“Gem, get back,” Jax demanded.
“Relax, she’s a friend.”
Okay, friend might have been going too far, but anything less would have Jax doing the whole “murder now, question later” bit.
I unlatched the window and slid it open.
Starla crouched and climbed through, smoothing her skirt as she looked from me to Jax.
“Jax, I need a minute,” I said.
He stared at me, and I braced myself for an argument. Finally, he just shook his head and muttered something about having too many friends as he stalked out.
When we were alone, I looked back at Starla. “What are you doing here?”
And how in the hell had she known where to find me?
“We need to talk.”
She paused, and for the first time since meeting Starla, I realized she looked uncertain.
“What is it?”
“Do you know the name Raphziel?”
“Uh, yeah. A prick in a suit? We’ve met, unfortunately.”
“He can be a bit abrasive, but he’s trustworthy. Unfortunately, he’s no longer returning my calls.”
“You’re…” I frowned, trying to understand why she would possibly be calling Raphziel. Or that he’d apparently been returning her calls before. “Wait.” My eyes widened. “Are you guys a thing?”
“No, we’re not a thing,” she said stiffly. “Something’s happening within the Nephilim council, and I need to know what it is. Ask your Nephilim if he knows what’s happening.”
“Have you considered they’re just busy looking for me?”
“Yes, I know all about your little disappearing act.”
“You don’t sound angry.”
“To be honest, it plays into my plans for you quite nicely.”
I crossed my arms. “Any chance you want to share those plans with the class?”
She bit her lip, debating. Finally, she shook her head. “For now, it’s better you don’t know any more.”
I rolled my eyes. “How am I supposed to play into your plans if I don’t know what they are?”
She gave me a wry look. “Between the whole fugitive thing and that panther shifter in the other room, you’re doing a bang-up job already.”
I glared at her. “What does Jax have to do with this?”
She didn’t answer.
“It’s starting to sound suspiciously like I’m your patsy rather than your spy.”
Her gaze sharpened. “I see Jax told you about the blacklist. Good. He’s a resource for you. Someone to watch your back. That’s what he has to do with this. And you’re not a patsy. But Raphziel has the list for who is—and now he’s not answering his phone. I need you to get that list.”
I blinked. Suddenly, several more pieces clicked into place. “Was my father working with you?”
She hesitated then nodded sharply.
I blew out a breath.
“Is that why you chose me?”
“It certainly made me consider you. But I didn’t approach you until I was sure you were up to the challenge.”
“This case got him killed.”
It wasn’t a question, and Starla didn’t bother to answer it—but I didn’t need her to.
“I’ll get you the list.”
Chapter Twelve
The quarter was alive, pulsing with its own magic that had nothing to do with the supes hidden among the cracks and crevices of the city. I wasn’t entirely sure about the wisdom in waiting until peak party hours to make our trek, but so far, we hadn’t been stopped.
Beside me, Milo’s glamour matched my own, painting us both as nothing more than average humans. Forgettable faces. Worn clothes. I’d used this disguise often enough to know it was effective. Still, considering the demon baby I wore in my front-facing sling, I wasn’t letting my guard down an inch.
“You could have done better than just adding her glamour to yours,” Milo said, gesturing to what appeared as my very overweight human belly.
“Anything else would have drawn attention,” I said, eyes constantly scanning the way ahead.
“And what happens when your Buddha-belly starts belting out curse words?” he asked.
“Ventriloquism at its finest,” I said way too brightly.
Milo snickered.
From behind me, Jax remained silent. Back at Trish’s, he’d stubbornly insisted on shadowing us despite my protests. In the end, it had been easier to give in than to waste any more time arguing with him about the sanity of my plan.
The only way to fix this was to talk to the council. And the only way to get that far without first getting myself killed by a bunch of trigger-happy agents who thought I was the ticket to an impressive bank balance was for someone on the inside to help us. Tony was the only one I knew who worked at Nephilim headquarters. Well, except for Adrik. But I wasn’t about to ask for his help getting inside.
“How much farther?” Jax asked as we shouldered our way through the crowded streets.
He’d stopped trying to talk me out of this around the time he was forced to admit he didn’t have a better idea. Well, not one that involved leaving people alive.
“Another block or so,” Milo said quietly.
We passed a group of girls with fishbowls in hand. They laughed and swayed as they tried to hold each other up, each thinking they were more sober than the next.
So wrong.
“Whoops, there you go.” Jax caught the girl on the end and righted her before she could topple off the edge of the curb.
“Oh, thank you.” She blinked up at him, caught in his stare like a deer in headlights.
“Jax,” I hissed.
He released her, nudging her back toward her friends before hurrying to catch up with us.
“If his hotness gets us caught,” Milo began.
I grumbled my agreement.
“I can’t glamour myself like you both,” Jax said.
“Exactly why I told you to stay back,” I said.
“I’m not letting you out of my sight until we resolve this.” His tone left no room for argument—as usual.
Some girls might have thought his protectiveness was sweet. Those girls obviously didn’t have a price on their heads and a track record for picking the wrong guy. Even as I had the thought, I wondered where Adrik was.
I hadn’t heard from him since I’d run out of Jax’s two days ago, but I wasn’t naïve enough to think he’d written me off. Or that he wasn’t going to be pissed when he found out my little plan.
If it worked, though, we could fight about it after I’d cleared my name. And his. And Lester’s.
“We’re here.” Milo went first, leading us through a door I would have walked right by without his guidance.
Unlabeled and non-descript, it was the kind of door only a supe could spell against unwanted interest.
I followed Milo through and into a narrow hall that led up a flight of stone steps. Jax followed behind, quiet though I could feel his edginess.
At the second floor landing, Milo kept going. Up one flight then another and another. On the fourth floor, he stopped in front of the last door, listening.
No sound came from the other side.
Then again, I hadn’t heard a peep from behind any of the other doors we passed either. If these were all supe apartments, they’d been spelled for noise too.
“Ready?” Milo asked.
I nodded.
Jax scowled.
Milo knocked.
A minute ticked by, and Fergie began humming what sounded suspiciously like “My Humps.”
I shot a look at Jax, who shrugged.
After another knock—louder this time—and no answer, Milo turned to me. “Maybe he’s at work.”
“Or maybe he doesn’t want to open the door for two humans and a panther,” I pointed out.
“Good point.” Milo turned back to the door. “Tony,” he called, knocking a third time.
A noise drifted out from behind the other apartment door.
My patience snapped.
“Move,” I told Milo and reached for the knob, channeling my fae magic into the lock until it clicked free.
Jax hissed at me to wait, but I ignored him. Pushing the door open, I stepped inside.
The shadowy interior was still, but my senses picked up on the magic spelled into the walls. Behind me, Milo and Jax crowded in and shut the door behind them. A second later, Milo flipped a switch, and light flooded the space.
I blinked, gaze sweeping the room.
It was exactly as I’d expected: sparsely furnished and slightly messy. The kitchen opened up to my right. Dirty dishes lined the counter beside the sink. On my left, a couch sagged underneath a double window, holding a blanket that dangled onto the floor.
Milo swept past me, his feet silent as he padded out of sight.
A second later, he returned and shook his head.
“He’s not here.”
I bit my lip, thinking. “What about Fiona? Maybe he’s with her.”
“I don’t know. I found this.” Milo held up a cell phone. He hit the home screen, and I saw a dozen missed calls from Fiona.
My stomach sank.
Guilt pricked at me as I thought about how many times Milo had asked me to check on Tony.
“That’s not good,” I said quietly.
“Gem.”
I turned to see Jax standing in front of a window along the far wall. He held up what looked like a badge, and I stalked closer.
“Shit,” I said when I caught sight of Tony’s SSF credentials.
“Shit,” Fergie echoed.
“That’s Tony’s badge.” Milo slipped around me and snatched it out of Jax’s hand. He frowned down at it or, more specifically, at the red splatters coating one side. “And that’s blood.”
“Is it his?” I asked.
Milo sniffed then blew out a breath. “It smells like werewolf.”
“Shit,” I said again.
“Sh—”
“Fergie,” I scolded.
She grinned up at me. “Fuckery.”
I made a mental note to have a stern talk with her just as soon as we weren’t in mortal danger. Maybe a time out. That was a parental thing to do, right?
“I knew something was wrong,” Milo said. He stalked across the kitchen, pacing. “He wasn’t returning my calls, and I had a bad feeling. Dammit. This is my fault.”
“Hey.” I grabbed his arm. “None of this is your fault. And we’re going to find him.”
“How?” he asked. “His badge and his phone are both here. Two things he’d never go anywhere without.”
“Maybe someone else in the building saw something,” I said, but I knew as I said it that was a long shot. Every apartment here was spelled to make its owners mind their own business and force the occupants in other apartments to do the same.
“I don’t think that’s going to help us.” Jax pointed to the window next to where he stood, and I noted the shattered glass littering the floor underneath the sill.
Fur caught on a jagged shard. My gut tightened. I bent down and plucked the tuft of hair from where it had snagged.
Before I’d even inhaled the scent, my instincts went off like an alarm.
I looked up at Jax sharply. “I know this scent signature.”
“What is it?” Milo asked.
From outside the broken window, a growl drifted in, low and threatening. At the sound of it, fear curled in my gut.
“The lupine demon.”
Chapter Thirteen
The growl was all too familiar after my close encounter the other night. I tensed and looked down at Fergie, who still sat happily in her sling. On our way here, Jax had gifted her a brand new doggie bone that she still happily gnawed. Worry clouded my ability to act. If we ran into a level six right now, there was no way I could fight it and keep hold of Fergie.
As if reading each other’s minds, Jax and I exchanged a look I immediately dubbed as “parental terror.” But it was Milo who spoke first.
“The level six? Are you fucking with me?” Milo hissed.
The growl came again. This time followed by the reverberating of the fire escape as it shook with a heavy impact.
We all moved away from the window slowly.
“I’m calling for backup,” Jax said, whipping out his phone and texting furiously.
Before he could finish, a furry head appeared in the window’s opening.
Glowing eyes stared back at us.
“Gem, get behind me,” Jax said without taking his eyes off the demon.
“And me,” Milo said, stepping forward so that he stood shoulder to shoulder with Jax.
It took everything in me to listen to them. If not for Fergie hanging off me, I would have shoved them aside and mansplained their asses exactly how to take down a demon—level six or not.
“Guys,” I said as the demon crawled through the window.
They took a step back to give it space, and I edged toward the bedroom, hoping it wouldn’t notice if I stashed my baby in the bathroom sink while I handled business.
But its gaze snapped to me the moment I moved.
I held my breath, holding utterly still.
The lupine demon blinked and looked away, refocusing on Jax.
His beast surfaced, and he began to shift. The lupine demon snarled at that, and I used the opportunity to sidestep my way closer to the bedroom.
In the silence, a tiny toddler voice mumbled, “Fuckery.”
The lupine demon froze.
Jax paused mid-shift.
I sucked in a breath.
The lupine’s eyes flared, glowing brighter as it shoved past the guys and stalked right for me.
Uh-oh.
Not good.
I called my griffin as close to the surface as I could without changing my form. If my torso grew too wide and the sling broke free—
I couldn’t risk losing Fergie.
Instead, I channeled my inner Mama warrior and glared back at the wolf demon just as hard as he glared at me.
“Gem, get back,” Jax warned, but I didn’t move.
My fear screamed at me to listen to him, but my instincts overrode it.
The lupine demon stopped before me, nostrils flaring as he huffed. He leaned in close, hovering over Fergie as he sniffed.
I could feel the air from his exhale tickling my skin.
Fergie, apparently feeling it too, giggled.
The lupine’s eyes narrowed, and he stared down at her.
She looked up at him, eyes wide, t-rex arms reaching straight for the level six killer.
“Play,” she said.
The demon moved too fast for me to stop or even see. Before I knew what was happening, his mouth opened, and his tongue darted out, swiping a sticky layer of saliva across Fergie’s face. What didn’t land on her bald body left a trail across my chest.
Had I just been licked by the world’s biggest, sloppiest, murderiest dog? Was he marinating us before he ate us? Or playing with his food?
“Uh, Gem,” Milo said, inching around from behind, “What the hell is going on?”
At the sound of his voice, the lupine demon whirled, his eyes brightening with a predatory glow.
At his snarl, Milo threw his hands up and backed away again.
The demon turned back to me and Fergie, and some of the glow faded again as it studied her. The knot in my gut eased as I finally realized the demon’s intention.
“Gem, on the count of three, jump aside,” Jax warned, and I could hear his bones beginning to pop as he shifted.
“Wait,” I called.
The lupine grunted.
I looked up at it and stepped forward. “We won’t hurt you,” I said. “If you don’t hurt us.”
“Gem, are you insane?” Milo hissed.
I reached for Fergie and pulled her out of the baby sling then held her out for the furry wolf demon. “You can hold her if you want.”
The lupine hesitated before taking Fergie, holding
her carefully as he pulled her into his chest and cradled her there.
Fergie looked up at him, hideously adorable as ever, and grinned.
The lupine made a noise of contentment and snuggled her close.
Milo’s jaw dropped.
“Are they cuddling?” he whispered, edging in closer as he stared at the exchange.
Jax slipped in beside me, his distrustful gaze still sharp on the demon currently holding his little girl. I grabbed his hand and squeezed.
“I think he has kids,” I told him.
Jax shot me a look. “How could you possibly know that?”
“Look at the way he holds her. No one but a parent would be so careful.”
Jax said nothing.
I waited, and after another moment of some guttural noises exchanged between them, the lupine demon handed Fergie back to me. Jax took her before I could, patting her reassuringly despite the fact that Fergie didn’t show any signs of unhappiness.
“Do you have a child?” I asked.
The wolf demon grunted and nodded its head. “Boy.”
The word was strangely formed as if he’d only just begun to learn English. But the fact that it had spoken to me left me stunned.
“Uh, did wolfman just speak?” Milo asked into the silence.
“Yeah,” I breathed.
“Since when do demons talk?” Milo whispered.
I ignored him and tried again. “Your son—is he here with you?”
The lupine demon shook his head. “Home. Wife. Home.”
“You have a wife and son at home,” I said.
He nodded.
“Do you know where Tony is?” Milo asked.
The lupine demon grunted noncommittally.
“The guy who lives here,” I said. “Do you know where he is?”
Instead of answering, the demon turned and started for the window.
Milo started to call out, but I motioned for him to stay quiet and followed the demon out to the fire escape.
Outside, the demon turned and pointed at a chalked symbol drawn on the outside of the building.
My eyes widened. A pentagram. The same symbol used to conjure the gorscht.
“Is this what brought you here?” I asked.
He nodded.
His expression fell, and I realized he wore the same expression I’d seen on him that night in the alley. It wasn’t menace or even hunger. It was sadness. He just wanted to get back to his family.
Knock Em Dead (Supernatural Security Force Book 2) Page 15
