by Erin R Flynn
“We’re ISLE and she’s a demon, so wherever the fuck we want,” he chuckled darkly.
I turned on the guy as his eyes flashed power and realized he was a snake shifter. “I believe there are rules about using your powers on supes without reason, and I know there are a bunch of rules about not outing people.”
“Interesting that you’re immune,” he muttered, studying me as if everyone else wasn’t there. “Yes, you are interesting, aren’t you? Time to go.”
“Yes, but not in the way you were hoping,” I purred, smirking as Kyle and the others came over. I ignored the other agent’s annoyance and looked at him. “What’s the word?”
“They’re meeting us at ISLE headquarters,” Kyle said. “There’s a portal at a parking garage near here we’re to go to.”
The agent chuckled, giving me a look like I was a fool. “Sure, let’s go to headquarters.” He looked past me to the twins. “Are you coming too, elves?”
“No, they’re not part of this,” I answered. “They’re locals that own a club and got mixed into the human side of things.”
“We’re coming,” Evan countered.
“Idiots,” I seethed before glancing at Kyle. “Keep them here.”
He snorted, actually snorted at me. “I adore you, but I am not wasting energy smacking two dark elves who are so all about you that there should be cartoon hearts over their heads. They keep grudges. If they want to be stupid and involve themselves, let them.” He smirked at me when I frowned. “Besides, I love when you blast guys back into line when you show them what’s what.”
“You are never getting sex. Not ever. I don’t care how good the feed from… David and his friends. You just lost any chance of ‘taking one for the team.’”
He threw back his head and laughed. “You wouldn’t ever sleep with an employee.”
“Employee?” Evan asked, glancing between us. “Wait, Greg said you were a dancer, and now you’re working with the cops, ISLE’s interested in you, and you’ve got employees? Who are you, love?”
“Complicated, and I warned you of that,” I drawled, heading to my car and glancing at Dylan. “I assume ISLE wants to ride with me so I don’t flee, and you didn’t use powers on me illegally or piss me off, so you can.” I glanced at the other agent. “Or I can just pound you for pissing me off, snake. Your choice.”
“No, please, ride with her,” he chuckled, looking seriously amused.
“Warn Mindy we need NDAs for them,” I told Kyle, nodding to the twins. “They’re competition.”
His eyes flashed shock. “You got involved with owners?”
“They lied about that,” I defended as I got in my car and slammed the door. Dylan got in, and everyone else went to their vehicles as well. I followed Kyle and the others, the snake shifter followed me, and the twins were idiots and followed him.
The tension coming off of Dylan was ridiculous, and I could only guess he was worried I’d say something and either he was wired up or knew people could listen through his phone. I looked straight ahead as I moved my arm on the console and started tapping Morse Code. You okay?
He let out a soft sigh as his body eased down. He moved his arm there as well. I didn’t have a way to warn you. I’m so sorry. For this and before.
I glanced in the mirror and saw snake asshole was still behind me before making a left to follow Kyle. I can’t talk about that. I’m focused on now, and I’m sorry you’re in the middle. Shit is about to get ugly.
How? Why the fuck would you go to ISLE HQ?
It’s better you’re shocked. You can’t lie like I can. I pulled into the parking garage behind Kyle and found a spot near him after I took a ticket.
So you were with the twins?
I yanked my arm off the console and threw the car into park so hard I was shocked I didn’t break the shifter. He had the balls to ask me about anything like that after what he’d pulled at the club and with O’Malley?
Yeah, I didn’t have to fake my dislike for him at the moment.
“Someone ISLE has to go first,” one of our team told me. “It’s a safety procedure.”
“How are the others getting in then?” I asked, worried we had another problem.
“There’s a portal a few blocks away they took and are waiting there for us,” he answered. Good.
Kyle activated the portal, and snake guy was all too happy to go first, which shocked me because I had him pegged for the guy who went in last and stabbed us in the back or pulled something. Then again, he thought he was coming back the conquering hero.
Relief filled me when I walked through the portal and saw Mindy and her boss, Elijah, the head attorney for Heavenly Entertainment and a particularly old and terrifying wrath demon. Getting on the wrong side of him was just fucking stupid, and I was glad he liked me. Next to him was Natalia, a senior VP and the public face of the company and much more.
Several other people were with them that I didn’t know, and I was shocked at how fast they could pull such a posse together, but then again, we’d been preparing for this. That and knowing Kyle, he’d called before I’d even given him the nod to contact them, and that had been almost an hour ago.
More people showed up with what seemed to be their support… Including Aidan O’Malley. Oh boy, I hadn’t expected that one either. Why was he involved?
Were my new angel friends next? One was a lawyer, right?
The idea almost made me giggle at the most inappropriate time.
A man came from within the building, and snake boy looked like the dog expecting his treat when he saw him, and Dylan’s normally stern eyes darkened a bit even as he dipped his head in acknowledgement and respect. He glanced all around at the assembled people, doing a couple of double takes at who he saw and not looking happy.
“Well, let’s take this somewhere more private even if I have no idea what the devil is going on,” he said as he gestured for us to follow him.
“What do we need to know?” Elijah asked me quietly as he made sure to fall in step with me.
“He told the police he was there for me and then implied I wasn’t human but didn’t outright say it and alluded to still being allowed to force me to come with them. He refused to give me his name and tried to use his power on me. I don’t know what snake shifters can do, but he was intrigued that it didn’t work on me.”
“The other one do anything?” he checked.
“No, they don’t seem on the same page. The tall one was patient and accommodating. I don’t get what’s going on with them.”
“Got it. The elves?”
“They wouldn’t leave after the guy alluded to being allowed to do whatever to me because I’m a demon and he’s ISLE.”
“Loyal.”
“Aye, we are,” Owen muttered, taking it as a compliment. Maybe if they knew me better, but at the moment it was just stupid.
“You are not taking front stage for anything we present, so for once, keep the mouth closed,” Elijah told me. I sighed, nodding. Yeah, even I could play how they wanted me to since supe politics was not my forte.
We were led into a large conference room, and most of us sat while others with supporting roles stood against the wall. Mostly people who were obviously guards, but I saw Evan and Owen do the same as they seemed to realize this was way bigger than they’d thought and was not a table they wanted a seat at.
As always, Elijah started off with a bang, which was also why I adored him. He pulled out some papers and tossed them across the table to the director.
“As of this moment, the Chancellor of Germany is disallowing ISLE from working within their borders and no longer recognizes their authority. That is their stance as long as you are director of ISLE, and Germany is putting forth a motion to the UN to extend that reach if you do not resign in the next forty-eight hours.”
“Are you out of your mind?” the director whispered, blinking at Elijah. “On what grounds?”
“You’re seriously fucking corrupt,” he drawled. He pull
ed out a few more things and tossed them over. “And you’re so focused on keeping your power that you’ve neglected your duty. It took one hacker under a day to break through ISLE’s firewalls and get access to everything. You call that secure? You call that being the best?”
“This information shared with us was rather disturbing,” a man I didn’t know added, his voice and very presence exuding power. I would guess he was someone with one supe council or another. “You are using ISLE resources and personnel for this list of certain supernaturals for your purposes.” He glanced at Elijah. “What was the list? An extinct dragon type, a witch of some sort, a succubus, and angels? Were there more?”
“Yes, several, and one has led him to harass one of ours,” Elijah answered. He nodded to the human in the group that I didn’t understand. I watched as she put on a necklace and I got it better when she suddenly looked like I did as Lola. “This is one of our employees that works in the acquisitions department and goes undercover in human only areas. I believe she met Agent Hammond a few weeks ago in Canada.”
“Yes, nice to see you again, Ms. Chase,” Dylan greeted, dipping his head.
“You too, Agent Hammond,” she chuckled, giving him a look like he’d not been honest with that name when they’d met.
“She’s human,” the director muttered, glancing between them.
“Sir, I told you that,” Dylan sighed.
“This one isn’t,” he accused, pointing at me.
I kept my mouth shut, feeling too many eyes on me as if waiting for me to misbehave. I didn’t. I wasn’t that big of a pain in the ass.
“She has diplomatic immunity,” Elijah drawled. “So maybe your other agent over there shouldn’t be so flippant about agents being able to do whatever they want because they’re ISLE and there’s nothing we can do about that. Because it’s just not true. And our most solemn, non-debatable rule is we don’t ever out each other in front of humans. There are several witnesses that say he did and to the human authorities she’s working with no less.”
The director looked at me like I had another head. “How does a stripper working at a seedy club that sells drugs out of it and acting as a CI for the human police have diplomatic fucking immunity?”
“I’m just that adorable,” I purred, taking off my hat and shaking out my hair. “I sparkle too.”
“You are such a damn brat,” Elijah sighed. “Really?”
“This has not been a fun case,” I grumbled. “I was threatened at gunpoint earlier about changing clubs, doing a sex tape with eight humans, and being pimped out to whomever he wanted. Snake boy over there was a dick to me and almost blew my cover, and I’m going to have to clean that up. And I’ve been pistol smacked by a human pimp. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
He gave me a look that was enough. “You got a nice condo this time at least.” He looked at the director and a lot of confused faces. “She’s not a stripper. She goes undercover when there are stripper and hooker deaths or situations and helps the police whether they know it or not. This time they do.”
“Yes, we have twelve such cases that—” snake boy started to interject like a moron when he was just a pissant in the room. Then again, I got the feeling Dylan had to defer to him, so maybe they’d gotten someone from a corner office to look in on this.
“Yes, we read your files,” Aidan cut in, looking bored. “The notes that maybe I could be this mythical supe you’re looking for as an ancient was amusing. The illegal taping and surveillance was not. It disrupted my business and started some waves I’m having to fix, and there was no legitimacy to any of it.”
“Twelve humans either killed themselves or just randomly confessed to their crimes,” snake boy argued.
“One, it’s not all that hard for serial killer crazies to fully lose their minds,” I interjected. “They do it all the time, and a lot of them want the attention. Two, it is not an uncommon thing for people suspected of heinous crimes to kill themselves before they’re caught or the evidence is gathered. They are not in their heads already. That’s why they don’t label serial killers as stable. You pick twelve cases out of the hundred—”
“How many?” the director asked, his eyes going wide.
I shrugged. “At least a hundred. Not all are murders or humans. I’ve tipped you guys off to several situations. Me and my team.”
Again his eyes flashed shock. “It’s not just you.”
“No, she has a whole team and department,” Elijah cut in, clearly saying to shut it. “We kill a few birds with one stone. As in the most recent case that Agent Hammond was there for in Canada, Ms. Chase went in and helped the police from the inside to not only catch the murder but settle several other troubling and illegal situations. We don’t take outside jobs.”
“Who is we?” Evan demanded, finally interjecting and looking ready to blow.
“Heavenly Entertainment,” Elijah answered. “That’s how we go into an area. There’s a chance to clean up from the inside, help the humans who are normally overlooked and mistreated, and we do that in a way most couldn’t ever dream. Her department picks a location in the area we can help, gets everything they can, turns it over to the police or law enforcement, and then we take over a club or more during the chaos.”
The twins gave me a hurt look like I’d used them or was a spy. I raised an eyebrow at them, reminding them that Owen had lied to me. And Evan hadn’t even told me he wasn’t his damn twin. This one so wasn’t on me.
Which was nice for once if I was honest.
13
“Why do all of that?” Aidan asked me, his eyes locked on me and not hiding he was asking me, not my side. And it was clear he hadn’t been read in on nearly as much as he’d thought. “That’s way above and beyond what any business I’ve ever heard of doing. Why would a major, global company like Heavenly Entertainment do that?”
I held my hand up to hold off Elijah, wanting to take this one. “Because demons are on the bottom of the supe ladder according to most other species. We’re just demons, right? We don’t have fancy linages and bloodlines. We’re all bastards and misfits. You as a vampire have your fancy, scary council if you need help with ISLE or a government. What do demons have?”
“Nothing,” someone else answered.
I nodded. “And why is that?” I kept nodding when Aidan winced. “Because someone always shuts it down. There are a lot of demons, and we would be a force to be reckoned with if we got our acts together. But most groups don’t want that. It’s all the rage for an Alpha or group boss to have a lust demon on their arm, right? A glutton demon at casinos and whatever else the other groups want.
“And we both know lust demons are at the bottom of that bottom ladder. Everyone knows that. We feed off sex and lust. Oh heavens no.” I fanned my face like I was going to faint. “Demons have numbers and yet no voice.” I shot a nasty look at the director. “How many agents do you have at ISLE that are demons?”
“I’ve actually never met one,” Dylan admitted, frowning.
“Ding, ding, ding,” I sang. “You have the right answer there, Mr. Agent Man. There are no demon agents at ISLE and not for lack of us trying.” I smirked at the director. “And why is that? We’re stronger than most every supe unless they’re ancient.” I turned into him, several people flinching. “We all know glamour, and we’re basically chameleons.” I changed again into snake boy, meeting his gaze. “And the best part is we know desires.
“We know what people want most, as you fully planned on interrogating me with your dick. You took one look at the lust demon already undercover as a stripper and knew no one was able to help her against ISLE and you because you’re with ISLE and can do whatever you want and planned on fucking me all over the place while getting your answers.” I changed back and looked at Aidan. “That’s why we do this.
“Demons can also easily pass for human, and many do as it’s safer with humans than most mixed areas as we rank right around humans to most.” I gestured to the people with me.
“So we made our own help. We made our own major and global powerhouse to have at our back. I go in with the aid of my team and help those no one gives a shit about and save those who can’t save themselves.”
“And then we change the game,” Natalia took over. “No longer is it men abusing us whores and being trapped. Our dancers are part owner of the clubs. We have lust demons as managers of the clubs and are safe from any chance of the next Alpha trying to use us however they want and no one giving a fuck if we live or die. Oh yeah, supes care about supes, but the moment it’s a demon everyone turns a blind eye.
“It’s a gray area, and no one wants to get involved. We’ve ended that, as now there are people who care.” She shot the director a scathing look. “It was your job to care and protect people, and we have proof you sat on evidence we’ve turned over. And you want to know how those humans lost their minds? It’s no super power. It’s predators realizing they’re actually prey.”
She turned to look like snake boy, and the rest of us followed suit.
“You’d be surprised how fast you can unravel an unstable mind when you know the right buttons to push and what they desire and fear,” Elijah said, sounding like the snake shifter. “How long could you have a conversation with yourself like this? Turn around and find someone wearing your face telling you what you did was wrong? Humans don’t know about us and snap pretty easily when they think they’ve cracked.”
Snake boy swallowed loudly and looked away. “I could see that working.”
We changed back, and I glanced at Dylan. “Any more questions for me, or did we clear up this issue?”
“It’s not his call,” the director snapped.
I smirked at him. “Well, since he’s the only one here with any scruples, his is the only answer I value. And you’re out, so none of this is your problem anymore, is it?”
“The fuck—” he started, but I snorted.
“You should know never to fuck with a demon, as we always come back for our pound of flesh. Your policy on not hiring demons so we didn’t have a voice at ISLE was always going to lead to this outcome.” I gestured to Elijah. “He tried to get on your legal team. He was informed he wasn’t qualified. The person who hacked you tried to get in as well but was told their skills were lacking. Well, they hacked you, so that was smart.”
