Lesson 149- It’s always a good idea to have a plan.

Tori and I go to the cafe. He has cake, I have icecream and the world's biggest hot chocolate. Although honestly, it wouldn’t have mattered what I got. I’m just enjoying being out and about, around people who aren’t expecting anything from me. Torin looked a little bit out of place in the cutesy cafe and the girl at the counter stared at him with wide eyes. I kind of forget that, even without the whole demon thing, he IS actually a very large and intimidating looking guy. I instinctively looped my arm around his. He looked down at me, a little surprised. I just smiled up at him and thanked him for bringing me there. He told me again that he would take me anywhere I liked, he even smiled a little and that did it. The girl at the counter absolutely MELTED. She clearly no longer thought he was scary. I’m glad to see that it’s not just me that’s affected by his sweetness. By the time we leave, I’m pretty much over the moon. I grab Torin’s hand as we walk back to the car. He seems startled but he doesn’t object, just squeezes my hand tightly and continues walking. 

He plays the radio in the car and we drive back to the bar. I’m weirdly reluctant to go back in. I have to take a few deep breaths and remind myself that I can leave whenever I want. I also remind myself that I’m literally just wearing Tori’s shirt as a dress and I really need some actual clothes. The back door is still open, but that’s not a surprise considering Tori and I are the only ones who can actually open and close it. What is a surprise, is that Laura, Kyle and Catcher are all here cleaning. Torin heard them when we walked in, and still holding my hand but keeping me behind him a little, he led me down the hall and peered through the hallway door to see them in the bar tidying up. He throws the door open when he realises it’s just them. 

“Sorry, we were just getting a head start on the cleaning. I hope you don’t mind-” Laura starts anxiously. Torin waves her off. 

“It’s fine. I had… Other things to worry about. I… Thank you for taking care of things here. You do a lot and I should probably… Tell you that more often.” He mutters awkwardly. I squeeze his hand encouragingly. Laura smiles, apparently shocked but pleased by his acknowledgement. She and Kyle still seem very wary of Torin, but they’ve made a lot of progress. A few weeks ago, I seriously doubt they would have come back here without him and started cleaning up. They would have been too scared of him killing them or something. Now they’re still worried about upsetting him, but I don’t think they actually believed they were in danger by coming here or anything. The room already looks a lot better, they must have all been here for a while now. Laura drops the dustpan she was holding and rushes over to me. 

“You texted that you’re officially free, that you can go out. I didn’t expect to see you back here for a while. What happened?” She asks, half anxious and half thrilled. I smile.

“Tori and I made a bargain that should hopefully negate the one with Solem. I should be totally safe now, even if I don’t stay here.” I explain. Laura’s jaw drops. 

“You… You did what?! Don’t you know how dangerous that is?” She turns to Torin. 

“How could you do that to her? I thought you cared about Rina! Why would you risk her like that?” She demands. Her fear of Torin apparently gone in the face of her anger and concern about me. Torin stays silent, his poker face securely in place. I step in front of him and between the two of them.

“Laura, I appreciate your concern, but you need to back off right now. The deal was my idea. We discussed it thoroughly and I agreed to it. Torin did nothing wrong and it’s not fair for you to yell at him like this.” I say firmly. I work to keep my voice calm, not wanting to yell back. Raising my voice isn’t going to help the situation. Laura sighs and deflates a little.

“... Sorry Torin. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like that.” She says quietly, clearly feeling a little guilty. He seems shocked by the apology, but gives a deep nod of acceptance. I glance at the guys to see how they’re reacting. Kyle looks… Thoughtful. I think he’s not sure about all this, but he’s logical enough to see that it was my best option. Catcher however is grinning. He looks thrilled. Actually, he has his phone out and is texting rapidly.

“Who are you messaging?” I ask curiously. He never participates in the work chat because he forgets to check his phone, but here he is texting right now. 

“My wife. She’s going to love this. Congrats on figuring out a way around your deal with that ass Solem. Has anyone told him yet? Are you going to? Can someone PLEASE video it for me when you do?” He seems almost as excited about all this as I am. 

“Tell her I said hi.” I tell him with a shrug. It’s kind of adorable how he wants to immediately tell his wife. I really need to meet her. We better arrange this girls day thing sooner rather than later. 

We all discuss how we should tell Solem. Laura and Catcher think that we should just… Text it to him or something. Kyle suggests that we just don’t tell him at all and let the rumour mill take care of it. Torin refuses both options and insists we need to tell him in person. 

“We need to be sure he understands. He needs to see Rina so that he can know that she is off limits.” He insists. I raise an eyebrow.

“What difference would seeing me make?” I ask, confused. Torin shrugs. 

“Demons can… Sense… When someone is under a contract. I couldn’t sense the one between you and Solem, but that’s because you didn’t make it. I suspect if you came into contact with him then I would be able to feel it. The point is, if he sees you, he will know for sure that he can’t touch you.” Torin explains. 

“Oh… Well I suppose that makes sense. But is it safe?” I ask. Torin hesitates.

“I don’t think he would attack me directly. He can get away with making bad deals, but if he started outright murdering people, then the hunters would probably come after him. I think.” He says, a little unsure. I perk up. 

“What about Rowen?” I ask. Torin tilts his head in confusion. 

“Rowen?” He repeats. But Kyle is nodding his head, clearly seeing where I’m going with this. 

“If she were there when you met up with him, he wouldn’t dare step out of line. Not to mention it would show him that the hunters are watching. That might scare him off for good!” He says enthusiastically. A smile on his face. I’m starting to think Kyle is a bit of a hunter fanboy. I’m starting to like this plan. I wasn’t willing to take Rowen up on her offer of help when I thought she was just an assassin or something, not to mention actually sending her after someone isn’t really something I’m willing to do. But asking her to just… Hang around and be vaguely threatening? Now that I don’t feel bad about. 

“We should all be there. The more witnesses the better. Solem might be evil, but he isn’t stupid. He doesn’t want to get himself hunted.” Laura suggests enthusiastically. An hour and a few phone calls later, we have a plan. Tomorrow night, I’m finally going to meet Solem.