by Lexi Blake
I crossed my arms over my chest because everyone could tell I was cold. Dev tried to give me his jacket, but I was stubborn enough to ignore it. He tried to argue but Daniel sent him one of those man-to-man looks and Dev backed off. We walked by the long line of patrons waiting to get in, and every one of them stared as we strode past.
When we entered the club, I realized there was one person who might be willing to help me. At the very least, he would tell me if what I’d seen had any possibility of being real. I looked around and quickly found the large male I was seeking. Albert, Dev’s butler and sort of personal assistant, was sitting at the bar talking to the bartender with a cup in front of him. No highball glasses for Albert. He was strictly a tea drinker. Albert was a seven-foot-tall, red-skinned half demon. Only his personality and his blue eyes were even vaguely human. He’d also forgotten more about the supernatural world than most people ever knew.
I started to walk off, but Dev’s hand came out, catching my arm and pulling me back.
“Where do you think you’re going, Zoey?” he asked in a voice that told me he’d had enough of my antics for one evening.
I pulled away from that warm, tingly feeling I always got when Dev touched me. I didn’t want to feel good right now. I wanted answers. “I’m going to talk to Albert about my hallucinations, Dev. I would like to know what it is my alcoholic’s brain managed to pull out of thin air. So back off.”
His jaw tightened, and a long sigh came out of his mouth as though he was struggling to keep his patience. “Zoey, you need to go upstairs and rest.”
His condescending tone pushed me over the edge. I might have been able to handle that from Daniel. Fighting had always been a part of our relationship, but it was new with Dev. The fact that Dev was beginning to see me as a problem to be handled really cut to the quick, and following true to form, I struck out as hard as I could.
“I’m not five, Dev,” I pointed out, hearing the cruelty in my voice but not quite able to stop it. “Contrary to what you might think, you don’t own me. We’re not even married. If providing for me means I suddenly have to obey you, then I can sure as hell provide for myself. I’m going to talk to Albert. If you think you can stop me, feel free to try, but you have to sleep sometime. You can let me get the information I need now or I can get it later when you least expect it.”
I saw the hurt register on his face before that careful mask fell into place. This was the king’s advisor, not my love. “Of course. Feel free to speak to Albert. As I am not your husband, I will leave your care to him. I’m going out for a while. I’ll sleep in the office tonight. I wouldn’t want to disrupt your marriage bed.”
Dev walked off, loosening his tie, his posture and movement a testament to his anger.
“Damn it, Z,” Daniel growled, getting into my space. “That was just fucking mean. You got anything you want to say to me? You want to try to run me off? Give it your best, baby, because if your plan is to alienate the people who love you, you’ve done a fantastic job tonight.”
I didn’t say anything because I was worried if I started talking, I would start crying. I needed to be hard and cold. I needed every bit of my inner bitch or I would be upstairs with both of them making me feel like a spoiled child. “Are you done?”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “For god’s sake, don’t let me keep you. Go talk to Albert. You’ve already fucked up the evening, so what’s another ten minutes of waiting on you?”
“If you don’t have the time to wait, the door is that way, buddy.” I made my way to the bar.
Albert turned his eyes to me and an amused curiosity lit his face. Since I’d moved in with Dev and Daniel had joined us, Albert’s attitude had distinctly softened toward me. Apparently, while the demon had trouble with adultery, he didn’t mind a little bigamy. Once I was in a committed relationship with his master that included my husband, he started treating me with fondness.
“Mistress,” Albert acknowledged with a slight bow of his head. He considered himself a servant to the three of us. We’d adopted him through our relationship with Dev. “Your birthday evening has gone awry?”
I pushed myself up onto the barstool. “Tom, can I get some coffee?” I asked, though the perverse side of my nature goaded me to order a martini and make sure Daniel saw me drink it. I was still chilly though, and my stubbornness wasn’t going to warm me up. “It’s been past awful, Al. It might make my top ten crappy nights of all time.”
“Master Daniel seems more angry than usual,” Albert commented, looking across the club. Daniel was staring at me, arms crossed, foot tapping.
“Well, if you think he’s upset, you should see Devinshea.” I wrapped my hands around the mug Tom passed me, letting the coffee warm my skin.
“It was inevitable,” Albert said with a sympathetic stare.
“Why? Because the whole threesome thing can’t work?” I took a gulp of the excellent coffee. “Let me tell you, Al, if the whole threesome thing doesn’t work out, I think you’ll be surprised who gets kicked to the curb. I think Dev and Daniel are much happier with each other than they are with me right now.”
The delicate cup looked fragile in his huge hands, but he held it with the infinite gentleness of one who truly knew his own strength. “Oh, I believe your relationship can work. I just don’t think you’re the same girl who went into the relationship.”
I took a deep breath and couldn’t quite meet his eyes. “Maybe I’ve changed, but I did it for them. I’ve done everything they’ve asked me to for the past six months. I’ve tried to be what they need me to be.”
“What if they need you to be Zoey? I’ve talked to my master on several occasions, and I believe he needs you now more than ever. The experiences he had in Las Vegas have put him into a sort of shock. I think it affected all three of you. I believe you are the only one who is strong enough to break the three of you out of the state you find yourselves in.”
“I don’t think they want to be broken out of anything.” It was my greatest fear, that they were truly happy with the status quo and wouldn’t accept anything less than a docile, submissive me. “I think they enjoy the way things are going.”
“Master Daniel does not seem to be enjoying himself,” Albert said, shaking his horns. “And if Master Dev has sought other entertainments on tonight of all nights, he is unhappy as well. He gave you the chain of the goddess, did he not? Have you refused him?”
I touched the gold at my neck, pulling it out from under my shirt and showing it off. “No, I didn’t refuse him. I’ll perform the ritual with him. That’s not what our fight was about. Something happened earlier tonight and they don’t believe me. I was attacked and ended up with a concussion. They preferred to believe I was just drunk. I won’t bore you with the sad details of our fight, but I need some info, and you’re my go-to guy.”
Albert’s eyes went wide. “You were attacked by the demon? Should we place the club in lock-down?”
“It wasn’t Halfer. It was a woman and a bird. The bird was black and it had a…I don’t know what to call it. When it opened its mouth, a long tubular thing came out and it had teeth.”
“Proboscis,” Albert said thoughtfully. “It’s a type of mouth. It elongates and aids the creature in piercing flesh and sucking out the sustenance it needs.”
I shivered and not from the cold. It had been trying to get at my flesh. “Okay, that makes sense. It was going for my middle, which is softer, so it probably eats viscera. Eww. The woman turned into a bat.”
Albert thought for a long moment. “Many hags can shapeshift, and they often have familiars. I would begin the search by looking into this plane’s various witches. I would also check on the corporeal undead. There are several species that might be able to do the things you’ve described.”
“Oh, and it was the weirdest thing.” There was one fact about the creature that stood out. “Her feet were on backward. What was that about?”
A slow smile crossed Albert’s face. “Oh, Zoey. That’s im
portant indeed. What did the bird sound like? Did it sound far away though the creature was close?”
“Yes,” I said, getting excited because it looked like he knew what I was talking about. Maybe I wasn’t going crazy.
“Did it sound like ‘tik-tik’?” Albert asked. I put my forefinger on my nose and pointed at Albert, who laughed. “You certainly can attract the deadliest of creatures. The bird is a familiar to a deeply insidious creature. The female is an aswang. It is an undead creature. It is a long way from home, though. They’re concentrated in the Philippines.”
I shrugged. “Hey, the faeries immigrated. Why not the undead? Dallas is hopping lately. Where do I start looking for this bitch?”
“They typically work in villages as a butcher or some form of meat processor,” Albert explained. “I believe if you look on the Internet, you’ll find everything you need. Though they’re rare here, the stories are plentiful.”
I hopped off the barstool and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. I was certain if he hadn’t already been red, he would have blushed. “Thanks, Al. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome, mistress,” he said solemnly. “Think on my advice. You might want to push this issue before it breaks the three of you. My master loves you, but make sure his need to see you safe doesn’t turn you into something you don’t wish to be.”
I promised I would consider what he’d said and knew I would think about it far too much. For now, I just wanted to get upstairs and start my search. It was easier than thinking about my problems with Dev and Danny. The truth was I was invigorated at the thought of the hunt. I was already thinking of how I could track this bad girl and find out who sent her. It had my adrenaline up. Since returning from Vegas, the most adrenaline I had was picking a new nail color at my mani-pedis. I missed working. I missed being me.
Things had to change.
“Can we go upstairs now?” Daniel asked, irritation flavoring every word.
“We can go upstairs but just so you know, you might as well grab a pillow and cuddle up with Dev on the couch because if you think I’m getting into bed with you, you are so wrong.” I passed him and started toward the door.
I heard him curse as I ran up the stairs.
Chapter Five
I didn’t find my boys cuddled together on the couch in Dev’s office when I woke up the next morning. Daniel was safe in the interior room we used for visiting vampires and Dev was up and out before I woke up. The only person waiting to greet me after I showered and got ready was Zack. Though he was perfectly dressed, there was a puffiness to his eyes that let me know he hadn’t slept much the night before. I guessed Lisa had kept him up.
“Good morning, Zack.” For the first time in a long time, I felt a thrum of excitement at the coming day. I had some adrenaline pumping, and I was looking forward to needing it. I had a job—hunting down the aswang.
Zack grumbled something that may or may not have been a hello.
“Where’s Lee?” Zack might be a hard-ass, but Lee was the one who loved the hunt. If I could talk just one of them into going with me, I could get started. Lee was a much better bet than Zack. Lee was reasonable and didn’t have his head up Dev’s ass.
I’d stayed up late reading everything I could about the awful, baby-eating aswang and her familiar, the Tik-Tik bird. What I read hadn’t made me feel kindly toward my attackers. That freaking bird had been after my liver, damn it. I needed my liver.
I was certainly intrigued because I wasn’t their normal prey. Someone had sent that bad girl after me, and I was going to find out whom.
Zack yawned and shuffled through some papers. “Lee’s at the restaurant.”
“What restaurant?”
Zack handed me a single sheet of paper. It was my daily itinerary. Once Dev had taken over Daniel’s bid for the crown, we’d become extremely organized. Dev believed in efficiency when it came to running a royal household. “He’s at the restaurant where you’re meeting Kelly. Mr. Quinn says you need a new summer wardrobe. He doesn’t want you attending the Gathering in cutoffs and a tank top. He’s also banned flip-flops.”
I rolled my eyes. I was getting awfully tired of shopping and besides, I looked damn good in shorts and a tank top. What the hell was Dev expecting at this gathering? Wolf society isn’t as formal as vampire society. I was pretty sure most of the wolves would be wearing as little as possible, when they weren’t showing off the fur god gave them. “I need to reschedule that. I’ll call Kelly and move it to next week. We have a couple of errands I need to run, and I could really use that sniffer of yours.”
It would come in handy. I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the aswang and her living co-workers from a distance, but the wolves could. If I had to find her by my lonesome, I was going to spend the day looking like a complete idiot.
Zack shook his head firmly. “No way, Zoey. You’re following that schedule. I heard all about last night and until the new bodyguards are vetted, I’m on twenty-four-freaking-hour call. I had to cancel a date. I’m not in a good mood. If you have a problem with it, take it up with Mr. Quinn.”
“Fine. Where is he?” I didn’t need another bodyguard. I couldn’t handle the ones I already had. This was getting completely out of hand. I would be on house arrest if it kept up. It was time to deal with the problem.
Zack’s smile held no humor whatsoever. “He left early this morning. I think he wanted to avoid you. He’s out at the farm. My master has a new vampire, and Mr. Quinn is making arrangements to move him into the third bedroom of your old house. I’m sure he’ll be back sometime tonight. You can yell at him all you like then. Until that time, you’re going to follow the schedule. So are you ready to go?”
“I’m not going, Zack.” I meant it right up until he tossed me over his shoulder and started walking to the elevator. “Put me down.”
“I’ll put you down when we get to the restaurant,” he promised. “And, Zoey, if you try to run, I will catch you.”
Thirty minutes later, I was sullenly shown to a nicely decorated table. I managed to convince Zack to allow me the dignity of walking into the restaurant, but his eyes hadn’t left me once. Lee tried to hide a grin as I cursed his brother with every vulgar name I knew. The early afternoon sun lit the small café with soft light, and I ordered a drink while I waited on the stylist.
Dev and I were going to have it out tonight, and he was either going to see things my way or…I didn’t know what I was going to do. The thought of walking out made me sick to my stomach. I just couldn’t imagine my life without Devinshea in it, but he had to see that I was suffocating. I was just going to yell until he gave in and that was that.
I glanced up, expecting to see the waiter with my iced tea, but I was met with seriously green eyes. Dev stood over me, smiling down.
“I thought you were at the farm.” I hated the breathy sound that came out of my mouth. His six-foot-five-inch sinfully gorgeous body always made my heart skip a beat even when I wanted to throttle him. The fact that I wanted to molest him right there on the table didn’t help me fight with him. Dev and I had very few fights. I usually started to fight and somehow ended up on my back, agreeing to do whatever he wanted.
“I finished early, lover,” he said, gracefully taking the seat next to me. He pulled my hand to his lips and kissed each finger. The tender gesture softened my heart. It was something he did often, and it never failed to make me smile. “I thought I could have lunch with you. It would be nice to have you all to myself for a change.”
“What about Kelly? I thought you wanted me to plan a whole freaking wardrobe.” I didn’t attempt to hide my lack of enthusiasm.
“I’ve rearranged things with Kelly. You can meet with her later.” He inspected the menu. His eyes caught mine over the daily specials and he winked. “I prefer you without any clothes at all, lover. If you like, we can skip lunch altogether and I’ll just eat you.”
I laughed because if he was being filthy, he couldn’t be too
angry with me. Dev became rigidly polite when he was pissed at me. In this case, his horniness might work to my advantage. If I could convince him to spend the afternoon with me tracking down the aswang, it might go a long way to healing the rift that was opening between us. I wasn’t worried about Daniel. Daniel and I fought and made up all the time. What I had with Dev was much newer and infinitely more fragile. It was the first time I really realized how delicate the balance between the three of us had become.
The waiter brought Dev a beer and set my tea down. He took a moment to take our orders. I let him know I wanted the grilled fish as Dev’s hand played tantalizingly with my knees under the table. I wondered what he really had planned. It wouldn’t be the first time he hauled me into the bathroom of a fancy restaurant, paid off the attendant to keep it private, and had his wicked way with me.
“So you’re not mad at me anymore?” I wanted to get everything on the table. I’d been pretty rough on him the night before, but I had my reasons. If we could both apologize, I was willing to start completely fresh this afternoon.
His lips quirked playfully. “I can’t stay mad at my sweetheart. You know I wish only to please you. Let’s put this fight from our minds and enjoy the afternoon together.”
It was nice to have him to myself for a change. Daniel and Dev had both been busy with their plans and rarely found time to do anything like taking me out for a leisurely lunch. The last several months had found endless visitations and boring dinners where I entertained the women as Dev and Daniel discussed business with the men.
I found myself talking to him about inconsequential things as he held my hand, his fingers tangling with mine the way they so often did. This was what Devinshea did best. He could make me feel like I was the only woman on the planet. After a long while of enjoying his attention, I finally found myself broaching the subject of the night before.
