Fergie’s eyes lit at the sight of Adrik, and she lifted her arms, reaching for him excitedly. “Mama.” She pointed at Adrik animatedly. “Fergalicious,” she declared. “Yummy.”
I couldn’t decide if she meant Adrik was gorgeous to look at or if she actually intended on trying to eat his flesh. Either way, I was fucked.
Chapter Ten
I watched with mounting horror as Adrik’s eyes narrowed in silent deduction. I could practically see the wheels turning, the pieces falling into place. Could he see similarities between Fergie and her Gorscht demon mother? I glared at Jax, rage coursing through me at his petty attempt to show off where he stood.
The fact that he looked way too smug about the current state of things only made me want to punch him that much more. When this was all over, he was going to regret this moment.
Right now, though, I had to fix this. Sure, Adrik had shown a new side of himself today, but I was pretty sure that altruism didn’t extend to demon offspring. I had to turn this around. Fergie’s life depended on it.
“Is that—?”
Before Adrik could ask the question, I grabbed Jax’s phone from where it dangled in his hand and queued up the music, blasting it into the weighted silence. A second later, Fergalicious poured out of the speaker, and I prayed this would work a second time.
My little Fergie didn’t disappoint.
The minute the song began, she was twerking her little butterball ass as hard as the sling would allow. Jax frowned, probably trying to figure out whether to let her continue gyrating against his chest or put her down.
Adrik stared at the demonling, shock and awe freezing his features.
I forced a laugh, trying to rearrange my face into something like amusement.
“Crazy, right?” I said as Fergie began belting out the words. “It’s the latest gadget on the market. Some robotic dance monster all the kids are raving about. I got it for my niece.”
Adrik looked at me like I’d sprouted horns.
Come to think of it, maybe I should sprout horns. At this point, another distraction would help.
“Gem, just tell him the truth,” Jax said. “You and I adopted—”
“Oops. Look at the time. Gotta go.” I cut Jax off, leaping forward and snatching Fergie from the sling still strapped to Jax’s middle.
She shrieked delightedly then promptly resumed singing about the junk in her trunk as if she’d been born to do so.
Adrik’s face flushed red.
Jax opened his mouth, probably to blurt out his rights as a co-parent, and I decided neither one was about to say words I could handle right now.
Fergie squealed as I took off for the front door, her round little body bouncing in my arms.
Behind me, footsteps sounded.
Shit.
I ran faster, ripping the front door clean off the newly repaired hinges as my griffin rose to the surface, aiding my speed.
Outside, I shoved past the guards and shifted, Fergie clutched delicately in my griffin’s talons. When she saw my bird beak, she laughed, reaching for it like it was a toy. My wings beat the air, stirring the leaves and lifting me high just as Jax and Adrik rushed out of the house.
I glanced down long enough to be sure Adrik hadn’t decided to follow me into the skies. When I saw I was alone, I banked right and continued climbing. Higher and higher until the clouds swallowed me up and the cell signal on the phone was lost to the ether. The music died, but Fergie didn’t care.
She wriggled in my grasp, and I snapped my beak at her until she stopped trying to free herself.
Damn. This motherhood gig was not what I thought it’d be.
If I was going to find a way to not get murdered by Adrik after that little fiasco back there, I needed help. I also needed a place to lay low. Going back to my apartment was not an option—provided it was even still standing.
Even if I hadn’t just bolted with a demon baby and left two egotistical alphas to figure out the rest on their own, I was still a wanted fugitive. And I still had a bounty on my head.
I needed a safety net, and I needed it now.
A hot shower wouldn’t hurt either.
There was only one place in the world I could go for all of that.
The flight took the better part of three hours. When I got close, I landed on a rooftop long enough to access Jax’s phone from where I’d tucked it in behind my wing and check the address. Fergie squirmed to be let free, and the moment she stood on two legs, she immediately urinated into the wind. With a yelp, I jumped out of the line of fire just in time. Fergie giggled, and I side-eyed her. At least she’d waited until I wasn’t holding her. That was probably as close to potty-trained as we were going to get.
Twenty minutes later, I spotted my destination and ducked into the park across the street for a covert landing. According to my phone, it was around three in the morning, which meant anyone who spotted a griffin dropping out of the sky was either drunk or high enough to ruin their credibility if they tried reporting it.
Hopefully, that would buy me enough time to figure out my next move.
By the time I shifted back to two legs and stepped into the elevator of the apartment building across the street, Fergie was snoring loudly against my shoulder, and I was questioning all of my life choices.
Especially the ones involving men.
The elevator dinged and opened onto a dimly lit floor with oriental carpeting that smelled new. Silently, I made my way down and stopped at the door marked 305.
My knock went unanswered.
I pulled my phone out and hit the call button.
“What?” came the answer in a voice groggy with sleep.
“Answer your door,” I said simply and hung up.
When I knocked again, the door opened within seconds.
Milo stared at me with wide eyes and rumpled hair.
“Gem?”
His shock turned to surprise that froze in horror the moment he spotted Fergie. Opening the door wide, he practically yanked me inside.
“You idiot,” he hissed and shut the door behind us, locking it before rounding on me. “For your information, besties help bury bodies. The murder part you have to do yourself.”
“What?”
“You brought a demon into my apartment? Are you insane?”
Without waiting for an answer, he raised his hand, fae magic at the ready. I turned, shielding Fergie’s body with my own before he could fire off anything deadly.
“Stop. I’m not going to kill Fergie. I’m trying to hide her.”
I put one hand up in defense. The other was firmly wrapped around Fergie, who hadn’t even stirred. Not that I could blame her. The exhaustion lining my vision was making it hard to stay upright anymore.
“You’re crazier than I thought you were.” He shook his head and turned on his heel. “Come on, Nanny McFae. You look like death.”
I followed him into a galley kitchen complete with a granite bar and stainless steel stools lining the space. There wasn’t much in the way of personal décor, but Milo hadn’t lived here very long. And I knew for a fact he was hoping to cut his stay short if and when he found a way back to New Orleans.
Muttering to himself, Milo went to the cabinet and came away with two glasses and a bottle of Jack.
I started to speak, but Milo held up a hand to silence me. When he’d poured us each a double shot, he pushed one of the glasses at me and picked up his own.
Clinking our glasses together, he sipped generously and made a face as he downed the amber liquid.
“Okay.” He opened his eyes and leveled his gaze with mine. “Now I can handle the shit show you’re about to drop in my lap. What happened?”
“It’s a long story,” I said, wincing.
“I’m aware.”
My eyes widened. “Don’t tell me the news covered it all the way up here.”
“Every channel,” he confirmed. “Your face is everywhere. Speaking of which, that photo from your badge is terrible
, G. I’ve seen prison photos that look better.”
“It was bad lighting,” I argued.
He snorted.
“Silver lining, no one will recognize you in real life compared to that picture they’re sending around.”
“That’s your idea of cheering me up?” I asked.
He grinned in a way that drove me to take a generous sip of my drink.
“You’re the one who showed up at my place in the middle of the night with a pig demon on her hip.”
“She is not a pig demon.”
Fergie gurgled where I still held her propped on one hip.
Milo shot her a dubious look. “Fine. A rata with a pug face.”
I glared at him.
“You wanted me to come visit. Here I am.”
He shook his head.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on, or are we going to drink every time you dodge my questions? Because I don’t have to be at work until the afternoon. I’m down for whatever.”
“I’ll tell you, but I need a favor.” My stomach growled, and Milo’s brow lifted. “Do you have anything to eat?”
“There’s cold pizza. Hang on.”
He shuffled to the fridge and pulled out a foil-wrapped bundle. While he reheated leftovers, I wandered into the living room and sank into the couch cushions. Fergie immediately shut her already drooping eyes and rolled over, flinging a hand out far enough that it dangled off the edge of my lap. I adjusted her, tucking a blanket around her and wedging her against a pillow. Then I leaned back, closing my eyes and listening to Milo move around the kitchen.
Just two minutes of shut-eye, that’s all I needed.
The microwave beeped, yanking me out of a snooze.
I sat up, blinking as Milo returned and handed me a plate piled with pizza.
“You’re the best friend ever,” I mumbled around a mouthful of melted cheese and pepperoni.
“Funny how your best friend never sees you or gets his calls returned lately.”
“Milo, I’ve been busy,” I said, mouth full. “I’m on the lam.”
“First of all, no one says lam. Second of all, am I to assume you’ve been busy making babies?” he countered, and I groaned.
“Of course not.”
“Are you going to explain this hairless gopher to me, or should I Google it?”
“Definitely don’t Google it,” I said, shuddering to think about what he might find. Proof of demons, probably not. But the humans’ internet was still a weirdly dark place.
He eyed me expectantly. “Well?”
“Okay, okay. Her name’s Fergie. I rescued her from the womb of a Gorscht demon yesterday. Wait, two days ago? Shit, I don’t even know anymore. But I couldn’t bring myself to kill her, so I took her home, and now she’s mine.”
Milo stared at me with an expression that made me glad we’d started with alcohol. Cushion the blow.
“Milo.”
Nothing.
Shit.
“Listen—”
“Fergie?”
Okay. Not the response I’d expected.
“She likes The Black Eyed Peas,” I explained.
“You’re insane.” He pushed to his feet and began pacing. “You named a level five demon baby ‘Fergie’?”
“That’s the thing you’re most upset about?”
He stopped and pinned me with a look that made me wince. “Of course that’s not the thing. But I can’t even go there because where would I even start, G? You’re a fugitive from the SSF, which is the same agency you were supposed to be gainfully employed by. Also, the same agency I currently work for and swore an oath to be loyal to.
“And you show up here looking like you’ve been dragged through a muddy cornfield with a level five demon spawn who has an affinity for outdated, though admittedly great, pop music. Oh, and the last thing I heard about your actual whereabouts involved you stealing a government vehicle and a suspect just before an explosion leveled half the block outside your apartment.”
“Well, when you put it like that. Maybe discussing baby names is the safest option right now.”
“Did you even check on Tony?” he demanded.
I looked away guiltily.
Milo shook his head and marched out.
I listened as he poured more Jack.
When he returned a moment later, he held the bottle in one hand and an empty snifter in the other.
“Look, I can’t go home,” I said as he poured himself another double shot.
“No, you can’t,” he agreed, but something about his tone was softer now. More like we were back on the same side.
“What the hell was a level five doing in the city anyway?” he asked.
“Judging from the pentagram chalked onto the floor, I’d say someone opened a portal. Or maybe four.”
He looked up, staring at me like I’d spoken Russian.
“What?”
“Portals. Unauthorized from the looks of it. Someone is using them to summon level fives and sixes right into the city. Oh, and one seven.”
“Who the hell would—wait, a seven? That’s not even possible. They’re extinct. Contained in the Underworld, according to the Nephilim accords.”
I shook my head. “That’s my point. And the bomb you heard about—that was a wipeout initiated by the council, and it was meant to include me and my boss if we hadn’t gotten out of there when we did.”
“Gem.” He sank into the chair across from me.
His glass hung limply in his hand. I reached out and snagged it before it fell.
“Thanks,” I muttered, knocking back what was left of the drink.
“They haven’t used wipeouts since—”
“I know. And listen, I saw a six. Up close. It was this wolf-man monster with rancid breath, but the thing I remember most: his claws. They’re the right length and width to match the injuries for the reported killings outside the city. But the council is using Lester as a scapegoat to cover it up.”
“Who’s Lester?”
“The guy Adrik and I kidnapped from the crime scene this morning.”
“Right. And how does this connect to your dad?”
“He tried to warn Lester months ago. Said there was a list of names that would be used to take the fall for the demon activity at first.”
“Your dad knew about the portals?”
“I think it’s what got him killed.”
“Shit.” He paused, and I knew we were both thinking about what a huge effing mess this was. “So, this Lester guy . . . the council is trying to pin those killings on him?”
“Yeah, but get this. He’s a vegetarian and a card-carrying member of the AARP. There’s no way he did those murders.”
“And you know this because…?”
“I spent the day in the bayou with him.”
“I see. And this new boss of yours—”
“Adrik.”
“Right. Adrik was there?”
“No. He flew off trying to fight the lizard demon.”
“Okay, hold on.” He uncapped the Jack and drank straight from the bottle. When he was done, he looked at me again and said, “Start from the beginning. Tell me everything.”
I did, stopping only to snag a swallow of Jack at the really crazy parts. Which was often. I finished with the part about Fergie dancing for Adrik and me trying to pretend she was some kind of robot toy.
He snorted. “I thought we established that you’re a terrible liar,” he said.
“I panicked,” I protested. “I wasn’t thinking straight.”
We stared at each other, silent, while I waited for him to digest everything I’d told him.
“I can’t believe you stole a demon baby. G, she’s a monster.”
“She’s innocent.”
“She’s a demon. Her evil is built in. And it’s a problem you don’t need right now. Not with everything else going on.”
“I can’t abandon her. Or worse, turn her over to be killed.”
He s
ighed. “What are you going to do now?”
“I’m going to finish what my father started,” I said. “Someone inside the agency is opening portals for greater demons. I’m going to find out who and expose them.”
“Is that before or after you’re arrested for aiding and abetting?”
“About that, I have a plan,” I said.
“Let’s hear it.”
I hesitated. “It’s pretty terrible.”
“I love terrible. It’s my favorite kind of plan.”
Feeling looser after the shots of Jack, I told him my idea. By the time I was done, Milo was laughing. “Terrible is an understatement.”
“Do you think it’ll work?”
He glanced at Fergie, who was out cold and leaving a puddle of drool on his couch cushion. “If anyone can pull it off, it’s you,” he said.
My smile was cut short by a deep yawn.
“But in the meantime,” he said, rising to grab an extra blanket from behind him. “You need rest. Exhaustion will make you careless, and we can’t have that.”
“Thanks, Milo. I won’t stay longer than tonight. I don’t want to make trouble for you.”
“Trouble’s my middle name, G.” His eyes twinkled. “Although, before I agree to harbor a wanted felon and her demon lovechild, I do have one last request.”
“Anything.”
“Tell me more about these two men you’ve gotten tangled with. Jax and Adrik. They sound equally delicious.”
I groaned, but the smile he flashed me made it impossible to refuse. Instead, I reached for the Jack and settled in for a few more minutes of girl talk.
Chapter Eleven
“I am never going to complain about sitting in coach again.”
Milo climbed off my back, swaying a little and grabbing the wall for support. My griffin grunted in relief. I shifted slowly back to two legs, using my fae magic to ease the stiffness in my sore muscles.
Knock Em Dead (Supernatural Security Force Book 2) Page 13
