Dexx was going to be so mad when he saw these videos.
She hoped he was okay.
One of the people on the other side of the room looked at Leah. “What can she do?”
Leah didn’t look like she wanted to answer any questions. She hid behind Todd and Ginny, who were doing a fantastic job of keeping people away from her.
Kids really could be good.
Paige turned to the man in question. “She is a necromancer. She can communicate with and revive the dead.”
A few people pulled away.
But a few people just looked at Leah like she was that much more interesting.
How to make that seem less terrifying? “Imagine being eleven and freaking out because you’re being attacked by angels and all of a sudden conjuring ghosts.”
“You were attacked by angels?” the young woman to Paige’s left asked.
All Paige had to do was say the wrong thing once. In her life, angels were assholes. In the Christian world, they were subjects of worship. “It’s not nearly as amazing as it sounds. Angels are just another kind of butthead.”
“So, they’re real too?” the young woman asked.
“What did you do wrong?” another man shouted out.
Why did it always go that way? “In the Bible—the actual Bible—angels were put on this earth as warriors. They’re not guardians. They’re not nice. Well, most of them. They’re soldiers and people aren’t.”
“And?” the man baited.
Right. Well, that one wasn’t going away. “And I’m a demon…” Uh. “…exorcist and they wanted my full and undivided loyalty.” Kind of.
“You were thinking of not helping? You some sort of demon familiar or something?”
Oh, funny man. “No. I’m a mom and wanted to spend some time being a mom.” She turned to the crowd. “Because, apparently, I can’t even have a couple of days with my babies whom I birthed on the street in the middle of saving the world from a powerful demon two weeks ago.” She smiled to soften that blow, but she was really very angry over this little fact.
The man opened his mouth to say something else, his face filled with hate.
The woman beside him took his arm, blinking as the reality of Paige’s statement hit her in a familiar place. It was evident from the light in her eyes.
Paige took in a deep breath, realizing she needed to invest more on this and less on making people angry. She needed to make people like this man understand they were just people. She wouldn’t do that by sparring with him. “We came here to see the museum. Mind if we walk and talk?” She didn’t wait for an answer and started on her way.
Leah and Ginny scooped the kids up and went toward the next exhibit.
Paige strolled along through the exhibits, explaining a few things about her family and paranormal people in general.
She exclaimed over certain exhibits—especially the dinosaurs. She loved dinosaurs—and listened as a few offered their own stories. It was a fantastic bonding moment. But Paige wasn’t certain if it was going to be enough.
One thing was for certain. Everyone loved playing with her babies. Two legs, four legs, or wings.
The currency for the “next shift” wagers was anywhere from a stick of gum to a quarter. One person wagered an eraser that everyone seemed to be vying for. She doubted it was the eraser, though it was a poop emoji. It was the act of wagering for an eraser that made them feel less like monsters…
…and more like people.
Before they reached the aeronautical exhibit, security personnel informed Paige that the president had requested her presence and they would have to leave the museum.
Her heart raced with her nervousness. This was the audience she’d asked for, and she’d managed to make that happen.
Naomi’s phone rang before they reached the motorcade.
Paige continued to keep up appearances and talk to as many people as she could, answering questions as they went.
Hopefully, the videos had hit the web and created a weapon she could use.
As they exited the doors, Paige sent a command to her twins, telling them to shift back into human and allow Todd and Ginny to collect them.
Leah had even seemed to make a few new friends, including Gretchen.
Jerry shook her hand as the kids piled into the SUV. “I’m really glad I got to meet you. I have to admit I was more than a little scared.”
At least he was being decent. “So are we.”
His dark eyes met hers with an acknowledgement of the fear of fear.
She was glad she was able to relate more to people. She just wished she didn’t have a dire reason for it. “Paranormals are just like any other people. Some are great. Some are not. And most are somewhere in between.”
He gathered his daughter. “Maybe we’ll meet again.”
“Maybe.” Probably not but talking to him had been one of the upbeats of the museum experience.
Leah, Todd, and Ginny were a bubble of excitement on the way to the White House. Todd and Ginny couldn’t stop talking about how that was the best experience at the museum ever. Todd even bemoaned that Leah had now ruined the museum for him. He was joking. Kind of.
When they got to the White House, Naomi told Paige she would watch the kids and not to worry because she would protect them as if they were her own.
As if she could. But Paige knew Naomi was under orders, and she couldn’t disobey them.
Paige walked through the media circus with her security detail keeping most of the reporters back. This time, she was guided directly to the Oval Office.
The president stood and walked over to the two couches, offering her hand. “Please have a seat.” She gestured toward the striped couch.
Paige sat after shaking hands, feeling just how different it was to be in this room the second time around.
“I have to say, Ms. Whiskey, you played that very well.”
Paige wanted to take that as a compliment, but it felt like the threat level had just gone up a notch.
The president picked up the remote and turned on the TV. The volume was muted but Paige and her kids were all over the screen. As she watched, Ember shifted from a kitten into a floppy eared puppy. Several of the kids around them clapped. Shortly afterward, Rai turned into an eagle chick.
She heard herself repeat, “Remember, they’re babies and that one has teeth.” She didn’t remember how many times she’d repeated that.
The president set the remote down and gave Paige her full attention. “You did much better than I would have thought. But I’m afraid you have lured the people into a false sense of security.”
Paige refrained from rolling her eyes. “Is that so?” What was her agenda?
“Indeed.” The president leaned forward and folded her hands primly in her lap. “Let me be perfectly clear here, Ms. Whiskey.”
It was about time. She leaned forward and folded her hands in her lap, mimicking the president’s stance.
“The paranormals in our community are dangerous. I happen to know how many paranormal attacks there are each year because I have been forced to clean up your mess before.”
“And are you going to be sharing these numbers with the public? Are you going to reveal to the world that you’ve known about us all this time? And…” Because she wasn’t done. “…are you going to share how many non-paranormal attacks there are each year? Because there are still fewer paranormal attacks than there is gun violence.”
The president didn’t immediately respond.
The president could still save face.
Paige went forward to nip it in the bud. “What you don’t realize is how the paranormal community works together to ensure that there are very few of those occurrences. We work just as hard, if not harder, to protect your mundane citizens as you do. The only difference is we’re not trying to get media coverage or poll numbers for it. We’re not trying to win future elections off this platform. We’re just trying to make sure our friends and neighbors are safe and t
aken care of. Why? Not because they’re voters. Not because we can make money off them. But because they are our friends and neighbors.”
The president’s eyes cooled. “Here’s what I want you to do, Ms. Whiskey.”
Paige licked her lips and remained quiet, listening.
“You are going to take yourself and your children out of my city. And when you get home, you were going to take those wards down. You are going to allow my agents full access to your town.”
Not likely. “And if I don’t?”
“Then I will see that as an act of war.”
A chill ran down Paige’s neck. “And what are your people going to do once I take those wards down? Are they going to come back into my town with guns blazing? Are they going to endanger the lives of my children and the children of my friends and family?”
The president raised one regal eyebrow. “Do I need to?”
Paige leaned forward and released her alpha will just a little. It was time for the president to understand who she was dealing with. “If you do, be assured I will see that as an act of war.”
The president stared at her in surprise, though her mask was firmly in place and the surprise only showed at the corners of her eyes and mouth.
Paige got the distinct impression that very few people had the balls to stand up to her quite like this. “Try to remember that my people have infiltrated your entire nation. You may know who some of us are, but you don’t know all of us. It isn’t like we’re an invading nation. We’re already here. This is our country just as much it is yours.” Paige stood. This wasn’t how she’d planned this meeting to go.
The president stood as well.
“I had really hoped that we could leave on a more peaceful front. My kind doesn’t want to wage war on yours. We don’t want to send our great nation into civil war. We don’t want to pit friend against friend, neighbor against neighbor. But if that is what you want because you would rather live in fear—ignorant fear—then we shall answer in kind.”
The president didn’t react. Not so much as a twitch.
Paige offered her hand. “But if you wish to learn about us so we can figure out a way to live together in peace, then my door is always open.”
One eyelid twitched.
“You make your decision. I will follow your lead, Madame President.”
The president didn’t respond for a long moment. Then, she took one step forward and clasped Paige’s hand. “You’re not how I imagined you to be.”
Paige didn’t know how to take that. “Neither are you.”
But it was past time for Paige to get out of D.C. She was going to get on that plane.
And this collar was coming off.
She turned and headed for the door. “I look forward to more conversations.” She stopped at the door. “And next time? Perhaps we could start by not insulting each other with collars. Let’s show the world that we can play as adults instead of as kindergartners.”
Paige didn’t wait for the president to respond. She opened the door and left.
Paige checked her phone as soon as she could and saw she had a new message and four missed calls from Michelle.
The text message was very brief.
DoDO has Dexx. He’s working for them. He just took Rainbow.
What in the hell was going on?
13
Paige used the plane’s internet to get to the bottom of what was going on with Dexx and DoDO on the flight back, but she didn’t learn much at all.
Until they made an unplanned stop in Kansas. “What’s going on?” she asked one of the attendants.
“Everything is fine.” The flight attendant smiled as she checked on Rai and Ember. “There’s nothing to worry over. Just an unplanned stop.”
Said every serial killer everywhere.
Well, no. Maybe not, but the statement didn’t give her the warm fuzzies.
The twins ran around in bear form. Paige had absolutely forbidden Rai to fly… anywhere. She still had no idea how bad that stunt would affect everything she’d worked so hard to build. She had a magickal fight on the White House lawn. Frankly, Paige was surprised she’d been allowed to leave at all after she’d had a chance to think about it. And crap her pants a little.
This shit was real. Really fucking real. The realest fucking crap she’d been in since her powers had been forced awake in St. Francisville.
She was scared.
When she got out, she was greeted by a single black SUV and a familiar face—FBI Director Stef Lovejoy. She was a fire fox spirit—uh… something. Honestly? Paige had no real idea what Lovejoy was. She wasn’t quite a shifter and she embodied a fiery looking fox. Anything more than that and Paige was clueless.
But she was also a trusted and valued ally who kept her paranormal presence a secret at all costs.
“Where are those adorable babies?” Lovejoy demanded.
“On the plane. Am I in trouble?”
Lovejoy shook her head and headed to the plane with a tired smile. “Nice wheels.”
“Perks of making friends with Merry Eastwood.”
Lovejoy winced, pulling a subtle face that said she didn’t agree with releasing that murderer on the streets, even if it did mean they’d defeated Sven. Fact of the matter was that Sven was taken care of and Merry was still walking the streets.
But without Merry Serial-Killer Eastwood, Paige would be stuck in Troutdale without a voice and the people wouldn’t have had a chance to interact with her shifter children.
That might be the reason Paige wasn’t in a hurry to put the woman back behind bars.
And the tick around Lovejoy’s eyes said she recognized why as well.
“Let’s get inside. My ears are ringing.” It was loud, even without any planes immediately around them with their engines going. As soon as the door was closed, though, Lovejoy sat down and cooed at the babies, who chose to shift into fox kits.
Those two. Seriously.
Lovejoy sighed as Rai chewed on her fingers. “How are you going to handle DoDO when you get back? Are you dropping the wards?”
Paige sat in her seat and gave Leah a look that said she could listen and form opinions, but she couldn’t speak. She had no voice in this discussion.
Leah nodded, her lips clamped shut.
Lovejoy smiled at the girl.
One day, if they survived this, Paige hoped Leah would be a force for good in their world. Not just their home or their town. “The wards are already down.”
Alarm crashed over Lovejoy’s expression. “Do they know that?”
Maybe. “It’s possible. Dexx was taken. I know I don’t have evidence to back that, but he wouldn’t leave.”
The FBI director shook her head with a frown, inviting details.
“I set up the wards so that all violence will be met with… well, an open door to, I think, North Korea.”
“You’re inviting a war with North Korea?”
She hadn’t thought of that. “Well, if the president is busy fighting them, it might be harder to fight her own people.”
“Hmm.” Lovejoy’s expression said that wasn’t a terrible idea. “Pick another location.”
Paige added that to the rather long list of things she needed to handle.
“How was Dexx taken, then?” Lovejoy picked Ember up and cuddled his fox face to hers. As soon as her nose touched his, fire lit his tail.
“No fire inside this plane,” Paige barked.
Lovejoy raised a blonde eyebrow at him with a grin.
The fire went out, but he remained a fox.
“I don’t know.” Paige chewed on her lips, just now working out the details and how preposterous it all seemed. “If they’d come by force, then the wards would have shipped them all out. But if they came in and invited him to leave?”
“Invited by…” Lovejoy looked up at her with a look of confusion. “Drugs?”
“How many things on this world can change a person’s mind?” There were a lot. Demons, djinn, angels, e
mpaths. And that was the short list. Some of those things didn’t apply to Dexx, though. Demons couldn’t possess him, and angels set him off for the most part
Lovejoy tipped her head to the side and booped noses with Rai. “I’ll look into it. You’ve got your hands full, and we need you focused on this.” She waved one hand to encompass her new situation. “I’ll handle Dexx.”
That made Paige feel a little better. “Michelle is working the case, too.”
“I’ll coordinate.”
“Thank you.” But that wasn’t the reason the director of the Oregon branch of the FBI was meeting her in Kansas. “Why are we really here?”
Lovejoy set Rai and Ember both on the floor and gave Paige her full but not undivided attention. “The world is following you. Whatever you do will set the precedent for everyone else.”
Nothing like a little pressure. “What’s going on everywhere else? We’ve heard nothing.”
“They’re repressing the news.” Lovejoy growled at Rai who must have nipped a little too hard.
Rai yipped and came back in for another leaping attack that wasn’t quite as vicious.
“They’re taking people,” Lovejoy said, battling Rai with one hand. “We don’t know where. But our people are disappearing. Mostly civilians right now but no communities.”
A lava flow of emotions swept down Paige’s spine. It was as she’d feared. “You think DoDO doesn’t know about them?”
Lovejoy shook her head and pushed Rai to the ground again.
Rai bounded back up like she had a spring in her tail. Almost. It was a spring made of legs.
“DoDO has been studying us for a while,” Lovejoy continued. “The information you provided from Alaska was invaluable and sent us on a whole new search. From what we’ve been able to gather, their database on us is extensive.”
So much so that they’d managed to capture Dexx. She needed to talk to him, to see what was going on, to make sure he was okay.
And to see if he could gain some inside information. “When you locate Dexx, see if you can get him a message.”
Lovejoy met her gaze with an expression that said she was thinking along the same lines and got up. “I just wanted to caution you on how things are handled in Troutdale. The world is watching, and if you give in, paranormals across the nation will be put in a worse situation.”
Whiskey Storm (Whiskey Witches Midnight Rising Book 1) Page 12
