“You said you have a safe house, right?” I asked.
“Yes, but it’s on the other side of the city,” he said. “A city currently being combed by all available agents for any sign of you, me, or him.” He jerked a thumb at Milo, who scowled.
“This place is cloaked from SSF,” Adrik said, “And Nephilim.”
“Good for you,” Jax grunted. “But no offense, I prefer a more modern décor to this shabby serial killer vibe you’ve got going. It’s a little too minimalist for me.”
Adrik’s eyes narrowed.
“Look, there’s plenty of room here,” I began, but Adrik shook his head.
“No, there’s not.” Adrik looked at me. “You should stay with the shifter. It’s safer.”
I glared at him and ignored Jax’s smug smirk.
“I should stay with Tony. And Wolfrick,” I said. “They’re the real targets anyway.” And you, I wanted to say. But I had a feeling Adrik would never admit he needed protection from anyone.
“Uh, Gem, I hate to break this to you, but you are the real target,” Milo said. When I started to argue, he stopped me. “And don’t even try to tell me it’s nothing to worry about. SSF is after you, and Rigo is heading up those assholes, which means it’ll be ‘shoot first, ask questions later.’ And then you’ve got Selaphiel, who wants to kill you slowly so she can torture her brother over it—not to mention that she already killed your dad, so chances are good she’s capable. And then you’ve got Raguel, who apparently tried choking you to death at the Delta building for funsies, right?”
I didn’t answer.
“None of that even begins to cover the kind of shit-storm that would rain down if they find out you’re harboring a demon baby,” he added.
We all looked over at Fergie, who’d torn a giant hole in the arm of Adrik’s brand new couch. She grinned back at us, white stuffing hanging out of her drooling maw.
“Fuckery,” she sang.
I sighed.
Adrik coughed—the closest to a laugh I’d ever witnessed.
“Milo’s right,” Jax said to me. “You need to go underground. At least, for a little while.”
Three sets of eyes pinned me with a look that dared me to argue further. But I couldn’t. Not when they put it like that. Not when it meant putting my friends’ lives on the line if I refused. And after what had happened to my dad, to my grandpa, I couldn’t risk more lives. Not even for my own need for revenge.
“Fine,” I said, defeat tugging my shoulders down. “I’ll go.”
“It’s the right decision,” Jax said, but the ringing of my phone drowned him out.
“Is that Dear Mama by Tupac?” Milo asked.
“Yeah, so?” I slid it out of my pocket.
He put up his hands in surrender. “Nothing but respect.”
I swiped to answer. “Mom? It’s late, is everything—”
“Gem.” My mom’s voice was an urgent whisper. “Gem, sweetie, thank goodness. Someone’s here.”
“The SSF?” I asked with a sinking feeling.
“I don’t think so. Whoever it is came alone and snuck around back. They tried to come into the house.”
Adrenalin spiked, and the need to protect washed over me, drowning everything else out. “Okay, calm down. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Did they get inside?”
“No, the trap I set is holding them for now, but I think you should come take a look. Whoever it is, they aren’t human.”
I exchanged a look with Jax, who stood closest and had clearly heard everything. “Don’t go outside, Mom. I’m coming right now,” I told her.
“Okay, and Gem, be careful. I have a bad feeling.” Her voice dropped to a loud whisper. “I don’t think they mean to be friendly.”
My mother had taught me to street fight. If she’d decided whatever was out there warranted calling me instead of dealing with it, the danger was real.
“Get into my closet,” I told her.
“Your—Why?”
“It has a safety latch on the inside. You’ll be safe,” I told her.
“Of all the secret hideaways your father—”
A banging sounded in the background on her end. Mom yelped.
“Mom, just go,” I said.
“Okay, I’m going. Be careful,” she added. Then, “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
I hung up and looked at the others. “I’m going to check on her,” I said before anyone could tell me not to.
Jax stalked over and swept Fergie into his arms, strapping her back into the sling. “We’re going,” he corrected.
“Fine.” I started for the door and was surprised when Milo and Adrik followed us out.
“We’re going,” Milo said with a shrug.
Adrik grunted.
“Okay,” I said, too panicked to question it. “But I’m flying. So, I’ll see you there.”
I didn’t wait for them to respond before I shifted into my griffin and shot into the air. Halfway there, I felt a presence beside me in the sky and looked over to see a black blur of wings keeping pace. Adrik.
My chest tightened as I thought of the danger my mother might be in.
I pushed harder. Faster.
When I landed, my legs were already pumping as I flew across the backyard to the patio where I knew my mother’s booby trap would be. Tangled near the back door, in what looked like an enormous spider web, a body flailed.
A very human-looking body.
And very ungraceful.
The grunts coming from it were crude and a little whiny.
Not Rigo, I could see that now, thanks to the narrow shoulders and leaner build. And certainly not Nephilim if Mom’s booby trap had managed to do its job. Still, they could very easily be SSF.
I shifted back to my fae form and tucked into the shadows, creeping closer. Footsteps sounded on the roof just above my head, and black wings tucked away as Adrik leaned over the edge to peer down at the trespasser.
I stepped onto the porch, heart thudding.
Squinting, I jerked back again when the figure let loose a string of loud curses.
“Son of a bitch, let me out of here or I’ll send a horde of rata demons to infest this vile place.”
I paused, placing the voice as its familiarity struck me. I inched closer, finally noting the familiar pretty-boy face I’d last seen opening portals with dark magic and summoning demon hitmen to kill my crush.
“Rourke?”
At the sound of my voice, the trapped warlock stopped struggling. A pair of hazel eyes peered out at me from inside the thick web.
“Gem?”
“What the hell are you doing, sneaking around here?” I demanded.
“I have orders,” he said, and I wanted to choke the smugness right out of his voice.
“To come after my mother?” I demanded, marching up to him.
“Easy.” Adrik dropped down beside me with a heavy thud.
Rourke’s eyes widened at the sight of him.
“Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” Adrik said.
“Yes. We don’t want a pile of warlock guts staining the porch.” I shot Rourke a hard smile. “That’d be a bitch to clean up.”
“You can’t kill me,” he said, but his voice wavered. He looked at Adrik again. “The council—”
“Won’t save you,” Adrik replied. “And neither will my sister if you are caught.”
Rourke trembled, and for some reason, his fear only annoyed me.
Before I could figure out what to do with him, the back door opened. My mother peered out.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Mom, go back inside.”
She started to respond and then caught sight of Adrik. I watched as her eyes went wide and fear quickly became something else. Interest.
“Oh, hello,” she said, opening the door wider, suddenly completely unconcerned with the danger she’d felt a moment ago.
“Here we go,�
� I muttered.
“I didn’t realize Gem brought a friend. And who might you be?” she asked.
“I’m Adrik Romanov. Pleasure to meet you.”
Adrik offered his hand, and they shook, the manners and sheer politeness of his demeanor leaving me speechless.
Where had this friendly behavior been the day he met me?
“Cora Hawkins,” my mother answered.
Her lashes fluttered, and I rolled my eyes. “Okay, I can’t take anymore.”
“Me neither,” Rourke muttered, and I turned my ire on him.
“You don’t get a vote, asshole,” I told him. “Now, tell me what you’re doing here.”
“He was trying to break in,” my mother said.
“Is that true?” I demanded.
“I have—”
“If you say ‘orders’, I’ll shift into the spider that goes along with this web and go black widow on your ass,” I warned.
Rourke’s eyes widened again. “All right, all right, geez. Look, I wasn’t going to hurt anyone.”
I glared at him. “Gee, I feel so much better now.”
“What did Selaphiel command you to do?” Adrik asked.
Rourke looked like he might refuse to answer, but at Adrik’s growl, he blew out a breath and answered, “I am to bring Gem’s mother to her highness.”
“Her highness?” I echoed, disgusted.
“Me?” My mom edged out of the house and onto the patio beside me. “But why?”
“Why do you think?” Rourke’s gaze flicked to me, and horror washed over me as I realized how close my mother had come to becoming bait.
“Mom, I need you to go back inside,” I said, forcing my voice to remain calm.
“Gem, I can handle whatever—”
“Mom.” I turned to her. “Please.”
She studied me for a moment then finally nodded. “All right. Ten minutes.”
“Deal.”
“You’ll come inside after?” she asked.
“Promise.”
She cast a parting glance at Adrik and then retreated into the house.
I turned to Adrik.
“I don’t suppose you’ll let me kill him?” I asked.
“Whoa, what?” Rourke chirped.
“Is that what you want?” Adrik asked.
“He tried to hurt my mother,” I said because it was the closest to an explanation I could give for the levels of rage coursing through me now.
Adrik frowned.
“I vote death by black widow,” I said when he didn’t answer.
“If you kill him, she’ll just find another to do her bidding,” Adrik said. “Except then, we won’t know who she’s using.”
I huffed. He had a point. And I was kidding. Mostly.
“Well, I’m not just going to let him go.”
“Hello, I’m right here, you know,” Rourke said.
“No, that’s not smart either,” Adrik agreed.
“Listen to the Neph,” Rourke urged.
“Listen to the Neph about what?” Milo rounded the corner of the house with an enormous black panther on his heels. Fergie, still in the sling, now hung from Milo’s chest.
“What to do with the warlock,” I said, gesturing to Rourke.
“Whoa.” Milo marched closer, studying the thick web that held Rourke captive. “Did you do that?”
“My mother’s booby trap,” I said.
Milo looked impressed. “Your mom is a badass.”
“She was almost kidnapped,” I said.
Jax slinked past me and growled at Rourke, teeth snapping as he lunged. Some of the webbing fell away, giving Rourke more leg movement. To the others, it might have looked like he intended to let Rourke loose, but I had a feeling he meant to free the leg so he could bite it off.
“Wait,” I said to Jax, pulling him back.
When I realized I’d touched him, I yanked my hand back, but he didn’t seem to mind. He did back up until he sat directly in front of me, still glaring at Rourke.
“We aren’t sure we’re going to kill him,” I explained and then ran through the logic Adrik had just dropped on me. “So, we need to figure out what to do with him. And then we need to get my mother the hell out of here.”
And then find Selaphiel and pluck every hair on her head. Slowly. With tweezers made out of her own fingernails. That bitch was going down for messing with my momma.
“We could leave him where he is,” Milo suggested. “Trapped in plain sight.”
Rourke whined at that, and I shook my head.
“No way, he’s too annoying.”
“Fuckery,” Fergie sang, and Rourke’s eyes widened as he finally noticed her.
“What the… you have a demon strapped to your chest,” he told Milo.
“No shit.” Milo jerked a thumb at the warlock. “This guy’s a genius, isn’t he?”
“You’re keeping her,” Rourke went on, his shock evident. “Like a pet?”
“You’re the pet here,” I snapped. “Selaphiel’s going to wait until she’s tired of you and put you down when she’s done.”
“Selaphiel won’t turn on me,” Rourke said, enough certainty in his voice that I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
“What the hell makes you so sure?” I asked.
“Because she needs me.” He straightened, suddenly full of confidence. “I’m the only one who can conjure her portals.”
“Any warlock worth a shit can do that,” Milo said.
Some of Rourke’s confidence wavered. “No,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. “These portals are spelled especially for the dimensions and demons she asks for. It takes skill to do. I’m indispensable.”
I bit my lip, a plan beginning to form as he rattled on about his unique and unparalleled talents.
Milo finally shook his head. “It’s a wonder this guy’s head fits on his damn shoulders.”
“Hmm. Speaking of heads…” I stepped closer to Rourke, studying him more intently now.
At my inspection, Rourke’s lip curled back. “What is it, little fae? Like what you see?”
“Shut up,” I told him. “I’m concentrating.”
“You do owe me a date if I remember correctly,” he went on, and Milo snorted disbelievingly.
“Gem would never go out with you,” Milo said.
“Funny.” Rourke kept his gaze trained on me. “She seemed perfectly willing when I asked her out.”
Someone behind me growled, and I couldn’t be sure whether the sound had come from Adrik or Jax.
“Rourke, I mean it. If you don’t shut up, one of them is going to lose it,” I told him. “And I can’t be responsible for what happens to you.”
Rourke smirked. “You know what they say. Warlocks have big—”
Another growl, this time coupled with a fist that landed hard against Rourke’s jaw. The momentum drove him sideways until his body went limp. The web caught him as he passed out and hung loosely against the thick, white threads.
I turned to see Adrik eyeing his own handiwork with something akin to satisfaction.
“Egos?” Milo finished. He looked around at the rest of us. “I think he was going to say egos.”
I stared at Adrik.
Jax hopped off the patio. When he’d put enough distance between us, he shifted. With an appreciative nod at Adrik, he said, “Couldn’t have done it better myself.”
I sighed.
Too much testosterone to even try and wade through.
“Now what do we do with him?” Milo asked, nudging Rourke’s unconscious body with his boot.
Rourke didn’t stir.
I glanced at the shed at the edge of the yard. “We’ll put him in there,” I said. “Until we can figure it out.”
I pulled my knife out of my boot and used it to cut the web loose from where it clung to the edge of the roof, the fence, and the grill. With Rourke still bound, Jax dragged him out to the shed and unceremoniously dropped him inside.
He’d just closed the
door again when the back door to the house re-opened. My mother stepped out.
“Mom,” I began.
“It’s been ten minutes. I was worried,” she said.
Her gaze flicked to the empty web. “Is he gone?”
“He’s no longer a threat,” I said simply.
She glanced at Adrik and then, beyond, her gaze caught on Jax. Then Milo. I saw the moment she caught sight of Fergie. Realized what she was.
My stomach dropped to my knees. I realized too late that I hadn’t managed to prepare her for what I’d done.
“Uh, Mom?” I took a step forward, putting myself close enough to intercept if things got sticky.
Like if Mom tried shooting Fergie with a spider web too.
“This is Fergie,” I said.
Mom looked back at me. Blinked. “A demon.”
“A baby,” I corrected. “My baby.”
I braced myself for motherly wrath.
“Your…?”
She went still then glanced first at Milo. “And I’m Milo,” he said, offering her his most charming smile. “Gem’s better looking and more fun best friend.”
“Jax.” He stepped forward but didn’t offer his hand.
“And Fergie,” Mom said slowly, returning her attention to the little pink bundle still hanging from Milo’s chest.
“Yes,” I said.
Mom exhaled. “Okay then.”
She pushed through the back door, turned, and held it open. “Well?” she said. “Are you all coming?”
“Inside?” I asked uncertainly, glancing over her shoulder in case more booby traps awaited.
“Of course inside. I’m not going to leave my grandchild out in the yard all day. Come on. I made carafels.”
No one moved. Including me.
“And I have whiskey,” she added.
I started for the door. Slowly, the others followed.
“Whiskey sounds great,” I said. “But do you have any gummy bears?”
Chapter Six
The scene inside my mother’s living room felt a little surreal. A sexy-yet-brooding Nephilim, a hot alpha panther, and a handsome fae made quite the picture against my normal-looking couch, love seat, and mismatched recliner. Adrik took up almost the entire loveseat, doing that man-spreading thing that meant he didn’t want anyone sitting too close. Jax took one end of the couch with Fergie next to him on the middle cushion. And Milo was currently reclined in my dad’s old La-Z-Boy.
Death's Door (Supernatural Security Force Book 3) Page 5
