Page 11 of My Monster's Keeper
“That was before my-” I cut myself off, “before Grant died. I want revenge. I want the creatures who set this up, who put him in this position, and I want them dead. And no one gets to take omegas against their will. That’s a deal breaker.”
Diablos whirls around. “Deal!”
A flash of lightning, a blaze of fire on my hand, and the smell of sulfur, and I’m suddenly sporting an inky black tattoo on the pad of my thumb.
“GET IT OFF!”
Diablos purrs.
Fine, breathe, you are dealing with crazy, just go gentle.
“What about my job?” I spit through gritted teeth.
“Eh, you were being transferred out.” Diablos waves his hand dismissively like he’s not just destroying my dreams.
I freeze. “What?”
“You saw too much. They’re getting you out, and then, when people forget who you are, they’ll make sure you never talk. You think this is a new situation? I’ve been trying to save as many of you youngsters as I can, but, sure, you fuckers are dumb shits. Arrogant.”
I scratch the side of my head. They’re transferring me? My career is over?
“But.”
I glance up at Hartley.
“If you stay, you can help these guys, and perhaps there’s an opportunity to take down a few cunts in blue? Payback, and you’re not just saving the city but possibly the world or worlds. Those omegas they need you, Dawson. They really, really do. You can’t go back,Becky. Too many people knew you were the last person with them. They will figure it out eventually, and then they’ll kill you.”
I lift my hand and swipe at the moisture on my cheek. I take a couple minutes to grieve for my life, for my hard work and goals that are crumbling and disappearing like dust in the wind. “Fine.”
“You’ll have to move into the house I’ve rented,” Diablos says. “All five of you. Working together night and day. Weird hours. Now, Fae and Shadow kind are natural enemies, so it will fall to you as the human to mediate.”
“Sure.” I think of the home that is too empty without Grant and close my eyes. Everything is wrong. Why the fuck would I want to go back there? Living with monsters that want to eat me would be far better. At least I won’t be lying awake watching the antiquated clock tick the seconds away. “Wait! Mediate? Between them?” I blink out of my musing to find six pairs of eyes watching me. “What?”
Diablos seems to find my question mildly offensive and turns away from me to send a silent message to Hartley. He sends big ole heart eyes back at the demon leader.
And gag.
“I don’t want to even think of the logistics of how that would work without ripping people or certain holes apart. Ew, now I’m thinking about Hartley’s holes.”
Stix snorts and puts a hand over his mouth, his eyes glittering with amusement.
Diablos growls, and I blink. Oops, shouldn’t have said the inside thoughts outside.
I glance around the space, checking in on each of them, and do a double take. Puppy has managed to close half the distance between us and is now less than half a dozen feet from me.
I narrow my eyes and pull out my taser. I might not be able to shoot the psycho, but I will defend myself.
“All right. Let’s kill her,” Diablos says with a clap of his massive paws, I mean hands with claws.
I jerk my head towards him so fast my neck tweaks with pain.
“I think, um, yeah, right here, Hartley. What do you think?”
The two of them sound so romantic and sweet with each other. If not for the conversation about murdering me, I might actually find it endearing. I stumble back, right into Puppy’s waiting arms.
Where the fuck did he come from?
I slam the taser prongs down on his thigh just as his tongue wraps around my head. He stiffens, and then, with a happy growl, the tongue retreats, leaving a slime trail across my face and suddenly allowing me to breathe.
