“Your sister?” I stammered, still stuck in the snare of his gaze, even as I fought it with everything I had. “Who is she?”

  “Her name is Seraphina Stenham.”

  As soon as he mentioned the name, an icy feeling suddenly shot through me, and I instinctively took a step back. He didn’t seem to notice, but kept talking.

  “She used to work at Hallowed Realty, but since the agency shut down, I don’t have any way to track her down.”

  “You’re Angelo,” I said as a light went on in my head. This was Fifi’s brother—the incubus. No wonder I found him so instantly and insanely attractive. He could charm the pants off any woman he chose. Even Sandy-at-the-beginning-of-the-movie.

  He leaned both elbows on the counter so he was gazing up at me from below. His eyes almost sent me into a daze again, but now I was prepared to fight his glamour—now that I knew just what he was, who he was.

  “I’m so worried about her. Her health is in quite the fragile state and my family is worried she might soon collapse from the… fatigue. She hasn’t been feeding as she should.”

  I squared my shoulders and forced my mind back to reality. “You don’t have to pull that sob story on me, Angelo. I know all about Fifi’s situation and you’ll get no information from me.”

  He straightened and stood up, frowning, but didn’t change his soft, velvety tone. Before I thought to stop it, he extended his hand across the counter and touched mine. His palm covered my knuckles, and warmth washed through me.

  Warmth and a sudden buzz of energy seemed to instantly cover every inch of me. A cloud of all-consuming desire took over my mind, clouding my every thought. I couldn’t stop staring at him, and every other logical thought flew out of my head. I wanted to seize that hand and kiss it. I wanted to kiss him! And I wanted him to kiss me!

  Control yourself, Poppy! I yelled inwardly. This guy’s the biggest jerk in town and you’re falling for his little act hook, line and sinker!

  “You can’t blame me for trying to protect my own sister,” he breathed as he moved closer to me again. “If you knew her situation, you’d know she’s putting herself in danger. She’s not… stable. Her family has a duty to intervene and I am her family.” He paused and smiled more broadly. “I just want to help her. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to her.”

  “I know the truth about you, Angelo,” I managed. “And I won’t help you.”

  His jaw tightened, and neither of us said anything for a few seconds. We just stood there, staring at each other. Finally, he smiled again and his tongue, slightly forked at the end, wetted his lower lip. He reminded me of a snake.

  “Mmm, you are quite the delectable, little package, aren’t you, Poppy the gypsy?”

  I closed my eyes and took as big a breath as I could as I forced myself to fight his pheromones, which were doing a damned good job of surrounding me, pushing against me as if trying to search for a way into my heart and mind.

  “I want you to leave,” I managed.

  He chuckled and leaned in closer. I could feel his breath along the bridge of my nose. “My power is much stronger than yours. I am demon, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

  “Leave,” I answered, only able to mutter one word. I could feel my nails digging into my palms and beads of sweat breaking out across my forehead and in the small of my back.

  “Your will is nothing against mine,” Angelo continued. “In fact, let’s take a little hiatus in your back room, shall we? I’d enjoy nothing more than finding out if that body of yours is as appetizing as that face.”

  I opened my eyes to glare at him, but found myself suddenly lost in the inky darkness of his eyes. In fact, they were so dark, I couldn’t detect his pupils.

  “Come now, don’t you want to feel my hands on you? My lips on you?” he continued as he reached forward.

  My body wanted to go with him—wanted to take his offered hand and follow him into the backroom where he’d not only ravage me, but he’d feed on my life force, like a leech.

  I scrunched my eyes shut even tighter and held my ground. It took every ounce of my willpower, every ounce of any strength I currently possessed, but I managed to stay put.

  “Ah, you’re a tough little thing, aren’t you?” he asked, chuckling again as I forced my eyes open and found his scanning my body from my chest down.

  “If you don’t leave, I will call the police.”

  “Enough said,” he answered, and his pheromone assault suddenly stopped. The air around me no longer buzzed with the pressure of his will, and I found I could breathe again.

  “Before I leave,” he continued as I tried not to pant. “Tell me where she is.”

  It felt like I was suddenly hit by a force that came directly from his eyes—like I was a fly and I’d just flown too close to an electric insect zapper. I opened my mouth before I could stop myself. “She’s at the Half-Moon Bar and Grill.”

  I pulled my hand up to cover my mouth and shock widened my eyes. The words had come out with no effort. I didn’t even know they were out until I heard them.

  A cruel smile broke across Angelo’s face, and every trace of the attraction I’d previously felt towards him suddenly evaporated, leaving me feeling hollow and cold. He removed his hand from mine and I felt even colder, like I was withering on the inside.

  “Thank you, Poppy. You’ve been very helpful.”

  I swallowed hard.

  In telling him where Fifi was, I’d just put her into trouble—I’d placed her right in the path of the storm!

  Angelo migrated backward, to the door. He twirled the bottle of Love’s Goddess in front of my eyes. “This will be very helpful, too. Thank you.”

  Lightning quick, I snatched up a small Ziploc baggie from under the counter. It contained a powder of eggshell, sage, and quartz crystal dust. I ripped open the bag and flung it at Angelo in order to stop him from leaving. The contents of the bag were my form of a security system.

  Some of the dust sprinkled his immaculately polished shoes, but he only laughed as he continued forward. “Good attempt, but you’ll have to try better.”

  “Crap!” I rasped and cursed myself for my lapse. Now Fifi’s family would find her and it was all my fault.

  I caught a fleeting glimpse of Angelo sliding into a shiny red sports car, which was parked at the curb. He hit the gas and peeled out into the street. He almost collided with another car, but I couldn’t say I cared. Instead, I tossed a bottle of banishment potion into my handbag and raced for my Jeep.

  ***

  There was never any parking directly in front of the Half-Moon, so I skidded into the curb at the top of the street. Turning off the engine, I threw myself out and ran down the sidewalk, getting curious glances from all the window shoppers. I also got a sick feeling in my stomach when I saw Angelo’s sports car parked out front.

  I could only hope I wasn’t too late.

  Charging into the restaurant, all doubt evaporated when I saw Angelo talking to a group near the hallway leading to the bathrooms. Four men as attractive as he was and three women as sultry and alluring as Fifi nodded and pointed in different directions. They had to be Fifi’s family. I could definitely see the resemblance. They all looked like supermodels without even trying. And the pheromones lacing the air were almost too much to handle.

  The instant I stepped inside, Fifi’s family turned toward another door that led to Roy’s office. I rushed forward like my pathetic efforts could somehow forestall the inevitable. Just then, Shelby Stomper, the perky, blonde hostess stepped into my path.

  “Table for one?”

  Dodging to the right, I shouldered past her without answering, but once again, I was too late. The supermodels vanished behind the corner, on their way to Roy’s office.

  I toppled several waiters and kicked over two chairs in my headlong charge to cross the crowded restaurant. Patrons yelled in protest, but I turned a deaf ear to everything surrounding me.

  I had to stop them. I had to protect Fifi.

  I veered around the corner and collided with Angelo. I bounced off his iron chest and he caught me in both arms.

  “Ah, have you come to tell me you’ve changed your mind?” he asked with a laugh as he tightened his hold around my waist.

  I struggled against his hold, even as his pheromones assaulted me all over again. Over his shoulder, I saw my worst nightmare coming true. Fifi’s relatives already had the office door open. And Roy, Fifi, Henner, RJ, and Marty were waiting for me inside.

  Fifi looked up and her countenance went white when she saw her family coming closer and Angelo holding me. The four guys stared in shock at the advancing enemy.

  “Hey!” Marty yelled at Angelo, once he realized Angelo had hold of me. “You let her go right now!”

  “Get Fifi out of here!” I yelled.

  Roy sprang between Fifi and her family, who were now coming through the door. He backed her against the wall, bellowing over his shoulder. “The window! Get to the window!”

  His voice snapped the other three out of their surprise. Marty, RJ, and Henner leapt forward to intercept the intruders who were already attacking them.

  Still grappling me in one massive arm, Angelo yanked me forward, covering the few steps that separated us from the office in a second or two. Then he whipped out the bottle of Love’s Goddess he’d stolen from my store. He cranked off the top with his teeth and threw the contents of the potion at Fifi. It splashed all over her, hitting her full in the face and splashing against her chest. Some of it hit Roy, as well.

  The effect was instantaneous.

  RJ and Henner immediately stopped fighting Fifi’s family and instead they wheeled around, staring at Fifi as if they were suddenly stuck in a zombie state. It was another second before they lurched towards her and barreled into the brick wall that was Roy. Between the two of them, they propelled Roy back against the wall. His bulk pinned Fifi under his weight, but she already had the window open.

  She slung one leg over the sill, but I didn’t see what happened next because a herd of maybe twenty diners suddenly crashed into me from behind. They plowed Angelo and me into the office, forcing us forward as if we were paper boats against a typhoon.

  And that was when I realized what was happening. Throwing Love’s Goddess on a succubus was like throwing kerosene onto a fire. Now Fifis’ pheromones were heightened a hundred percent. Any man (and even some women) within the vicinity weren’t going to be able to control themselves. Their need for Fifi would completely overcome their rational, logical minds.

  This situation was bad. Really bad.

  The mob forced Fifi’s family aside in their rush to get to Fifi. In half a second, the restaurant patrons packed the office and flattened everyone to the walls. They flattened Roy, too, but since he was already against the window, he still protected Fifi while she slipped outside.

  Even with the crowd packed into every inch of space, they still fought and kicked and struggled to reach Fifi. As soon as she left the room, they turned away. Conversation flew thick and fast. Quite a few people pointed behind me toward the exit.

  The patrons started to leave the office, but as the crowd thinned out, my worst fears materialized all over again. They talked in rapid snatches about how they planned to get to Fifi. Everyone had a different idea, but they all had one thing in common. They were leaving the Half-Moon to track her down.

  The crowd eased enough for Fifi’s family to escape, too. At some point, Angelo released me and was now darting away with the rest of his relatives. It took at least another five minutes for me to reach Roy.

  Roy grabbed Marty and shoved him toward the window as he thrust his keys into Marty’s hand. “Get Fifi to my truck and get her out of town—take her towards the mountains on Highway 207. Don’t stop until you hit the end of the road. I’ll meet you there!”

  “Where’s your truck parked?” Marty demanded.

  “In the lot at the end of the street.”

  “Christ, that’s a mile away!”

  “Go!” Roy yelled.

  He nearly crammed Marty out the window. Meanwhile, Henner and RJ were fully under Fifi’s spell. They ran the opposite way to join the other patrons. The last customers ran off and Roy rushed towards me. He took my hand.

  “Are you okay?”

  “It’s all my fault!” I blurted out. “It’s my fault they found her! I was the one who told Angelo. I couldn’t stop myself!”

  His expression softened. “It wasn’t your fault, Poppy. He’s an incubus and he’s powerful.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “What we should have done a long time ago. We’re going to my family’s in the mountains. They’re the only ones who can protect Fifi against… everyone.”

  “What about Finn? He’s still at school!”

  He nodded. “We’ll pick Finn up on the way.”

  “Or maybe Finn and I should just stay here? Angelo isn’t after us.”

  Roy shook his head. “It isn’t safe for either of you in town. If the demons came after you again, there’s no guarantee you wouldn’t tell them a second time where Fifi is hiding.”

  I nodded, too devastated to answer. And Roy was right—if Fifi’s family did come after me and forced me to tell them where Fifi was hiding, I would tell them. I wouldn’t be able to stop myself, no matter how hard I tried.

  “Roy, if we take Finn to your family’s colony, that means we’re going to have to tell him the truth about what you are, as well as the truth about what Fifi is. We’re probably going to have to tell him the whole truth about everyone in Haven Hollow.”

  He took a deep breath, and his jaw was tight. “Then we’ll have to tell him the truth. We have no other choice.”

  Chapter Nine

  The scene outside was one of pure chaos as people came out of the other establishments, filling the street. They seemed to be searching for something they couldn’t locate—Fifi. Her pheromones were thick in the air and even though I wasn’t a lesbian by any stretch of the imagination, I could still feel them.

  Roy grabbed my arm.

  We dashed up Main Street, but so many people beat us to it that we couldn’t get in front of them. The harder we struggled to shoulder our way through, the more thoroughly we got packed into the assembly.

  I spotted Angelo once in the throng as he stood beside his car which wasn’t going anywhere fast. It was surrounded by people. At least we had that going for us: Fifi’s family was no closer to taking her away than we were to stopping them.

  I looked back over my shoulder. Dozens of people of both sexes poured from their doors to join the stampede. Of course they had no idea what they were looking for or why they felt so single-mindedly compelled to search. Fifi’s pheromones, though, were forcing them to take action.

  Fifi’s relatives were nowhere in sight. If they thought to follow Roy and me instead of Marty, they kept themselves well hidden. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, we reached the end of the street, where I’d parked the Jeep. The throng of wanderers had thinned out by now and there were only a few randomly walking near the Jeep.

  It was then that the group of incubae and succubae from Fifi’s family materialized out of nowhere and surrounded us. Five powerfully built guys and three women I wouldn’t want to mess with, either, closed us in a ring.

  “What the hell do you want?” Roy yelled at the man in front.

  “Where is Fifi?”

  “How the hell should I know?”

  “You were with her in the bar,” one of the women countered. “You were the ones who tried to destroy her succubus spirit.”

  “We weren’t trying to destroy her spirit at all,” I blurted. “We were trying to help her avoid exactly that.”

  “You’re lying. Angelo told us everything,” the woman answered.

  “That’s what you get for relying on that pencil-necked moron for your information,” Roy snapped.

  “He has no reason to lie about his own sister being in danger.” The big guy took a step closer to Roy but was interrupted when Angelo’s sports car suddenly appeared behind us.

  “I’ve got a read on her,” he yelled as he rolled down the window. “She’s with a human male in a Ford F350, headed out of town.” Then he sped off, his car screeching as it took the corner too fast.

  All at once, Fifi’s family seemed to completely forget about us as they dispersed, most likely heading for their own automobiles.

  “Give me your keys, Poppy,” Roy said as I fished them out of my purse and handed them to him. Then he turned around and unlocked the Jeep. I threw my door open and watched him seat himself, before turning on the engine and flooring it.

  “Angelo is going to be way ahead of us by the time we get Finn,” I said.

  Roy’s jaw was tight. “We’ll just hope Marty is way ahead of Angelo.”

  I nodded and that was when I remembered Wanda was supposed to meet me at the Half-Moon earlier to perform the curse on Fifi. I pulled my phone out of my bag and unlocking it, realized I had a voicemail and three texts. When I pulled up the texts, they were all from Wanda. The first said she was running late. The second said:

  I can’t get anywhere near the Half-Moon because there are a bunch of half-wits milling all around downtown. WTF is going on? Has everyone in this town turned into a zombie or what?

  The third text said:

  I had nothing to do with this, I swear.

  I hit play on the voicemail and Wanda’s voice floated through the Jeep. “Um, I don’t know what in the world is going on, but I’m going home. We’ll have to do the curse another day because I can’t even make it to the Half-Moon. Everyone appears to be out of their minds and walking around like the living dead. Like I said in my text, this has absolutely nothing to do with me. Call me later.”

  I’d have to call her much later. For now, I had other things to deal with. The first thing on my list being Finn. Luckily, Finn’s school was close to downtown. Just a few minutes away. I called the school and asked the principal to have him ready and waiting on the curb, saying we’d had a family emergency.