by Misty Evans
Cole slid a hot waffle fresh from the iron onto Maddy’s plate. The scent of butter and vanilla filled the kitchen. She reached for the syrup and I released my hold on her hair. The knot was out and I was running the comb through her tresses for the simple connection to my sister.
Once we’d all dug into our breakfast, Cole started prodding her for information. “How’d you escape? Where’d you go? Did you see Toel or Vlad leave the estate?”
She swallowed a mouthful of waffle, washed it down with milk, nodded her head. “They were together. I followed them into the woods, then lost them. And I wasn’t the only following them.”
Cole and I both stopped eating. “Who else?” I asked.
She played with her fork. “Victoria.”
Toel and Victoria. What an interesting couple they would make. I glanced at Cole. “Dru called earlier to tell me they found his father’s cross under those ashes in the woods. It’s possible Toel dusted him and then switched the clothes to fake us out.” I faced Maddy. “Any possibility you saw that?”
She shook her head. “I barely saw Toel and Vlad once they entered the woods. I was hiding upstairs on the second floor, jumped out the window to go after them. When I got on the ground, Victoria ran out of the house and was heading in their direction so I followed her. Once or twice, I caught their scent but she was making so much noise, they probably thought the Noctifectors were chasing them.”
“Did she ever catch up to them?”
“They left the ground and went up in the trees at one point and that’s when I lost them. I don’t know where Vicky went.”
We finished our breakfasts in silence. I had a couple of hours before my meeting with Damon so I called Di. She was still at the Blackstone.
Toel may have been alive but I figured he had more pressing matters than toying with my friends. “The threat level is yellow again,” I told my best friend. “You can move back home.”
“Oh.” She sounded disappointed. “I was starting to like it here.”
“Have you seen Rad?”
“No.” Again her voice rang with disappointment. “I assumed he was with you.”
Rule number five, never assume. “My new vamp friend needs a wardrobe makeover. You up for the task?”
“Does it involve shopping?”
“Would I call you otherwise?”
She laughed and the sound made me smile. “How did it go with Lucifer and his soul mate?”
“I’ll tell you all about it when Maddy and I pick you up in half an hour.”
“You’re going shopping with us?”
A girl’s night out filled with shopping, and if I had my way, a slice of cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. Such a human thing for a goddess, a demon and a vampire. “Not if you’re going to razz me about it.”
“Lips. Sealed. Now get over here.”
I disconnected. Cole was done cleaning up the kitchen—another gesture that left me with a case of family-itis—and he dried his hands on a dishtowel. “I’m heading to the Institute. Catch up with you later.”
“What? And miss our shopping trip?”
“I have to coordinate Jimmy’s funeral.” He tossed the towel on the counter. “Be careful, okay? Toel’s a douchebag but he’s a smart douchebag.”
“If he’s still alive,” I said, trying to relieve his worries and feeling guilty over Jimmy.
“I can stay on as bodyguard if you want.”
He could, and it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. “I can take care of myself.”
“Do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Next time you have that douchebag in your grip, kill him. Once for me. Once for Jimmy.”
I slid off the barstool held out my hand. We shook. “Done.”
Chapter Fifty-one
For the first time in quite a while, I bought new clothes. Some for me, a bunch for Maddy. Skinny jeans, tank tops, nubby sweaters for the Windy City winter. Di styled both of us and we laughed at some of the combinations of flowing peek-a-boo blouses and layered skirts that she favored, switching out the overly feminine choices for edgier ones.
We had coffees and cheesecake slices before Maddy and I dropped Di off at her house and headed for the Institute. For two hours, I let myself forget I still had pressing concerns.
I’d had to drive the Land Rover since gnomes were the only ones who could fit in the TT’s backseat. As I cruised through the security gates, Maddy leaned out her window to look up at the spires, turrets and overall imposing structure. “This place rocks.”
“Wait ’til you see the inside.”
I gave her a brief tour. The grand tour would’ve taken forty-five minutes, but I was due in Damon’s office in five, so I cheated her out of seeing the cafeteria, gym and ops room. “I’ll be in my meeting for an hour or so. Think you can find something to do?”
Her gaze slid to the right. We’d spent the majority of the tour in the library and she itched to get back in there. It wasn’t just full of books. Damon never did anything half-assed, so the library contained a movie room, music room and game room, all interconnected with the extensive collections of ancient and modern texts.
“No problem. Take your time.”
“Cole’s in the basement, probably in ops or the gym if you get lonely. He can show you how to use your new weapon.”
“He’s hot.”
I gave her an appraising look. “He’s also old enough to be your great-grandfather sixteen times removed.”
“Eww.”
“Exactly.”
She waved and half-skipped down the hall, looking over her shoulder at me when she reached the library’s double doors. “He’s a catch for you, though.”
“How old do you think I am?” I said with mock indignation.
She giggled and waved again, disappearing into the library.
My good mood stayed with me until I entered Damon’s office and found him scowling at his computer screen. “What’s up?” I asked, flopping down on one of his chairs. Yasmin and Kirill were mercifully absent.
Damon looked at me from under dark brows, turned the screen around so I could see it. The scene showed the ballroom and Toel, fists raised in the air. The angle of the shot suggested the camera had been hidden inside the fireplace. “Dru sent us copies of the security tapes from last night.”
“And?”
He tapped a few keys on his keyboard. “Can you explain this to me?”
The tone of his voice hinted that he didn’t need an explanation. That this was simply a formality.
I watched the screen, watched Toel’s ringing endorsement for human domination and then the sequence that followed. He and I in a stand-off, me letting go of my whip. The pathetic boxing match that ensued.
“Here.” Damon said, watching me rather than the screen. “Were you baiting him?”
There was no pressure in my head for once, but I kept tight control over my thoughts just in case he came for a visit.
On screen, Toel punched me in the stomach. My head snapped back and then I doubled over. Damon paused the tape. “What happened here, when he punched you?”
Merde. No sense in lying. Even without skimming my mind, he knew exactly what had happened. “My demon woke.”
He steepled his fingers together. “Why did you bait Toel into waking your demon? Why didn’t you raise your protective magic and end this fight before it even started?”
Because I hadn’t wanted to. Because I’d been damned tired of Toel trumping me at every turn. I had wanted to make him suffer a little. To embarrass him in front of his father, the other vamps.
I blew out a breath and went for Italian flare instead of the truth. “I was trying to be a creative sadist.”
My boss didn’t laugh, didn’t even crack a smile. His tone registered deep disappointment and mild condensation. “I don’t need to remind you that waking your demon is dangerous.”
My biological make-up was one hundred percent demon. But there was a part of me that was separate, like a human�
��s soul or spirit. I could call it to life when necessary.
I lived and breathed sin and magic, yet had been able to reign in my baser demon spirit so I could help humans and protect them rather than hurt them. In order to do that, I had suppressed the demon to the point of submission. Forced her to sleep unless situations precipitated her release.
Few demons could do such a thing. Even fewer were those who would willingly do such a thing. Those that could and would generally worked for the Council.
“There were no humans present and I was one demon in the midst of a hundred vampires. Vampires who were cheering Toel’s message of world domination. You and the rest of the Council were safe, Cole was gone, Maddy was in trouble. Yes, I let Toel wake my demon, but it was out of self-preservation.”
He started the tape again, paused it when the screen showed me clamping down on Toel’s neck. “And this? Was this part of your self-preservation?”
I lowered my gaze, a flare of anger igniting in my stomach. Gripping the arms of the chair, I met Damon’s accusing stare straight on. “If you have a problem with the way I handled this situation, spit it out.”
Damon tapped a key, waved a finger at the screen. “Keep watching. I’m particularly interested in this next part where the Noctifectors enter the room.”
Had Cole told him about Rad? I sat frozen in place, wondering if there was any part of my job I could salvage once that truth came out.
Nope, nada.
On screen, I wrestled with a Noctifector. The dagger flew up, down and at each of us in an almost comical display. “The Noct was going to kill me. I fought back. Cole knocked him out. The end.”
Damon didn’t appreciate my blow-by-blow analysis. “Was he honestly trying to kill you?”
“Well, yeah. Why?”
“Quite the opposite is what it looks like to me. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I’d say he was trying to help you regain control of your demon. Why would a Noctifector do that?”
I swallowed hard, kept my face neutral. “You’re seeing things. He was trying to kill me.”
He stopped the tape, resituated the screen, then steepled his fingers once more. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me concerning that particular Noctifector?”
The moment of truth. Did I give Rad up? Ruin my career? Confirm my boss’s suspicions and end up on the wrong side of his Archdemon magic. “No.”
He reached into one of his desk drawers, drew out a piece of paper. “Have a look at this.”
It was a Most Wanted list. A Noctifector Most Wanted list. Guess whose name was in the number one spot?
Kali Sweet, aka Kalina Dolce. Vengeance demon. Enforcer, Bridge Council, United States of America. Owner, Sweet Investigations, Chicago, Illinois.
At least they’d spelled my name right.
There was a warning under it. Extremely dangerous to both humans and supernaturals. Use utmost caution. Wanted: dead or alive.
Dead or alive, huh? That was an upgrade. So was being number one on their hit parade. The Nocts had been after me for years, but more in passing rather than all out hunting me down. There were far more bad supernaturals out there fucking with humans for them to focus on than me, who spent more time protecting humans than they did.
Still, a queasiness set up camp in my lower stomach. “Where did you get this?”
“A source.”
I lifted a brow. “Inside The Catholic Church?”
“Inside the Noctifectors.”
“No shit?”
He frowned at my crude language. “The point is, you’re a wanted demon. The Noctifectors weren’t after the vampires last night. They were after you.”
All because of that rat bastard…I stopped myself before I could think a certain Chaos demon’s name. “Who’s your source?”
Damon stared at me, saying nothing. His eyes were flat and aloof.
“Are you sure you can trust him or her? Maybe that Most Wanted list is a joke, a red herring to scare us and keep me off my game. It won’t work. I’m not running from this or hiding either.”
“This is no joke, Kali, and I do not intend to treat it as such. You will move into the Institute tonight, without further delay, and your enforcer duties will be minimized until further notice. I will personally sign off on those you are allowed to do.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
His eyes said, try me. “Your things are being moved here as we speak.”
“What?” I shot up from the chair. “You can’t do that!”
Damon stood, set his fingers on the desk and leaned toward me. “I can and I will.”
“Kidnapping a Council employee violates Code 6A, Section Two.”
“This isn’t kidnapping. It’s personal protection.”
We stared each other down, my mind tripping over itself with options. Running away held appeal. I always kept an emergency bag stuffed under a floorboard in my closet just in case. I’d never had to use it, but my past had taught me to ready to run at a moment’s notice.
Running away wouldn’t do a bit of good though. If the Noct threat was real, I couldn’t hide anywhere in the world safer than here. High-tailing it far way also meant leaving everyone I cared about and everything I’d worked so hard for.
“I’m perfectly safe at the church. You know that. There are security cameras now and trip wires and my magical glamours keeping the place from human eyes and interference.”
“Victoria found you, did she not?”
“Because she was my blood slave. Even before she needed my blood, she could feel the call in her veins. It’s like a GPS system.”
Damon sat, stuck the Most Wanted Noct list back in his drawer. “You’re staying here until further notice.” He picked up a file and thumbed through it, effectively dismissing me.
Well, we’d see about that. I wheeled around, slammed his office door behind me. First I’d find Maddy and then we’d head back to my place. Any demon who’d touched my stuff was going to get a whip pointed at his balls.
I found Maddy in the library as suspected and she was none too happy about leaving, but we made it to the first floor doors without too much whining. There, however, two guards stood blocking the exit.
I ordered them to move, they refused. One of them spoke. “Director Soule requests you return to your quarters on the third floor.”
“I don’t have quarters on the third floor.”
Yasmin appeared at my elbow. “Of course you do. Come with me.”
“What about me?” Maddy asked.
Yasmin shrugged. “You’re free to go.”
I drew Maddy aside and whispered to her. “Stay at my place. I’ll be home as soon as I can bust out of here.”
She nodded, gave me a thumbs up and held out her hand. “Car keys.”
“You’re not driving my car.”
“I have a learner’s permit. Besides, I’m a vamp. My reflexes are better than the average Chicago driver.”
That really wasn’t saying much but I handed her the keys. “Be careful. And keep that cell phone I bought you today charged.”
We hugged, she left.
Yasmin held out a hand toward the elevators.
____________
Sunrise the next morning, I was holed up in an apartment suite on the Institute’s third floor with a book, a soda and most of my belongings. The movers had brought my bed, dresser, clothes, make-up, shoes and all of my weapons. I sat in the window seat, watching the night fade to gray and the sun peek over the horizon dressed in my Hello Kitty pjs with my favorite blanket wrapped around my shoulders. It was home, but it wasn’t.
The suite was directly across the hall from Damon’s quarters. Much to Yasmin’s apparent dismay. He was keeping a close eye on me and she was keeping a close eye on both of us. She needn’t have worried. I was so mad at him, I could hardly say his name without cursing.
I’d missed my meeting with Dru but had called him to explain the situation. We made new plans for a meeting at the Institute later
in the week. Meantime, he was hunting down leads, disciplining the guards who’d turned on him, and bickering with his older brothers on who would succeed Vlad. On a side note, Vicky had returned to the House. She claimed she didn’t know what had happened to Toel or Vlad and demanded Dru give her a job as House guard. He’d refused but had her in training for kitchen duty.
A jarring thud, thud, thud sounded on the suite’s door, jerking me out of my pity-party. Probably Damon doing his hourly check. He’d used his magic to secure the windows so I couldn’t jump out. I was no vampire, and three stories was too high for me to jump without doing serious damage to my body, but I would have considered it if not for the magic bars.
There was no peephole on the door—another thing that annoyed me—but danger was unlikely to follow me here. I shifted the blanket higher on my shoulders, took a deep breath and opened the door.
Big mistake since danger was a relative term.
Rad held out a cup of coffee. “Hi.”
I should have slammed the door. I should have. “How did you get in here?”
He reached inside his coat and drew out an envelope. “I have something for you. Damon said I could deliver it in person.”
“Did he now?”
“It’s highly sensitive material. It’s also your key to getting out of here for a few hours of fun.”
For half a second, I thought about marching him down to Damon’s office and serving him up on a silver platter of betrayal. With him in tow, I could negotiate my release. Of course, then I’d have to admit knowing Rad was a Noct before the coronation ceremony and where would that leave me?
Locked up in the jail downstairs with the prisoners. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Listen, about the coronation…”
I shushed him. Looked right and left in the hallway. Yasmin was peeking around the stairs at the end. She didn’t even have the grace to look embarrassed.
Against my better judgment, I tugged Rad inside and shut the door. I opened my mouth to bitch him out, but he lifted a finger from the cup and overrode my pending tirade. “I had nothing to do with that ambush.”
“Oh, that’s rich, Rad.” I paced away from him so I wouldn’t smack the cup from his hand. “You must think I’m pretty damn gullible to believe that.”
