The Demon Who Loved Me (Big Bad Bite Series Book 4)

by Jessie Lane

  He nodded. “Yes, I did, and you can’t kill him for two reasons. One, he’s my familiar, so he’s very important to me. And you wouldn’t want to break my heart now, would you, big sister?”

  “You slimy, little turd!”

  “And two,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “he’s going to help us get Delta out of her mess.”

  Hearing Delta’s name brought Elena’s rage back down, which was good because Chloe was getting tired of this three-ring circus. It was time to figure out where their youngest sister was, pronto.

  “You still haven’t told us what trouble she’s in or where she’s at,” Chloe snapped.

  “Delta is at the den of Bash Yasin. A very old, scheming, and deceptive vampire.”

  Chloe, Elena, and her aunts all started talking at once, asking different variations of the same question, which was, “Why?”

  Manus held his hands up in the air and shouted, “QUIET!”

  The Demos women promptly quieted down to wait for an explanation.

  Impatient, Elena snapped out, “Well, give us some answers already.”

  Deo pet his spider, causing Elena to shudder in revulsion again.

  Chloe had to hold in her laughter at the sight. It looked as if she wasn’t the only one in the family who liked to torture Elena with her irrational fear of spiders. Family get togethers from here on out just might be fun … with some plotting.

  “Rufus here was hitching a ride in Delta’s purse yesterday to spy on her for me. I’ve been watching you all since we were informed of Mom’s death, trying to decide on whether I should make contact with you or not.”

  When Chloe started to say something, he held his hand up to stop her. “Last night, Rufus was there with Delta when she took the meeting with Bash Yasin. Apparently, they’ve met briefly before through a mutual acquaintance. Some guy named Rhett Baines. Bash had heard about Delta asking Rhett to turn her, and how Rhett had denied her … rather harshly from the sound of it. Bash offered to turn her himself. However, there was a catch.” Their brother gave them a stern look and said, “There’s always a catch with those vamps; don’t forget that. Nothing is ever free with those stingy bastards. Anyway, if Bash turned Delta, she would be indentured to him for the next one hundred years.”

  Chloe snorted. “There’s no way Delta took a deal like that. She’s naive, sure. But stupid? Not hardly. So, where is she now? Crying into her tea cup about not getting what she wanted?”

  Deo shook his head. “How quickly you’ve forgotten that I’ve already told you Delta is at Bash’s den. And you forget all of Delta’s admirable traits, like her romanticism of fairy tales and epic love stories. This Rhett may have turned her down and broken her heart, but do you really think Delta would walk away from the opportunity to live forever? Did you forget how much she likes her ‘research’? Think of all the things she could research with an infinite lifespan. Yeah, I see by the panic on your face that you’re figuring it out. You’re wrong, Chloe; she took the deal. Delta’s not here because … she’s a vampire now.”

  “Holy shit,” Elena whispered in shock.

  After gathering her wits, Chloe asked, “What do we do now?”

  Manus shrugged. “Wait for Bash to let her come home.”

  Gage added, “And finish clearing Lulu’s name in the meantime.”

  For a few moments, Chloe had forgotten about Gage’s sister still being under investigation. Problems seemed to be piling up all around them, and Chloe didn’t like it one bit. Now the question was: what was she going to do to get rid of their problems?

  Chapter

  10

  Kent

  The Next Day…

  Kent sat in his council seat next to Julian Desouza and tried not to sweat like a pig in a hot house. He could have very well said it was hotter than hell in there, but he didn’t want to take the chance of ever finding out just how hot hell really was. That didn’t mean he couldn’t sit there and fidget, which he did, with his red tie.

  Some of the other council members were giving him the side eye, but he didn’t give a shit. All he wanted right now was some air conditioning up in this motherfucker.

  “Kent?” Councilman Holden said in his hoity-toity voice. “Are you even listening to me?”

  “Not really,” he answered honestly, causing a few of the council members to gasp and Julian to chuckle. “But, if you repeat whatever shit you were slinging, I might listen this time.”

  Holden’s face turned red in anger. “If it weren’t for that little bitch, Lulu Ivanov, you wouldn’t even be here. How about you just rescind your seat and leave so we can go back to the way things used to be?”

  “Or you could jump into a piranha filled tank and the rest of us could throw a party. Personally, I like my idea better.”

  Holden started to get up as if he was going to go after Kent, but the council members on either side of him held him down in his seat.

  Kent carried on as if Holden wasn’t a threat to him at all. “Look, is this shindig over for today? We’ve been here for two hours, and I haven’t heard more than Holden bitching and blah, blah, blah. I’ve got things to do.”

  “You’re unsuitable to be on this council!” Holden yelled, enraged.

  Kent shot him a level glare as he slowly said, “And you’re not fit to breathe the same air that Lulu Ivanov does, so fuck off.”

  Councilman Holden lost his temper and finally lunged out of his chair toward Kent. Kent was ready to meet him head-on, when Julian grabbed him from behind, which confused Kent, because he had begun to think that Julian could be an ally. Instead, the demon held him still while Holden pushed past council members trying to stop him. The next thing Kent knew, Holden lifted his fist then connected it with his face.

  Several council members jumped on him, pushing him away from Kent and holding him back. Meanwhile, Kent fought his way free of Julian’s hold and turned to glare at him, further confused when the man silently said one word.

  “Wait.”

  Wait for what, exactly? To fucking be hit again? Kent didn’t think so.

  It didn’t take long for Kent to figure out what Julian meant as Holden was thrown to the floor in front of the council and sentenced to punishment by one of the oldest living demons known in existence: Lady Beatrice.

  “Councilman Holden, for breaking the sacred rules of this council by attacking another member, you are hereby suspended from attending council meetings for the next three months.”

  Holden went to open his mouth, but Lady Beatrice held up her hand to shut him up.

  “Be lucky you weren’t sentenced to suspension for a year. I went easy on you since this is your first infraction.”

  Holden’s lips firmed up into a thin line, and he eventually nodded his understanding.

  Getting up off the floor slowly and as gracefully as he could manage, Holden held his head high as he walked out of the council room, but not before he shot Kent one last scathing look over his shoulder.

  Yeah, that asshole was a serious problem for Kent, Lulu, and possibly Chloe, too. Kent would need to keep watch out for retaliation.

  The next thing Kent heard was Lady Beatrice dismissing them all for the day, followed by a hand landing on his shoulder in a clap. That hand belonged to Julian. Kent wasn’t sure if he wanted to hit the bastard himself or shake his hand from holding him back from hitting Holden in return, thereby possibly getting Kent suspended from the council, as well.

  Kent turned to look at the man. “You could have warned a guy.”

  Julian shrugged. “There was no opportunity to warn you. It’s obvious Holden is out to get you and your friend. When I knew what he was going to do and what the consequences should be, I took a chance to help you.”

  Kent rubbed his cheek where Holden had landed his blow. “And there wasn’t a less painful way we could have ended it with the same outcome?”

  Shaking his head, Julian said, “No, the council doesn’t have many rules regarding the members, but the few
we have are clear. At the top of that list is never do harm to another member. Now you have Holden out of your way while you finish proving your friend’s innocence. Feel free to thank me, Kent.”

  The man’s confidence made Kent smile a little. “Thanks for holding me while I got slugged, Julian,” he joked.

  Julian snorted a laugh, but then all humor disappeared from his face. Leaning over to speak softly to Kent, he said, “Beware of Holden, my friend. He’s dangerous, and if you haven’t looked into him for his brother’s death, you should. The man is nothing but a snake in the grass, and I would hate to see you get bit.” Pulling back, Julian held his hand out for Kent to shake. As they did, he added one more thing. “I’m here if you need help. Just let me know.”

  Dubious, Kent asked, “What’s in it for you?”

  “Let’s just say you’re not the only one with bad blood against Holden. Leave it at that for now.” Julian pulled his hand away then walked out of the council room with a confident stride.

  Kent sensed there was a story there. Maybe one day he would learn what it was. Until then, he still needed to find the proof that would clear Lulu’s name, and now he had a new suspect to add to his list.

  Chapter

  11

  Chloe

  If a cat supposedly had nine lives, how many lives did feline-shifters have?

  This was the question rolling around Chloe’s mind as she stared at the case information spread out over her bed in front of her, trying to ignore her worry over Delta. Or, perhaps she should say, the lack of information. If Amazons Inc. didn’t discover something more substantial than pictures of a demon’s cheating mate with her lover, then Lulu Ivanov was going to be convicted. That would be a death sentence.

  Chloe shook her head. So far, this case was not looking good for Lulu, and she seriously hoped the tiger-shifter had some of those nine lives left to spare. Otherwise, Elena and Gage were going to be devastated at losing Lulu.

  This situation had shitty stamped all over it. But Chloe wasn’t one to dwell on the negative. There had to be something she could find to prove Lulu was innocent.

  Her mind boiled all the information in front of her down to the facts.

  Lulu Ivanov had been in love and having an affair with a mated demon, Andrew Holden. Andrew’s mate, Marissa, had been having her own affair with a man thought to also be a feline-shifter.

  Seemed the Holdens had a preference for pussy … cats.

  Chloe snorted at her own joke as she stared at the pictures of Marissa and her lover leaving a hotel room together.

  According to Lulu, Andrew had refused to leave Marissa after being shown the pictures because Marissa was pregnant with his child. That made Chloe wonder why Andrew was so sure the baby was his and not his wife’s lover. Did demons have some sort of extrasensory power that allowed them to divine that sort of information?

  Luckily, from reading so many of her aunts’ files, she already knew demons didn’t have the same sort of sensory abilities that shifters had. Demons couldn’t smell, see, or move as fast as shifters, meaning either Andrew Holden had had some sort of other extra sensory ability to know the child his wife carried was his, or he had been a delusional fool.

  She would bet her lucky panties on the delusional bit. And she never bet her lucky panties on anything. They were that damn precious to her. They might not have super powers, but some of her greatest schemes had been pulled off while wearing those undies, like when she won the bet with Kent.

  That thought made her envision Kent pulling off her lucky panties as he gave her a smoldering stare with those gorgeous eyes of his …

  She quickly shut the thought out, reminding herself of how Kent had disappointed her on their last phone conversation. There would be no fun hanky-panky happening with the sexy demon, which she found really sad. The man was just that good looking. That was probably why he was the manwhore that he was.

  Pushing thoughts of Kent aside, Chloe decided she needed to go check on her laundry before one of her well-meaning aunts put her delicates in the dryer.

  If her family thought she was rabid about her Jimmy Choo heels, they didn’t know her at all. It was her underwear she was deadly serious about. Not because she wanted to look pretty for a man, but because she wanted to feel pretty. It was something her mother had taught her years before she passed away.

  “You have to put your armor on,” Agatha Demos used to say.

  It took a teenage Chloe a while to realize that her mom wasn’t talking about real armor. Nor was she trying to encourage her daughter to look sexy for someone else. It was about doing the little things that made you feel pretty and self-assured. Having the lacy intimates on her body helped her feel like a strong, confident woman who could take on anything. It might seem silly to others, but to Chloe, it was her armor. And God forbid if her aunts shrunk her beloved armor, because she would go totally psycho on them. No one messed with her undies!

  Grabbing her glass off the nightstand, Chloe looked at the contents and frowned. All of her ice had melted, dammit! And she liked to chew on ice while she was thinking. She would just have to get more ice after she checked on her laundry.

  Making her way down to the main floor where the laundry room was, Chloe heard the front door open then slam shut.

  As she reached the bottom of the stairs, her sister Elena came into view, sans mate.

  “Where’s Gage? Isn’t he supposed to be glued to you or something now that you’re carrying his spawns?”

  Elena shot her a withering stare as the front door opened and slammed shut again, only to be followed by what sounded like angry stomping coming in their direction.

  “ELENA!” an enraged male voice roared before Gage came into view and walked over to Elena, standing right in front of her, their noses almost touching they were so close. “If you slam a door in my face one more time today, I’m going to—”

  “What, Garfield?” Elena cut him off. “You’re going to, what? Take my mouse toy away? Refuse to give me fresh kitty litter? What exactly is the big, bad alley cat going to do to little ol’ me?”

  A growl sounded, a clear warning. This was no tiger-shifter to fuck with. He was obviously pissed off.

  Anyone else might have been concerned for Elena’s safety after that angry growl, but not Chloe. No, she was totally fine with her sister’s mate getting mean with Elena for two reasons. One, she knew Gage would never really hurt his mate; he adored her beyond reason. And two, more than likely, this was all Elena’s fault. Therefore, Chloe sat on the bottom step, wishing she had some popcorn while she watched this fascinating show. She also wished she had a camera to record whatever was about to happen. America’s Funniest Videos was always accepting new submissions, and these two idiots were totally show-winning material.

  Elena pointed her finger in her mate’s face. “I’m tired of you bossing me around. I’m moving back in with my aunts.”

  “The hell you are!” Gage roared. “You’re my mate, carrying my cubs, and your ass will damn well stay with me where I can protect you.”

  Planting her hands on her hips, Elena snarled back, “Protect me? Who are you going to protect me from? Huh?”

  Crossing his arms over his chest, Gage solemnly told her, “Yourself,” which only served to enrage his already hormonal mate.

  “ME? You’re going to protect me from me? That’s just ludicrous.”

  Gage shook his head. “No, what’s ludicrous is you trying to flambé your brother with a flamethrower. What’s crazy is that I had to fight you tooth and nail to get that flamethrower out of your hands when you know damn well you should be taking it easy because you’re carrying our cubs. And what’s absolutely insane is the fact that you threw a temper tantrum like a two-year-old when I took the flamethrower away.”

  Elena spun away from her mate, crossing her arms over her chest, and stared at the floor as she sniffled. That sniffle was followed by a second, and then Chloe watched as an actual tear rolled down her sister’s cheek, f
ollowed by another tear, and another, until Elena Demos was silently sobbing with her back to her mate.

  Looking at Gage, Chloe could tell that he didn’t need to see his mate’s face to know she was crying. He could both hear and smell her salty tears. That didn’t stop Chloe from being amazed. Not because she thought her sister was putting on an act. No, that was a total Chloe move all the way, one her sisters had never perfected. No, what disturbed her was the fact that Elena was crying at all.

  Elena never cried!

  Hormones must have been making a mess of her tough as nails sister. That was exactly why Chloe was never, ever going to have kids. They caused havoc before they even popped out of your body. Then they ruined your precious vagina and ran you ragged for the next eighteen years.

  Staring at her sister’s tears, Chloe knew one thing—this just would not do.

  She got up from the steps, walked over to stand in front of her sister, and did the only reasonable thing a loving sibling did when they saw their usually hard-ass sister bawling like a spoiled brat. Chloe threw the water in her cup straight at Elena’s face and smirked when her sister gasped at the cold liquid hitting her. Then, when Elena glared at her, Chloe told her, “Suck it up, buttercup,” and walked away.

  Chloe made it exactly one step when she heard shuffling from behind her and looked over her shoulder.

  Elena had her hands outstretched, trying to grab Chloe, while Gage held his mate back by her hips.

  Being the mature person that she was, Chloe gave her sister a wink and said, “In case you couldn’t tell, I agree with Gage. Have a great day!” She then walked toward the kitchen and laundry room, holding her now empty cup.

  Chloe couldn’t help thinking that she couldn’t wait until her future nieces or nephews got here. They were going to drive Elena absolutely nuts, and that would be almost as good as Black Friday at her favorite department store.

  A few minutes later, after Chloe had checked on her laundry, she was in the kitchen, refilling her glass with cubed ice, when a masculine voice cleared behind her.