Page 18 of Demon's Angel

“Vi, you can’t treat a sub-human as anything more than an animal.”

But all I can see is Nathan. He fought for this country, believed in the law. Surely, if someone was on my side, there’s a way to do this? A right way. A good lawyer, though, that would cost money. I press my lips together, then back down. “I’m sorry, Demon. Of course, fighting Angelino would be expensive. There will be funds from the sale of the house…”

“You’ve got no money, Vi. Everything is going toward making your mom’s life easier.” He waves his hand. “You don’t have to worry about money again. I’ve got enough for both of us.”

Now it’s me who’s standing, pacing, then turning to face him once more. “Both of us? Demon, there’s no you and me.” But those three words have caused feelings I’ve not had for a very long time, dragging up a memory of him and me together being all I’d once dreamed of. Even in the depths of my despair, drawing forth an admission that I keep to myself, I still desire this man.What kind of father would he make for Theo?

“Of course I don’t mean it that way.” Demon’s also standing, his dark eyes blazing as he dashes my embryonic dreams into smithereens. “I need to make good on my promise to Nathan. You might have lost one brother, but it’s time I stood up and stepped up in his place. Nathan wouldn’t have wanted to see you needing anything, you know that. So you treat me as you would have done your big brother. You want something? You come to me.”

It’s like a bucket of cold water being thrown over me. I’m twenty-five years old. Our ten-year age difference was massive when I was a child; now it’s nothing at all. Yet I’ll never be anything more than a little girl in his eyes. I’m not crazy, I’m not going to throw his offer of help back at him; I’d be a fool to do that, and I’ve my son to think of now, my pride can take a back seat. I need to grab the chance of Theo and I being together, accept Demon’s help to rid me of the spectre of Angelino and his threat hanging over us. I must just never, ever lead Demon to suspect for one minute that I wish he would play a role very different to that of a big brother. He’d only laugh in my face.

Demon’s got his head in his hands. I can almost see the wheels turning as he tries to work out what to do. All I want is to go to my son, who I’d thought never see again after I’d left him earlier today, to seize the opportunity to hold him again, the chance I didn’t expect to have.

“I’ve told you everything,” I start, in clipped tones. “You know everything I did was to protect Theo, not to harm him. Now I’d like to go to my son.” And get him away from the old lady or whatever scantily-clad woman is mollycoddling him right now. My mouth curves slightly. While Theo is too young to be influenced by a nearly-naked female form, he wouldn’t be averse to pulling down a revealing top and trying to find a nipple. Some whore might be in for a surprise.

Demon looks up, his hands dragging down his face. He considers for a moment, then nods. “Yeah. I’ll take you to Theo. Gonna take a minute to decide how this is going to play out, but for now, Vi, you’re staying put. Told you we’d protect you, okay?” He frowns. “Need to know what the fuck’s behind this. Why you, and why the kid?”

Yes. Questions I’d been asking myself. I’d settled on that Angelino just wanted something he considered his, and only because I’d denied him. Maybe he wasn’t used to being told no. But whatever the reason behind it, he wants Theo.

Now that Demon’s given in, I’m suddenly uncertain about venturing into the clubhouse, remembering the looks of animosity that had been directed at me before. I don’t blame them. Since Angelino had told me he wanted, and was going to get, full custody of my son, I’d been in a blind panic. Relaying my thought processes to Demon has made me see all the holes in what I had planned. My first impulse was to get Theo somewhere safe, and I hadn’t been able to see how I could provide that safety myself. But if I heard of a woman giving her baby to strangers, without understanding her distraught state of mind, I’d be critical of her too. “Your…”What do I call them?“Men. They hate me.”

He pulls himself up to his full, not inconsiderable height, and looks down at me. “Vi, no one hates you. I’m the president. You needn’t fear anyone here. They’ll do what I say, and if that’s to treat you with respect, that’s what they’ll do.”

He seems to have complete control over them. I’m not surprised, he’s an imposing man. Strangely, growing up I’d been more in awe of his father. Now they seemed to have switched places, Hellfire being the more temperate one. My observation leads me to ask, “Are they afraid of you?”

He snorts. “They’re afraid of losing their patch. Now come on. Let’s go find the kid.”

That’s music to my ears. I wait impatiently while he goes through the ritual of locking his door, wondering again who this bitch is who would otherwise take up residence, suppressing the ridiculous instinct to discover just who and scratch out her eyes. By his side, together we retrace our steps back down to what is obviously their clubroom.

The first thing I see is Theo, sitting on a fully-clothed young woman’s lap, twiddling her hair around his fingers. She’s much younger than what I expected, then I stop thinking about her age as I wince on her behalf when I see him give a sharp tug, but admire the way she’s not fazed and competently deals with it, gently prying open his fingers and pulling away the strands with a laugh.

Demon speaks quietly, “That’s Jayden. She’s Pal’s. She’s going to be training to be a nanny or some such shit. Got a lot of experience with kids. I know you’ll want to do everything for Theo yourself, but don’t be afraid to ask her for help. As you can see, she’s a natural.”

My first instinct is to turn any assistance down, but the events of today, the emotional wringer I’ve been through, the expectation I’d not be alive tonight and certainly not with my son, and, not least, the draining conversation with Demon, has taken it out of me. I want to hold my son, but if Jay’s going to be around to help, I won’t refuse.

As I stand by Demon’s side, quizzical and assessing looks are being thrown at me. Demon clears his throat. “Brothers. Need to have church in a few. Violet’s going to stay here with Theo.” He then gives a pointed look toward the taciturn man who’d brought me here. He clearly gets an unspoken message and raises his chin back.

As the other men start to rise and move off in the same direction, I assume they’re following Demon’s strange instruction. I’d never have taken any of them to be religious. The man who’d tied my hands and pushed me into the car, though, he stays put, his legs apart, hands clasped behind his back. His eyes meet mine, brows raised in challenge.Guess I’ve got a jailer. Not that I care or would try to escape. At least here, and at least for tonight, Theo and I can be together, relax and feel safe.

Theo spies me, and his hands reach out. I start moving forward when Demon suddenly shouts, his voice full of panic, “Stop. No.”

Perplexed, I halt,He’s letting me hold my son, surely?Then, with a sigh of relief, I grin. He’s not looking at me, his eyes are fixed on something else. One of the biggest cats I’ve ever seen in my life is approaching Jayden, who’s holding my baby.

“Pishk, get out of here!” Demon urges, flapping his hands, but making no move forward.

Fickle as ever, Theo turns his attention away from me and onto the approaching feline, his chubby hands quickly changing direction as he clenches and releases his fingers in a ‘come here’ gesture the cat seems to understand. It inches nearer, rubbing its back along the side of the couch, idly flicking its tail left then right.

“Get out of here, Bitch.” The young man sitting beside Jay, her man Pal, I take it, slowly, careful to make no sudden movements, gets to his feet and sidles away. Feeling concerned, I wonder why he’s avoiding touching the cat. And why the hell he called it ‘Bitch’. Can’t he see it’s not a dog?

Nothing can hold me back from Theo any longer. As I step forward, Demon’s hand shoots out, but I’m too fast for him to pull back. Two more steps and I’m kneeling on the floor reaching out for Theo, while the cat closes the gap and, purring loudly, starts to rub its face against me.

Jay passes Theo over; he comes into my arms, immediately reaching out and grabbing a handful of fur. There’s an audible gasp from all around the room, a silence as though everyone’s holding their breath, then a general sigh as the cat sits beside us and starts licking her fur, daintily holding up one paw to clean it.

Theo is entranced.

Jay’s grinning broadly, then chuckling up at her man. “Best you scoot along. We’ve got Bitch to protect us.”

Now the name registers. Bitch? Is this who, or rather, what, Demon didn’t want in his room? Doesn’t he like pets? I frown. He helped rescue the squirrel all those years back, so that seems odd.

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