, who was delivering a huge load of food to the booth next to ours. Since I’d spread the word about Angelo trying to kidnap her to our small group of friends, everyone had agreed to keep an extra close eye on her.

  That was why we decided to hold this double-date at the Half-Moon and not some other restaurant. Roy would have been more than glad to be an anonymous guest at another establishment, but his protective nature took over. It was one of the things I really liked about him.

  Roy watched Fifi pass the dishes to four guys sitting at the table in front of her. The one on the end nearest her was her most recent beau, a guy named Colin—that’s what Roy had deduced anyway, owing to his excellent sasquatch hearing. Apparently, they’d been going out for a few weeks. I was surprised she hadn’t mentioned Colin when she’d had her breakdown in my shop. But, then I also figured they hadn’t been together long and she probably assumed he wouldn’t be around much longer. Either way, I couldn’t say I was that interested in the subject.

  Colin didn’t look any the worse for his experience of dating a succubus—there weren’t any deep circles under his eyes, or premature lines. He didn’t look exhausted or even tired. Maybe Fifi wasn’t feeding on him? She definitely wasn’t having sex with him, if what she’d told me earlier was true.

  I started to say something to Roy about Henner and RJ, Marty’s supernatural mystery trackers who worked with him on ghost related cases. They were also my friends and I relied on them to babysit Finn, who adored them both. Their exploits catching ghosts and recording paranormal phenomena were notorious in Haven Hollow, and they were something close to royalty with my eleven-year-old son. I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather have watching him—except maybe Marty.

  The guys at the next table cut off my train of thought by laughing loudly. They’d been getting rowdier by the minute and other patrons turned to stare. Roy scowled even blacker. I didn’t like where this was going.

  Fifi put down the last few dishes she was holding, said something to the group, and sashayed off toward the bar. Her buxom rear swayed in a sultry, sensuous strut that distracted everyone in the building. It even seemed to sidetrack Roy for a split second, before he remembered himself.

  Is he really as immune to her charms as she thinks? I wondered, feeling the stirrings of jealousy in my gut. Take a deep breath, Poppy, you’re just being petty. Fifi can’t help the fact that she’s stunningly gorgeous. And she needs your help. There’s no room for jealousy and it’s silly, anyway.

  Her glistening silver hair undulated down her back to her rounded, pert derriere, and I swallowed my gloom with my Diet Coke.

  “Now if I could only get a piece of that, I’d be a happy man,” I heard Colin say as he watched Fifi walk away.

  I glanced at Roy, and his jaw was tight.

  “Quit talking trash,” one of Colin’s friends chimed in as they both laughed and took another few swallows of whatever they were drinking. Clearly, they had no idea how loud they were, or maybe they just didn’t care.

  “If only you could get a piece of it?” The friend continued. “Dude, you’re getting it every night.”

  “That’s what you’d think, right?”

  “Um, I’d think a girl who throws it around the way she does must be giving it up as much as you want her to… and maybe even more,” the friend laughed.

  “Yeah right,” Colin replied with a shrug as he shook his head. “She won’t put out… at all.”

  The friend laughed at him. “Come on.”

  “No, I’m ready to call it quits. She’s nothing but a damn tease and it’s getting frustrating.”

  “Roy,” I said in a low warning as he started to get out of his seat. “It’s not our fight.”

  He took a deep breath and nodded, staying put and downing three gulps of his beer.

  “Pass her number my way if you break it off,” the friend urged. “I want a shot at that.”

  I glanced over at Roy again, but before I could open my mouth, Fifi stormed over to the table and flung a drink in Colin’s face! Liquid splashed into his eyes and ice cubes bounced off his cheeks, landing on the table in front of him.

  He reared back with a surprised yell. “What the hell!”

  “Get out, you asshole!” Fifi bellowed as she stood there panting, her arms crossed against her chest. “Get out of here and don’t come back!”

  “You crazy bitch!” Colin roared as he pushed away from the table, his whole front covered in whatever she threw at him. “You ruined my best jacket!”

  “I heard every word you just said,” Fifi countered as she glared at him and I felt a surge of pride for her even as I wondered how she’d heard him because she hadn’t been near their table. I had to wonder if she had advanced hearing like Roy did.

  “You want to dump me?” she continued. “I’ll make it easy for you. I’m dumping you so delete my number!” She took a breath and that was when I realized she was shaking—I could see it in her hands.

  Colin clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes as he took a step closer to her, but Roy was already on his feet. In the space of a few seconds, Roy stepped between Fifi and Colin, towering over the other man by at least a head.

  “You heard the lady,” he rumbled in a low bass. “Consider yourselves banned from the Half-Moon, whether Fifi is working or not.”

  “You can’t…!” Colin blurted out.

  Roy arched one eyebrow at him. “I’m the owner. I can do whatever the hell I want.”

  Roy squared his shoulders and made himself appear even broader, if that was possible. Colin shrank before Roy’s enormous bulk, and I didn’t imagine he could even see Fifi with Roy in the way.

  Colin gulped and backed down as his friends slithered out of the booth, and one of them tapped his elbow. “Let’s go, man.”

  They left the bar, and Roy watched them leave before he turned to Fifi and his expression softened. “You okay?”

  She nodded, but her lower lip trembled and tears stood on her eyelashes. She darted away, towards the kitchen, without saying anything. I stood up and hurried after her.

  Pushing through the kitchen door, I didn’t spot her anywhere. So, I ventured further back into the office, the breakroom, and then the bathroom before I finally found her. She was hunched on the floor between some shelves in the very backmost corner of the storage basement. She hugged her knees and rocked back and forth while she sobbed.

  I sank down on the floor next to her. “You did the right thing by dumping him, Fifi, and I’m really proud of you for the way you handled that. You did awesome and he deserved every ounce of whatever that was you threw at him.”

  “It was a rum and coke I was supposed to deliver to the next table over.”

  “Well, it served its purpose much better in Colin’s face,” I answered with a smile.

  She nodded but then broke down again. “I know he’s a jerk so why do I feel so crappy?”

  “Because dating and relationships aren’t easy. But, the point is that you didn’t deserve any of that and no man should ever talk about a woman like that.”

  “I just—”

  “Fifi, that guy was a total creep.”

  “They’re all like that,” she said as she choked on her own tears.

  “No, they aren’t,” I said, shaking my head. “Roy isn’t like that and neither is Marty, Henner or RJ. There are still good men out there, Fifi. You have to believe that.”

  “I’m just… I’m so afraid I won’t make it nearly five more years and yet, getting rid of the succubus within me is the only way I’m ever going to find true love, Poppy.” She dropped her attention to her hands as she shook her head. “Who am I kidding? Everyone knows what I am.”

  “Did Colin?”

  As far as I could tell, he was human and there was a strict code whereby supernaturals in Haven Hollow kept their… conditions to themselves. Humans weren’t supposed to know we existed.

  “No, of course not,” she said as she shook her head. “I just meant… everyone seems to think I’m easy, that I’ll just sleep with anyone.” Then she sighed and the tears started all over again. “I should have just given it up to him. At least then I could have siphoned his energy.”

  “Hey!” I started, grabbing her chin as I forced her to look up at me. “Don’t you dare say that about yourself! Besides, it isn’t true, Fifi! You’re not just a succubus. You are one of the bravest, most respectable people I’ve ever met.”

  “Stop,” she moaned, shaking her head.

  “No, I won’t stop. You’re a kind person, Fifi, and you need to hear it. You’re too good for a guy like Colin—he’s a jerk. You deserve a nice man, Fifi. You deserve love and happiness.”

  She didn’t seem to hear me. “It always happens like this. I find a guy I think is nice, but no matter how good they act in the beginning, they always turn out to be jerks.”

  “I can definitely commiserate with that. I’ve dated my share of jerks, but they aren’t all like that. I promise. There are good guys out there.”

  She nodded, but then shook her head again. “That’s easy for you to say. You HAVE a decent guy. Good guys are only after good women like you, Poppy.”

  “Well, first of all… you are a great woman and secondly,” I continued as I laughed out loud. “I’m not as good as you think I am.” An image of Sandy in that blasted yellow dress dropped into my head like a bomb and I had to push it away. “Okay, I might be a good person… but I’m also pretty normal. I don’t have any of your sultry or sexy vavavoomness,” I started, but she shook her head again and interrupted me.

  “I just want to be normal, like you. I hate being leered at and whistled at and harassed and constantly taken advantage of. It’s exhausting. Every guy I meet treats me like I’m a walking blowup doll.”

  I took her hand and pressed it between mine. “I understand it must be hell, but changing yourself for any man is a really bad idea. If you do this, it needs to be for you, not so you can get a man.”

  “Becoming human will make me happy,” she insisted. “If I was human or even semi-human, at least I would know that SOME men weren’t just after me because of what I am. Maybe I could at least have some normal friendships.”

  “You have that now. You have me and Bailey and Marty and Roy. We all care about you. You don’t have to change who you are for us.”

  “That’s all great but none of you are boyfriend material, with the exception of Marty, maybe.”

  I was a bit taken aback by her comment but chose not to say anything. “My point is, you have a lot more going for you than you realize. If you really want to do this, I’ll help you, but I think we should try to find an alternative first. And if there’s a way we can avoid doing the spell, that means you won’t have to go through five years of torture.”

  She brightened up a bit more. “I’d definitely rather not have to go through all that.”

  I smiled and tugged her arm. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before Roy has to take out a mortgage on the bar to pay our tab.”

  ***

  Later that night, Roy drove me home.

  On the way, our conversation naturally centered around Fifi and everything that had happened. It was only after another few minutes of talking about it that Roy revealed he’d already known about everything Fifi was facing, even before she came to me about it.

  I spun around in my seat to face him, my eyebrows knitting. “You already knew about this and you didn’t say anything?”

  Roy threw the truck into Park and shut down the motor after he parked in front of my house. “It wasn’t my place to tell you. Fifi didn’t even know that I knew.”