“You going?” Ve’s eyes narrowed. He hated to think he’d been wasting his time on the kid.
Daniel shook his head no. “Not unless you tell me that I’m a lost cause.”
“Nah. You’re doing good, kid. Not as good as my nieces, but okay.”
Daniel snorted and flipped the god off. “Thanks.” Ve’s laugh echoed in his ears as he ghosted back to the room his Dad kept at The Pit. He was too tired to do anything but sleep and too sore to do anything but drink until he was numb. “Soon, mother fuckers,” he growled, dropping onto the bed and reaching for the bottle of bourbon that he’d left on the bed stand. Flashes of Zander and his shit for brains minions played through his mind, followed by that smug bastard that was keeping Daniel’s girl company. Soon, he’d be ready and then he’d take them all out.
Combing her hair back into a ponytail, Serra yanked it tight and dropped it down the back of the black sweatshirt before pulling the hood over her head and pushing on the dark glasses. Yes, it was douchey to wear shades after dark, but she could live with it. The dagger was secured between her shoulder blades, and if she could get her arm behind her, she was armed. Next, she slid the taser into her ass pocket, mace into the front and tucked the straight razor inside her sleeve. Strapping another knife into the sheath in her boot, Serra checked her reflection. Fantastic, she looked like the chick version of the fucking Unabomber. Not exactly going to blend, but then again that wasn’t the point. She wouldn’t be caught unprepared again.
Her head snapped up at the sound of footsteps in the hall. It didn’t matter who it was, she had no intention of explaining her outfit or the whys, especially to Jared's parents. The shadow grew on the wall and she ghosted out of the house, returning to the street, three over from The Pit, where she’d caught the tiger’s scent last night. Her growl vibrated in the back of her throat. The wind brought a mix of smells her way, but none were the one she wanted. Fuck it, this close to the bar, she was laying money that the SOB would show there before the night was over. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she shot a quick text to her uncle, just in case shit didn’t go down the way she planned.
Ghosting to the second floor, Serra braced her arms against the rail, surveying the crowd below. Her eyes searched intently for one huge auburn haired tiger with golden eyes who stank of death. The sea of people below ebbed and flowed like the tide. She spotted Kara coming from the kitchen looking shaken and paler than she should. What the fuck was up with the drummer’s girlfriend? Serra’s brow quirked. She didn’t really care right now, but it was good cover if she was going to be waiting for long. If that fucker showed tonight, he was going to die.
Tugging the fingerless gloves on tighter, she took the stairs smoothly, keeping to the edge of the crowd as much as possible. Pushing back her hood to draw less attention, Serra drifted through the people toward the booth that she knew Kara claimed when the band played.
The music and voices buzzed around her and then that scent hit her. Her combat boots stalled and she turned, scenting the air as the ‘people’ bounced against her. Growling, she wished she were taller, because being short at times like this, fucking sucked. Her head snapped toward the bar, when she caught the tiger’s scent. She’d expected to feel relief but instead just heard the pounding of her pulse in her ears and the hum of her muscles getting twitchy as fuck.
Using her shoulder to slice through the surging throngs of people, Serra tripped and almost stumbled into the back of her target. An acre and a half of cowhide stretched across the tiger’s shoulders, broken only by the patches that named him as a member of some lame ass M.C. Stepping back, before she was pushed into him, Serra sighed her relief when he walked down the dimly lit hall to the bathrooms.
A humorless smile curled up the corner of her mouth when the biker wannabe pushed inside the men’s room. She was right behind him, scanning the room and seeing that, other than a couple getting down and dirty in one of the stalls, they were alone. Silently she reached behind her and turned the lock on the door. Tilting her head to the side, Serra leaned against the cool steel, watching as the tiger bellied up to the urinal and waited for him to meet her eyes in the mirror.
Waiting took more patience than Serra had and the longer she stood there, the more pissed she got. Turning her head on her shoulders until her neck popped, she pulled off the sunglasses, dropped them in the trash and walked across the toilet tissue strewn floor to look way the fuck up into the face of a son of a bitch who wasn’t smart enough to know he was a dead shifter walking. “Remember me?” She smiled coldly, dropping her shoulder against the nasty wall.
His golden eyes raked over her, shining at first and then humor bloomed along with his laugh as he failed to bother to aim into the urinal. “The Mangas whelp.” He sneered and for a split second Serra was transported back in time, but only for that second. “How did the great and powerful Damion take what we left him, Sweetness?” His tone was mocking and exactly what she needed to keep her focused.
Shaking her head, she pushed off the wall, walking behind the tiger, noticing how his body swayed from too much booze. She grimaced as he pissed on the floor, trying to track her movement. Disgusting really. Waiting until he had turned too far to hold his balance, her hand shot up to tangle in the ratty red mane, yanking him back as she drove her boot into the back of his knees, knocking him to the floor with a loud crack of kneecaps against tile.
“This is The Pit, Bitch. You can’t do shit to me here.” The Tiger laughed and tried to grab her before she drove his face into the porcelain once, then twice and a third time. Serra didn’t stop until she heard the rattle of broken teeth rolling down to the urinal cake.
Her knee ground into the small of his back. She pulled his head back by two fistfuls of hair to look into his face. Dazed eyes. Crooked and blown out nose. Torn and bloody lips. Serra growled. He was right. She couldn’t kill him here. She’d already gone too far. When she remembered what the tiger had done, she couldn’t bring herself to give a fuck, but she wouldn’t finish it here. She ghosted out, taking the cat with her.
Serra landed, crouched over the male on the roof of a crypt. A sound in the distance turned her head and the bastard used that second of distraction to kick her legs out from under her. Her hands scrambled to find something to hold on to and were scraped raw by the stone.
Just as she was about to fall over the edge, she caught the tiger’s booted ankle, dragging him after her. Serra hit the ground on her gut, pushing against the damp grass with her hands, only to have her face shoved into the dirt again when the tiger pounced onto her back.
Her arms pinned under her, the feel of his fetid and foul breath on the back of her neck, his weight crushing the air from her lungs made her memory puke up a whole lot of shit she didn’t want to see or remember. She felt her mind spiraling and shutting down while the son of a bitch snarled his version of sweet nothings into her ear.
“Scream for me, little Mangas. Yell for your daddy to come and save you this time.”
Serra growled into the patchy turf her face was mashed into, but it was the two words that broke through her panic and flipped her switch to calm. ‘This time.’ She wasn’t collared this time and the fucker on her back was about to learn what happened when they fucked with a Mangas. Serra didn’t need Damion to teach the lesson. Ghosting out from under him, she shifted into her panther form and attacked.
Her control snapped like a cheap plastic toy as she shredded his clothes, his flesh and didn’t stop until he wasn’t much more that a gooey blood stain on the grass. Panting and exhausted, Serra fell back on her haunches, looking at the dead tiger turned inside out. She didn’t remember doing any of it, nor did she understand why he hadn’t shifted or ghosted out. Shuddering, she decided that she didn’t care. He was dead. One down and two more to go.
Sighing, she heaved herself onto four feet and clenched the back of his jacket between her teeth, digging her rear paws into the dirt, she dragged it toward the bank of the swamp. At the water�
��s edge, she shifted human and rolled what was left of the body to pull his wallet and phone from his back pocket. Dropping her bare ass to the ground and pushing her hair back from her face, Serra flipped the folded leather open and snagged his ID before tossing the leather into the dark murky water.
A gator lunged onto the bank. Serra skittered back, almost dropping the cell and plastic card. Ghosting on clothes, she watched the massive jaws latch onto the torso and drag it into the water. Snorting at the splash as the water churned and the chum floated to the surface, she backed up further, still trying to catch her breath and not lose her dinner as the adrenaline fled leaving her sick and shaky. It was over for tonight. Tucking the ID and phone into her pocket she ghosted home and headed for the shower.
CHAPTER 15
Jared came home from work and saw that the pile of baby proofing stuff he’d left on the table had already been taken care of. “Sweet. Less work for me.” He beelined for the bathroom to pee and tried to lift the lid. It wouldn’t open. “What in the...”
Pulling on it, his hands slipped and Jared flew back, falling on his ass. Growling, he tried again. His bladder was about to pop, forcing him to drop trow and pee in the sink. “If this is some kind of prank...”
He looked over the toilet and saw no way to open it. Shaking his head, he went to the kitchen to get a beer. He pulled on the handle and it didn’t open either. “The fuck!” Jared pulled again and ripped the door clean off. “Well great. Just fucking great. Who did this? Jerry Lewis?”
Edge walked into the living room and could hear Jared growling. “What’s wrong?”
Jared held up the fridge door. “Who baby proofed this place?”
Tilting his head to the side, Edge shrugged. “I did. You said it needed to be done and that you were not looking forward to doing it. So I did.” He looked around and bit the inside of his cheek because he did know how to baby proof a home, but he felt the need to shake up the panther, so he’d added three times more than needed for almost everything.
“Well Hercules, you went overboard. The toilet is useless now. Serra is not gonna be happy. I’m scared to see what you did to the rest of the place.” Shaking his head, Jared ghosted the door back on.
Edge chuckled. “Did you pull the top part of the clip off? And I’m sure Serra will be able to get the hang of it.” He laughed, and his amused smile was going to be sticking around for a while.
Jared tilted his head. “Clip? There is no clip. You’re fucking with me, right?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t laugh at me.” But it was too late. “Yuck it up man. You wait. You’ll get yours.”
The demon chuckled. “Come on. I’ll show you.” Walking into the bathroom, Edge sneered and poured bleach down the sink when he saw the evidence that it had been pissed in. “Man next time use the shower. Or clean up after yourself.” He pointed to the toilet. There were eight clips holding the lid to the bowl together. Flipping them off, one by one, He lifted the lid. “Ta da.”
Jared arched his brow “Oh hell, no. Why not just close the door? This is bullshit.”
Edge laughed. “Panther, you bought all this crap. I just put it up!”
“I didn’t buy it. Their sitter did.” He growled and went to take them off and almost ripped the toilet out.
Edge laughed until he heard the cubs cry. Stopping, he turned, went to the nursery and picked up Justice. “No tears, Wee One.” His fingertips were gentle on the cub’s cheek, wiping away the tears. The demon purred as he laid Justice back down and changed her diaper. Theo’s was next. Picking them both up, once they were clean, Edge walked back to the bathroom where he’d left Jared.
Growling, he pulled a clip off and got his hand stuck. “Fucking bitch.” Jared snarled and pulled his hand out. “Dickbaghorsehumpingshemale!”
Edge tilted his head to the side. All of their eyes were on Jared. “If you take them, I’ll remove the clips. That way, they don’t learn new curses to freak people out with.”
Jared growled, took the twins and left the demon to it. Sitting with the kids, he watched them chew their toes.
Edge shook his head. Pulling off the clips, he stashed them in a drawer before going into the kitchen and removing them from the fridge. “There. The toilet and fridge, you can get into them now.” He grinned and grabbed two beers, popped the tops and walked into the living room, handing one to Jared. Edge sat on the floor with his back against the couch.
Taking the beer, Jared stared at his kids. “This human baby thing, I’m not sure about it. I did okay with the ones...” He stopped himself before he mentioned Emma and all of that horse shit.
Edge arched a brow and shrugged. “They will be okay. Babies bounce.” He downed half of the beer and grunted. Gods, he missed real beer. “Okay, this is piss in a bottle. Why the hell do you drink this?” Still, he finished off the beer because he wouldn’t waste it. “What?”
“I didn’t buy it. It’s Serra’s.” Jared watched him and shook his head. “Don’t babies splat more than bounce?”
Edge returned the head shake. “Okay. Note to self, leave the beer alone and make my own. Check. Will get the stuff tomorrow.” He watched the cubs play with their toys. “And yes, I guess they would actually splat.” He shrugged. “Don’t drop them. There, easy fix.”
“In this form, there isn’t much to grab on to.” Jared shrugged and drank his beer.
Edge nodded. “You’ll get the hang of it. Besides, I’m here. Not going anywhere, so all you’ve got to do is ask.”
“I know, but they’re my responsibility. I wanted them before you all got here. Just want to make sure they turn out okay and not totally fucked up.” Jared drained his beer.
Edge smirked. “True you may have. But look at Daniel. He turned out great.”
Jared laughed “I didn’t raise him. He’s self-made. So that’s no gold star on my father of the year chart.”
Edge leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “But he’s here. Isn’t he? Your son wouldn’t want to be around someone he didn’t love. That boy is too much of a pain in the ass to stay somewhere he didn’t feel comfortable. Believe what you want, even though I have not spent a good amount of time with him, I've watched. He knows his mind. To him, you must be a good dad. Or else he would be somewhere else.”
Jared nodded “I suppose. With that logic.”
Edge snorted. “Trust me. That boy is too damn stubborn to be where he doesn’t want to be. Now for the Cubs, they will learn and grow with your guidance. I’m just your protector.”
He nodded and yawned. “Okay kids, it’s bedtime at the old folk’s home.”
Edge shook his head. “If you can’t take them both at the same time, grab one, I’ll get the other and get them laid down. I’ve got things to do tonight, but I’ll be close to the house if I’m needed.”
Jared scooped them both up and went to put them to bed. “Okay, don’t kill too much,” Jared said over his shoulder as he started for their room.
Edge appeared in the cemetery. The coppery scent of fresh blood clung to everything. His jaw ticked when he smelled Serra’s in the mix. What the hell had happened here? He wove through the crypts, seeing through the fog that swirled around his legs. It wasn’t hard to figure out when he found the spot. The grass was crimson and sticky.
Kneeling he dipped his finger into a puddle and brought his hand to his mouth. The blood fizzed like pop rocks on his tongue, turned hot and images exploded into is consciousness. He saw it all. Their appearance. The fall. Serra losing her shit and going Freddy Kruger on the male. He also felt her fear and her panic, along with the ‘victims’ bad intentions and past deeds. The male had it coming and worse.
Sighing Edge returned to his full height. He considered going to Brenda and Frank with this before they left in the morning. They might know what to do and how to fix it. But until Jared asked him to, he couldn’t. It was part of the bond, and it was the part he hated. He couldn’t do anything that might destroy the one he was bonded to.
Losing another mate would do just that.
Folding his arms over his broad chest, he eyed the blood trail that led away from the crime scene. Little Miss Kitty had claws, and he doubted that Jared knew that it was this bad. He sighed before pulling in a deep breath that his biology converted to fire. Just as he was about to burn the evidence, something moved off to his right. Fuck. Swallowing the fireball, Edge stared into the mist, watching a body that seemed to materialize and walk toward him.
“Edge?” The familiar deep voice cut through the buzzing of insects. “Didn’t expect to see you on this side of the pond.” The male was almost as tall as Edge, his blonde hair was cropped short at the nape of his neck, but was kept long in the front to fall over his blue eyes.
“Caleb.” His voice came out as a groan. Edge arched a brow at the fat orange cat cradled in the Seven’s arms. Just what he needed tonight. Another demon. “New friend?” Probably that cat was the only thing in the nine realms that could stand the smug son of a bitch.
Caleb held the house cat up and dropped a kiss on the top of its head. “This is Jacob. He’s my anger management tool.”
Edge barked a laugh. Now he had heard it all. “How’s that working out for you?”
Caleb shrugged and smirked. “Never had a problem making pussy purr.”
Edge swallowed a groan and chose to ignore the comment. “What are you doing here?”
“Working. I was watching a client.” He raised a brow and looked down at the blood splatter, adjusting Jacob in his arms and stroking its fur. “It was entertaining.”
“You didn’t stop her?” Edge was annoyed.
“Nope.” Caleb shook his head no.
“Why the fuck not?”
Caleb shrugged. “My orders were to watch and only intervene if she was in trouble. She wasn’t in trouble.” He made kissy sounds at the cat.
Edge scrubbed his face with his hand, fighting not to throttle the idiot. “Wait. Who told you to watch her?” What the fuck did Jared’s mate get herself into?
The Mating (Black on Black, #1) Page 25
