“I need a word.” He met the man’s gaze and nodded toward the bar. He didn’t plan to go to the bar, but the door next to it led into the kitchen.

“Oh, of course.” The man stood, looking unsteady. There were no glasses on the table, but it didn’t mean he hadn’t been drinking. “Is there a problem?”

“You tell me.”

The man widened his eyes and pushed past Kasha. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

Sadek turned around and walked toward the kitchen door. He didn’t glance over his shoulder to make sure the man followed. Here he was the authority. Once he reached the door, he turned, and the man was right behind him. Good.

“This way.” He held up the door, and as soon as the man had stepped through, he pushed it closed. “What’s your name?”

“Dei Vessel.”

Vessel? Hadn’t he heard something about someone named Vessel before? “There is a woman approaching who smells strongly of ozone.”

The color drained from Dei’s face, and relief flooded Sadek. He’d done the right thing to go and get him.

“Marilla!”

It took a few seconds, but then Marilla walked in their direction. “I’m not a dog, Sadek. You can’t call me and expect me to come running.” Funny, since it was how he expected it was in her home. She’d call, and Todd, her mate, would come running.

“Sorry. We have a situation. This is Dei Vessel. I need him to disappear.”

Dei whimpered while Marilla huffed. “I’ve left that line of work, dear.”

Sadek allowed a sigh. “I meant I need him hidden.”

“Y-You can’t hide me. She’ll find me wherever I go. I’ll head back, and she’ll return to the cabin without causing you any problem. I’m sorry. I never meant to get you in trouble.”

Sadek stared, and Marilla chuckled.

“Oh, sweetness, now I’m almost intrigued.” She scratched one of the many tattooed hieroglyphs covering her skin before glancing at Sadek. “Sent him to the wrong side, did you?”

Sadek didn’t move a muscle. He couldn’t have sent him to the left. He wasn’t sure he belonged on the right either, but people always, always, belonged on one side or the other, so he had to.

Dei made a distressed sound. “She’s my master. It was stupid of me to leave the cabin. I only needed some space.”

Master? Master as in ... It had been forbidden to own humans for decades. Maybe it was a D/s thing. Some people were into that. “And you went to The Ruby Tooth?” Sadek kept his voice even and his expression blank, but seriously?

“I was cold, and people were waiting in line. I figured it must be something worth waiting for inside, so I joined them.”

Sadek narrowed his eyes and ignored Marilla’s low whistle. Maybe Dei wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, but Sadek was reluctant to let him run off. Unless it was all a game to them. He didn’t want to get dragged into a game with a powerful witch.

“Do you like what she does to you?”

A panicked sound escaped Dei before he shook his head.

Fuck. He wouldn’t last a minute if a female Jack could smell coming was out to get him. He needed all evidence of Dei having been here to disappear. He’d been cold. Did it mean he didn’t have a jacket? Jack handled the coat room. When the customers stepped into the room to meet him, they’d already checked their jackets, but if he’d been freezing ... “Do you have a coat?”

“Nah, there was no time to grab anything.” Dei shrugged. “I’ll be fine. I’ll hurry back. It’s not that cold.”

Sadek wanted to argue. It was cold enough to freeze to death should someone be too drunk to make it back on their own accord. He didn’t get the feeling Dei was drunk, but he was unsteady, which could lead to the same outcome.

“Make him disappear. I’ll fetch him when I get off my shift.”

Marilla grinned. “Disappear as in ...” She raised an eyebrow in question. Sadek held in a snarl. This was not how he’d pictured his night, and Marilla was having far too much fun at his expense. Or maybe not at his expense, but she’d talk about this night for ages to come. He swallowed another sigh.

“Untraceable but breathing.”

She tapped a hieroglyph only to move on to repeat the action on another, and then a prickling wave washed over him. Dei sucked in a breath, but Sadek did his best not to react. Walking away was harder than it should’ve been. He didn’t know Dei, shouldn’t care what happened to him, and he trusted Marilla ... to some extent.