Page 27 of Demon's Angel

I certainly would. No one could say he didn’t have a good set of lungs. I glance to the kitchen, hearing the female voices, hunger fighting with reluctance. She’s expecting me to take her up on the offer, so I lean into her conspiratorially, admitting, “Jeannie scares me.”

Jay gives a small laugh again, softly so she doesn’t wake Theo. “Yeah, she scared me too, at first. But she’s okay once you get used to her.”

Nevertheless. While they haven’t yet interrogated me, I’m still expecting an inquisition, and I’m not sure how much I should tell them.

“I’ll wait for D,” I decide out loud.

“D?”

Yes. That had been my inspiration, and to me, my reasoning is sound. “Always knew him as Dave growing up. It’s hard for me to now think of him as Demon—he doesn’t like me reminding him of his real name, so my compromise is to call him ‘D’.”

“Pal’s real name is Dominic. I quite like that. But he’s been Pal to me forever, don’t think I could call him anything else.”

The sounds of a door banging open and loud voices interrupt our conversation, alerting me that church—a misnomer for their meetings, rather than any religious assembly—is out. I look around, hoping to see the man I’ve been waiting for. I have questions to ask about what’s going to happen to my son and myself. I don’t see the one I want to see most, and my face starts to burn as each man walking through the clubroom looks at me as he passes.

Their expressions are mixed, but mostly, that disapproval they’d shown earlier is thankfully missing. Some look sympathetic, some inquisitive, and a few, for some reason, are nudging each other and looking amused.

I try to keep my head down and ignore them but can’t prevent myself looking up from time to time to see whether Demon has emerged.

I sit, fidgeting, wishing Theo would wake to give me something to do. But after a good feed of formula, it’s not uncommon for him to sleep like the dead for a few hours. My hands twist in my lap; I stare at them, not wanting to meet the eyes of the men milling around, nor wishing to be their audience as they start to get over-familiar with the scantily-clad women who’ve emerged from wherever they’ve been hiding as though summoned. Bottles are clanking, voices are getting louder, but still my son sleeps on.

I risk another glance toward the hallway; this time I find a man making a beeline for me. It’s not the man I’m waiting for, but his father. He still has the ability to make me feel like a little kid, his presence sending me back in time to when I was a young child hanging around with the boys in his house. I find myself automatically standing.

“Er, Mr Black.”

“Fuck, girl. Call me Hellfire or Hell.” He smiles as he says it. “You got a moment?”

I half turn; Jay’s already nodding. “You go ahead. I’ve got the little man.”

“Come.” Without explanation, Demon’s dad, Hellfire, strides off toward the stairs without checking to see that I’m following him, which, of course, I am. He takes me down the same long corridor where Demon has his room, passing that one, then pauses at a door at the end. Taking out a key he unlocks it. “You been warned about Bitch?”

“The cat, er, yes.” I found the bundle of fur quite cute and wouldn’t mind her entering my room. My only concern is with Theo, thinking I’ll need to watch him carefully around her. He’s not been in contact with animals before and I’ll have to be on the lookout for any allergies.

“Well, remember to always lock your door. Can’t be too careful with that one around. She has a knack of opening handles if the door isn’t locked.”

“Have you thought of turning the handles up the other way?” He shoots me a look with his eyebrows raised.Guess they haven’t.It’s an easier topic than any other we might land on, so I pry for more information. “Why’s she here?” It seems odd, if she hates men so much, why do they keep her?

He chuckles, a sound which comes from deep down in his throat. “Like all of us, she walked in, seemed to like it, and made her home here. Tolerate her as she catches mice. Well, occasionally.” His grin broadens. “Fuckin’ shame we couldn’t make her prospect, she’d wouldn’t have gotten her patch and we could have parted ways with her.”

“That’s mean, Mr er, Hellfire.”

“But true,” he insists.

Bitch seems to like women and children. I’d like Theo to grow up with a pet, but perhaps one with a more child appropriate name. Luckily he won’t be here when he starts to talk. I could just imagine how that would go down at school when the teacher asked for the name of his cat.

I stop daydreaming when I realise Hellfire’s talking to me.

“Right. This is my room, but I don’t use it anymore. Haven’t for a few months now. There are clean sheets on the bed, and more than enough room for you to set up a crib. Bathroom’s through here.” He opens another door while I’m standing bewildered.

“I’m going to stay in here?”

“Yes. That’s the proposal. You can get it set up just how you want. Do what you like with it.” He turns to face me and there’s a twinkle in his eye. “Or were you expecting to stay with Demon?”

Just what is he asking?I blush. This is the father of the man I secretly lust over. He can’t be asking if I want to sleep with his son, is he?

“Er, no.” I cough to cover the fact my voice has come out as a squeak. “No,” I manage in a more normal tone. “If you’re sure we’re not imposing, this room will be fine. But I won’t be here long enough to rearrange it. We’ll be gone as soon as we can.”

I look around the room that seems more than adequate, knowing my son and I could certainly be comfortable here. But I can’t view it as anything other than temporary. I’ll give myself a break, a moment to process that today’s plan hadn’t worked. But soon, I’ll need to make a fresh one. Maybe Demon can help me get a new identity and move out of state? There’s no one I need to stay in contact with, so no reason to hang onto my birth name. Theo and I can start a new life somewhere different. Unfortunately, it’s not as if I need to visit my mom, she wouldn’t know whether I was there or not. That’s a fact which hurts, but a true one.

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