Million Dollar Demon Page 5
I hesitated at the doorway when I saw two raggedly dressed vamps at the window, enthusiastically throwing Stef’s heavy-duty mixer out onto the lawn. The place already smelled like a bordello, and a tingle went all the way to my groin before rising back to where my vamp scar lingered under pristine, unmarked skin. Damn vamp pheromones.
“Ah, let’s go with plan B,” I said, and one of the vamps turned at my voice.
“Grab the cat and run like hell,” Jenks said, head bobbing. “Keep them busy. I’ll see if I can get Boots to come out so you aren’t on the floor with your ass in the air, dragging him out.”
“Thank you so much for that,” I muttered sarcastically as he darted away, and the second vamp turned, beaming to show his small but sharp canines. “Good afternoon, gentlemen,” I said, making sure they saw my splat gun and attitude. “I’m here for the cat.”
“Who the hell are you, beautiful?” the first one said, and I inched deeper inside as I heard Doyle in the hall. “Not that it matters,” he added, eyes flicking behind me as Doyle filled the doorway. He wasn’t coming in, though, and I took the center of the room, ready to move.
“Right here, baby,” the other said, gesturing. “Let me show you what teeth are good for.”
I stifled another shudder, shoving the compulsion he’d put in his voice down deep. “Just don’t,” I said, and Doyle grunted in surprise. I had practice saying no to vampires. I had practice saying yes, too, and my entire side was tingling because of it. Crap on toast, it had been a long time since I’d put myself in such a chancy position, noon or not, and my stance grew provocative, daring them to try.
They hesitated, glancing back at Doyle as if for instruction, but he was content to watch, and somehow, that made me more nervous.
“Come on, you stupid cat,” I heard Jenks say, and then the tinkle of wind chimes as he rubbed his wings together. “O-okay . . .” he added, and then a startled “Hey!” before he shot out the door, a gray tabby in fast pursuit.
Jenks darted for the ceiling, inches ahead of the jumping feline. I sprang forward, snagging the cat and thanking all that was holy that the killing machine was partially declawed as he struggled. I gripped him tighter, clamping him to my body and refusing to let go. I’d never had much luck with cats though I liked them well enough. Al said they sensed the demon in me.
“Hey, Boots,” I said as I fought for control, my gaze going from vampire to vampire as I held the struggling cat. “Let’s go see your mom.”
But Doyle wasn’t moving from the threshold.
“You’re Rachel Morgan, right?” he said, still hunched and hurting.
I turned my back on the other two, confident that Jenks would tell me if they moved. I didn’t think they would. Doyle was interested in me, which meant hands-off to subordinate vamps. Clearly I’d misread who was in charge downstairs. “Yep,” I said, forcibly petting the big-eyed, frantic cat. “Sorry about the throat. It was either that or your nose, and I figured you didn’t want to bleed in front of everyone.”
He nodded a slow thanks, but he didn’t move, either toward me or away, and Jenks hovered closer, the snick of him easing his sword from his scabbard dropping a chill through me. “I’m trying to leave,” I said, using my court-useful words. “Are you preventing me from leaving? Hey, you all see that he’s barring my egress, right?”
Doyle glanced at Jenks, and then, with a smile that wasn’t nice at all, he shifted into the room so I could pass. “You may leave,” he said, and my gut tightened.
“Thank you.” Back stiff, I walked past, breathing in both his anger and his interest. Vampires were weird like that, attracted to anyone who said no, especially when they had the strength to back it up.
Jenks hummed a warning, and I jerked when Doyle grabbed my biceps. I was in the hall, and I tensed, eyes darting to his, hating that he saw my flash of fear. His smile grew even more nasty, and he almost whispered, “You should leave the city.”
“Because I hit you?” I said, holding the cat between us like a shield, almost.
“No.” He looked me up and down, smile widening. “Because Constance likes to play with her food.”
I stumbled back, almost falling, when he let go.
“That’s your real warning,” Doyle said, chin flicking to tell me to leave.
“Great. Thanks.” I backed to the stairway. Wary gazes tracked me silently from around doorjambs. I shifted my grip on the cat, hardly breathing as I found the stairs. “Is he following?” I asked, and the pixy landed on my shoulder despite the cat’s face being five inches away.
“No. He’s throwing Stef’s couch out the window.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the sound of a hefty groan. “It fits?” I asked, then jumped at the sound of splintering wood and grunt of anger.
“It does now,” Jenks said sourly.
My eyes went to the bright spot of light at the end of the stair, drawn by the crack of the couch hitting the lawn and the rising awe of appreciation from the rubberneckers. Edden was still on the stoop. His mood was casual as he talked to his I.S. counterparts, but his relief was obvious as he saw me heading down.
“Nice talking to you,” he said to them as he took control of the threshold, halfway in as he held a hand out to me. “Hey, if you want tickets to the FIB fundraiser for Bikes for Kids, let me know. I’ve got a pair for both of you. Lots of food, fun, novelty bike races.”
“Uh, hey!” I exclaimed when Edden grabbed my elbow and yanked me out the door and down the three steps and back into the mid-March sun.
“Sweet Jesus,” Edden muttered, grip hard on my elbow as Jenks grinned and flew circles around us. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared for a person. I can’t believe you went in.”
“Someone had to get her cat,” I said. “And if you didn’t want me going in, why did you introduce me to her, knowing I’d do it?”
“I didn’t know about the cat,” he said, finally slowing as Stef rushed forward. Behind me, her dresser came crashing down. They were emptying out her apartment in an ugly show of privilege and bad manners, but she didn’t seem to care as she reached for Boots and cuddled him close.
“Boots, oh, baby! Did they scare you?” she crooned, and the cat settled into the woman’s arms, his eyes wide and black.
Crap on toast, I thought as I brushed the cat hair from me. I’m rescuing familiars.
“Thank you so much,” Stef gushed as she caressed the unhappy cat. “Thank you, Edden,” she added, eyes bright, though he’d done nothing but keep open my way out. Which actually was a tremendous help. “I’m not much of a witch, but he means the world to me.”
Stef’s clothes came down next in an eerie flutter, her shoes hitting the grass in ominous thumps.
“I’m glad it worked out,” Edden said. Then he turned to me and my smile faded. “Can I have a word with you?”
He hadn’t wanted to introduce us so I’d get her cat. That left one thing.
“Oh, no!” Jenks said, figuring it out when I did. “Rachel, say no,” he insisted. “We can’t take in two strays. We already have a cat. Rex and Boots won’t get along.”
But Edden was tugging me away, turning me so I was sure to see Stef, poor, homeless Stef and her cat with nowhere to go. “What he said,” I told Edden. “This is your problem, not mine. She came to you, not me. You take her in.”
“I can’t take her in, Rachel,” he coaxed, hunched and plaintive. “Think how that would look. And I can’t put her in any of the FIB’s safe houses.”
“I’m facing eviction in two weeks, too,” I said, and he leaned closer, agitated.
“She’ll have found something by then,” he said with a forced brightness. “Maybe you could room together. Eh? I’d feel better if it was more than you and Jenks. You need people, Rachel, and she’s good peop
le. Give her a break.”
“Stay out of my life, Edden,” I said, then lowered my voice. “I can make my own friends, find my own roommates. Besides, being my roommate isn’t good for anyone’s health.”
But I could see her behind Edden, trying to hold her cat and get her shoes at the same time. Her forehead was creased, and I could tell she was thinking about where she was going to sleep tonight. If I didn’t take her in, she’d be living at the hospital, trying to hide her cat. “I suppose she and Boots could stay in the boat for a couple of weeks,” I said, and Jenks smacked his forehead to make sparkles fall from him like rain.
“Great!” Edden beamed. “That’s just great.” Arms swinging, he strode to Stef. “Stephanie!” he called jovially. “Good news. I’ve got a place for you to stay. Short term,” he added when Jenks faced him, dusting an ominous black. “Down by the waterfront. You like boats, right? Nice place in the hollows.”
I frowned. David had just said the same thing about the street our new place was on. Unfortunately I was still wearing the frown when Stef looked up, and I quickly forced a smile.
“Ah, thanks,” she said, eyes darting. “I can’t impose. Boots and I will find something.”
But I remembered what it was like being kicked out, all your stuff ruined by the I.S. and on the curb. “Sure you can,” I said, coming to take the cat so she could handle everything else. He settled into my arms with a token growl, and I beamed at her, tightening my grip so he wouldn’t jump away. “Jenks and I could use the company. I’ll introduce you to my real estate agent. If she found us something, she can find you something. I guarantee it.”
“Sure,” Jenks said, wings a low hum. “Rachel can tell you all about how the I.S. screwed her over. Cursed all her stuff. She had to live in a church with a vampire for three years, but look at her now!”
I stifled a wince, sending a pleasant surge of ley line warmth through Boots when Stef’s plates and flatware came falling down like silver rain.
“Thanks.” Stef’s expression became tired as she cataloged the mess. “I really appreciate it. Word is, even the hotels are full.”
“Damn junior baseball tournament,” Jenks said, but it was too early for that. It was Constance. How many people was she bringing, anyway?
Boots finally stopped jamming his back claws into my gut, and I looked across the parking lot to see David standing guard over a group of Weres, overseeing them as their handcuffs were removed and they began carrying things from the lawn to the three small moving vans at the curb. He turned as if feeling my eyes on him, and I gave him a wave, getting one in return. We were good.
Apart from Doyle still chucking Stef’s things out the window, it seemed to be over. “Let’s get Boots settled. Edden can get your stuff in a van.” I turned, smirking at his sudden alarm. “Right, Edden?” I said pointedly, and he nodded, knowing he owed me. Owed me big. “My car is three blocks down,” I continued as I began to lead her away. “Edden will bring your stuff by the boat when they get done throwing it out the window. You’ve got your phone, right?” I said as I ducked under the tape.
She nodded, a numb look on her as reality set in. People parted before us, wary after seeing what I’d done to Doyle, and I gave her the cat, as she seemed to need something. The crowd thinned fast until it was just us and normal foot traffic, and I valiantly tried to keep the conversation going about her job (she was a nurse), Boots (a rescue from a few years back), anything to distract her, but finally I let her subside into a miserable quiet. Jenks was silent as well, his dust all but nonexistent as he sat on my big hoop earring and sulked. But I couldn’t walk away. The I.S. was abusing their power and acting like a bully. Ignoring that wasn’t who I was.
And as I spotted the three vamps in that brown Volvo following us a block behind, I hoped it wasn’t going to get me killed.
CHAPTER
4
Jenks’s continued mood had me worried as we left the busy street and turned to the waterfront and Piscary’s old restaurant. He was sitting in his usual spot on the rearview mirror, his feet thumping the long glass as he kept an eye out my back window. Boots was watching him with black eyes. Stef’s grip was tight on the cat, but it was in distress, not to protect Jenks.
Meeting my gaze, Jenks shrugged at my unspoken question of how much of a problem I had taken on. Stef seemed nice. She clearly had a good job and was reasonably even-tempered if this afternoon was any indication. But what if she liked listening to seventies music? There was only so much “Muskrat Love” I could handle.
But anthropomorphic rodents in lust vanished from my thoughts as my phone rang and Jenks dropped down, his cheerful wing chirp telling me he recognized the caller.
“Hey, blood bag!” the pixy shouted, having stomped on the accept icon. “How’s it dripping?”
“God, Jenks. Give me that,” I said, jerking my phone out from under him and giving Stef an apologetic smile. “Hi, Ivy. Everything okay?”
“We’re great,” Ivy said, her low, smooth voice filling the car with the memory of midnight and dust. “I saw the picture. Looks nice. Where is it?”
“It’s a shopfront in downtown Hollows,” Jenks said as he hovered in front of the phone, his dust making wild patterns on the screen. “I’ll give you the tour if you two ever get your lily-white asses back here.”
“That’s actually why I’m calling. We hit a snag,” she said, and I felt my smile fade.
Her voice had been light, but something in her tone pinged my intuition. First Trent, then David. Now Ivy? “How many were there?” I said, my grip tightening on the wheel. “And did they drive a brown Volvo?”
“Uh, yes,” Ivy said, and Jenks’s dust went thin. “There were four. All living vamps, though I doubt the one will make it out of the hospital alive. Nina didn’t like his attitude.”
She said it with pride, but my eyes pinched in worry.
“I would’ve called you sooner, but I didn’t know there was a problem until I tried to come home for the first Howlers game.” She hesitated. “How did you know they were in a brown Volvo?”
“Because they’re in Cincy now.” I turned my signal on with an aggressive flick, maintaining a smooth, unhurried pace around the corner to Piscary’s. “Telling all my friends to back off from me and toe Constance’s line.”
“Huh.” Ivy’s voice went faint. “That’s pretty much what they told Nina and me.”
“And you’re okay?” I said, wondering if Stef was reconsidering my offer for a park bench.
“Us? Oh, sure. We’re fine,” Ivy said. “But I doubt we’ll be allowed to leave until you kick Constance to the curb. She’s not well liked here and rumor has it she was sent to Cincinnati with the expectation that one of you would kill the other. Either result will please them. They don’t care. Apparently her appetites are . . . disruptive, but she’s too well connected for them to attempt any sort of correction.”
I took a breath to protest, then let it out. “Constance is the city’s master vampire,” I said, and Stef’s jaw clenched.
“And you’re a demon,” Ivy said. “Stop letting her walk all over you.”
She made it sound so easy, and my shoulders slumped as I turned onto the weed-choked, cracked street to Piscary’s. “At least I’ve got two weeks,” I muttered.
“Ah, that’s really why I’m calling,” Ivy said, but I’d slowed, breath escaping me in a heavy sigh as I saw the onetime restaurant turned vampire lair. It was surrounded by the river on one side, space and abandoned warehouses everywhere else. Today, there were three moving vans parked in the expansive lot with lots of back-and-forth activity. Two of the vans were small local jobs, but one had to be at least forty-five feet long. Constance . . . Son of a bastard.
“I don’t have two weeks, do I,” I said flatly, and Ivy made a soft sound of negation.
“Jenks?” I said, lifting my chin for him to follow my gaze, and
the pixy’s dust vanished.
“Mother pus bucket,” Jenks said, and Stef sighed. “What the troll turds on a stick is she doing here? We had two more weeks!”
My breath didn’t seem to want to come back in, and I forced myself to breathe. This is so not what I need right now. “Okay. Ivy, I’ve got to go. You’re sure you’re okay?”
“From them? We’re fine,” she said as I crept up the seldom-used street. “Face it, Rachel,” she added cheerfully. “All your friends are capable of handling ugly vampires. Nip this fast, will you? I’ve got Howler box seats this year.”
“Why does everyone think Constance is my problem?” I muttered.
“Son of a fairy-farting whore.” Jenks hovered before the window, the high pitch to his wings hurting my ears. “Edden did say they moved everything up.”
But I didn’t think Edden had known about this.
“Jenks, is she okay, or is she lying to herself?” Ivy said, and the pixy dropped to the phone, hands on his hips.
“Hang up, blood bag. I got this.”
“I love you, too, sunflower sniffer,” she shot back, and then the call ended.
“She sounds happy,” Jenks said, and I absently nodded, more concerned about where my stuff was. Muscular men were moving mostly light-colored, Scandinavian-style furniture in, and Ivy’s and Nina’s new, mostly dark-colored, comfortable, carefully selected furniture out.
“Well, thanks for the offer,” Stef said, her voice surprisingly even as she held her cat closer. “Maybe I should have gotten myself arrested. I’d have somewhere to stay then.”
Pulse fast, I looked for a place to park that was not too close, not too far. A few boxes sat beside the boat in the sun, and I stopped the car right in the middle of the lot, throwing it into park, grabbing my bag, and getting out. I didn’t see any I.S. agents or rubberneckers, and the thought to call Trent flashed through me, making me angry. This was my problem.
“Give me a second to sort this out,” I said as I looked back into my MINI at Stef.