Page 18 of April's Fool
First, I’d get to see Cody again. It had only been a couple of days, but I missed him. Second, well, it was the demon realm. I’d never dreamed of visiting there. Now I had an open invitation. Third, well, it would be a bonus if I got to see that demon who lingered in my thoughts.
“Fine, I’ll call him.” I paused midway, taking my cell out of my pocket. “Do cell phones work down there?”
Parker rolled his eyes at me. “It’s not down there,” he pointed to his feet. “It’s another dimension, dumbass, and Cody already told you his cell will work there because of the ambient magic.”
Right, I vaguely recalled the conversation with Cody where he told me that the demons used a lot of the same technology that we did, though theirs was powered with magic. Toth was going to check his cell for him and make sure that it could accept calls. I could text, except that would just lead to a lot of back and forth. Who had time for that?
Getting out of here and somewhere safe was the priority, not just for me. Parker needed to be out ofthe danger zone. If the others on the site hadn’t put the two of us together, and really, with our history, they should, then he would be better off away from me. Having two targets would also split their focus. Parker could hide better than me. If worse came to worst, he could shift and fly off.
The call lasted minutes. I felt bad because Cody clearly didn’t want me interrupting his honeymoon with his demon, yet his manners dictated he help me out.
Taking advantage of his kindness like that had a bolt of anger spearing through me towards Austin and Basil. I had no doubt that the witch was involved in this latest contract. He, and by extension, Austin, should have been blacklisted. Only the witch would have had the power and influence to overturn that ban.
Toth arrived to get me just minutes later. I’d barely had time to ram some clothes in a bag. I wanted to take some of my suits. I finally settled on two, though, really, they were too precious to be worn on a farm. Plus, I was aware that they often made me stand out when I should blend in. I imagined that most demons didn’t wander about in Saville Row. I argued with myself that we might venture out places and have to dress nicely. Mori owned fancy hotels, didn’t he?
While he glowered at me, I dashed around my bathroom and shouted orders at Parker. “Leave herestraight after me. Get the packers to put our shit in storage. Do not take all my stuff with you. Leave it and focus on getting away from here.”
“Yes, boss,” Parker sassed, as he watched me scan my room for anything I absolutely needed. “Come here.”
I paused to stare at him. “Seriously?”
“You’re not going anywhere until I get a hug. I’m going to miss you. Who knows when this will be over?”
My hug was a little tighter. “Less of that in front of the demon.”
“I don’t think I care what you two are muttering about unless it will affect Cody,” he said, now sprawled on the couch and looking bored.
“It won’t be a problem because I’ll be in the demon realm with you guys, so I guess you don’t need to know.” Toth just glared at me. “Okay, so I don’t want Cody to know. So if asked, do you want to be honest and say I didn’t tell you, or do you want to lie to that sweet face because you don’t want to worry him?”
“The one where I don’t have to lie to my mate.” Toth glared at me for extra measure.
“Good answer.”
Cody welcomed me with open arms when we arrived through a portal to the farm where he and Toth lived. There was an honest to goodness castle that stood at the top of a hill. Below the castle were trees spanning for as far as I could see.
“Come on, I’ll show you to your room. It’s just over here,” Cody said after he had finished welcoming his mate home properly.
Really, I felt bad about intruding on their happiness just so I could have somewhere safe to stay while we worked out what the hell was going on.
“Is your dad here?” I hadn’t meant to ask. It just slipped out.
“No, but we really should invite him. He’ll be offended if he finds out you are here.” Cody wrung his hands. Fuck, I was making life difficult for him.
Toth glowered in the background. A demand for me to fix this. Right now!
“Well, if you invited him and his bodyguard, you would have someone that knows the demon realm on hand to show me around. I’m sure you and Toth are really busy with the orchard. Weren’t you going to do something with the shifters?”
“Oh! That’s a great idea. The pack is coming tomorrow and I really wouldn’t want to leave you alone all day while we sort it.” Cody beamed at my slight manipulation and opened the door to my bedroom.
Toth said nothing as he followed, but his expression said less about murder, so I felt like I’d fixed things suitably.
Cody was just putting his phone away when I entered the room. “Mori will be here soon. He’s got to get my grandparents off his back first.” He sighed. “This is so wild to me. A week ago I knew nothing about my dad and now he’s begging to be in my life and I have a set of grandparents that are apparently desperate to see me!”
“You deserve it, sweetness. Mori clearly cares about you. Why wouldn’t his parents?”
“I know.” He blew out a breath. “It’s a lot to go from virtually no family, aside from you,” he just said it as a throwaway comment, but it landed square in my heart, “to having all these people wanting to know me. Obviously I’ll have to invite them to visit,” he must have caught Toth’s horrified expression, “or we can go visit them. Do a day trip somewhere. That would be better, right?”
I nodded while Toth hugged his mate and reassured him either plan was good. With a glance, I cataloged the room, all the points of entry and the bestdefensible position. Then I flopped down on the bed, utterly exhausted.
