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trying to rob us.
    I stamped my foot a couple of times in annoyance. I wanted food, several drinks and a warm bath. I didn’t feel like dealing with foolish humans today. I nudged Sasha but he didn’t move. An angry energy storm gathered where we stood, and I panicked. The man, now that I focused, looked more like a boy. He seemed mighty unsure as to his next move since Sasha wasn’t acting as a normal mugging victim should. This was going to be bad. I didn’t want the kid to be hurt because of a misunderstanding.
    “Sasha?” I said, tugging on his shirt again but this time in anger.
    “Will you stay put and quiet for once?” he growled. He had turned halfway towards me to glare. The kid must have noticed the violet eyes, which were glowing in anger, in the dim alley light. The gunshot exploded.
     
    Chapter Four : A Rectified Matter
     
    I stepped back as Sasha doubled over, going down on one knee and splashing into some murky sludge in one of the infamous potholes that the city was known for. A dark red stain formed, spreading on the back of his ivory linen shirt. He slumped forward completely and fell motionless on the street. The gunman ran down the alley, stumbled over his falling oversize pants and unlaced shoes, and fell with a sickening thump. I didn’t have time to wonder why he didn’t move.
    I gazed towards Sasha’s unmoving body. Damn. I didn’t know what to do. We never went over a contingency plan for this type of scenario. I reached for him. Life, it seems, had a personal vendetta against my happiness.
    “Sasha, can you hear me?” I asked the still and filthy form. I bent over him, carefully pulling his hair back from his face.
    Another voice intruded on the scene. “He’ll be fine. Let’s get him home.”
    It was Malachi. The half-breed always had exceptional timing. He walked casually to my side and nudged Sasha’s body with the tip of his polished boot.
    “You have a funny definition of fine,” I said.
    Malachi grinned. “He’ll be right enough. Damn me but it was a fine shot. Did you catch that? Straight through the heart it was. Lucky it was a human bullet. Let’s get you both to the car.”
    “Are you sure?” I asked.
    Sasha hadn’t moved a muscle. Elves weren’t immortal, just lightning quick, powerful and fast healers. Scars from past wounds littered Sasha’s body, wounds that would’ve been fatal if he was human.
    “Trust me,” he replied.
    A whisper of calm brushed against my mind. It was the same kind of intrusive tendrils that Sasha would send my way when we practiced mind shields. I slammed my mind shut, shaking my head to clear it.
    Malachi picked Sasha up with one arm and hauled me down the alley, towards the car. Men in general are bossy by nature. The kid, still motionless on the street, stared as we passed.
    Malachi snarled. “I don’t have time. Find another line of work.” He tossed a roll of bills at the kid’s feet and continued walking.
    He opened the back door tossing in Sasha’s limp bloody body.
    “No need to push,” I said shaking his hands off and climbing into the back seat.
    The car ride didn’t take long. Caleb, Sasha’s vamp butler, opened the front doors to the house as we approached. He swiftly started removing Sasha’s clothes as Malachi marched up the stairs. There was blood everywhere. Sasha’s skin looked marred with the dark, muddy looking fluid. I wondered idly how long it would take him to recover. The knife wound he took last week didn’t slow him down at all. Yet I hadn’t been aiming for the heart.
    Once we entered Sasha’s rooms, Malachi went into the bathroom. I followed, sitting on the purple settee facing the enormous shower stall. The water came on, nice to have telekinesis, and the room sprang to life with music.
    “He better recover.” I had too much time invested in the elf. He was my ticket in. I didn’t want to start from square one.
    Malachi sighed. “Do relax, luv.”
    He propped Sasha in the shower, and I