Page 51 of Demons in My Bed
Mishy turned and held out the bags. “For you.”
“All of this is for me? What is it?” I crouched down and opened a bag, gasping when I saw a lot of clothes. Another bag held socks, bras, underwear, and in another, sleepwear. It was a whole gods damned wardrobe. “Misha,” I whispered, suddenly overcome with emotion. It was dumb and made no sense, but nobody had ever bought me more than a cupcake or a secondhand band T-shirt from the thrift shop.
Not that I hadn’t appreciated the band T-shirt from Hunter when we were thirteen. He’d scraped together five bucks and surprised me with the shirt and a birthday cupcake. We hadn’t gotten much money from Montague for personal items when we were kids. A yearly amount was deposited into our accounts, but it really wasn’t much. They provided pretty much everything we needed. So this… This was unexpected and completely new to me.
And here was this demon. An actual, honest-to-starsdemon, and he’d bought me an entirely new wardrobe. Plus the beautiful bunny knives he’dmade for me. Unbelievable. I’d been sent here to find out what these monsters, these criminals, were up to. The way my research made it sound—the way Asrael had made it sound—was that they were nothing more than brainless beasts who killed, tortured, and destroyed. I was quickly learning there was a lot more to this entire situation, which was confusing. So fucking confusing… but I couldn’t tear my eyes from the bags.
Misha mistook my silence, and he rose, not giving me a chance to speak. “You hate everything? I knew it!” He ran a big hand down his face and turned to the guys. “Talon, burn it all.”
My mouth fell open when Talon pulled a lighter out of somewhere and flicked it on. I snapped out of my frozen state when he took a step toward me and my treasures. I jumped up and blew out the flame, giggling like a madwoman as I launched myself at Misha, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist.
“I love everything. Thank you,” I breathed, closing my eyes and breathing in his tobacco flower and steel scent. I waited for what felt like hours, standing there, breathing him in. His body started to relax, turning him from an oak tree into a squishy Mishy. I decided I’d save that nickname for a later time.
Chapter fifteen
Thosepussywhippedassholeshadgone to chase after that witch. At least, that’s what I was assuming, since I couldn’t find Talon or Misha after they’d failed to show up for our morning workout. Ash had texted last night to let us know that they were at the lighthouse and that Felix was fine. Another manic art episode.
I was glad he was feeling better. I’d known immediately when I saw him in the showers after dealing with Frank that he was spiraling. Felix was just the kind of guy who kept his struggles close to his chest and didn’t talk about his emotions—ever.
I took a sip of my coffee and couldn’t stop the smile that took over as I thought about how strange genetics were. Talon was basically the polar opposite to Felix. Extroverted, loud, obnoxious, Tal lived like the wind. Never in one place long, his presence could be as gentle as a breeze or as intense as a huge gale of icy air that took your will to live.
A pair of hazel eyes flashed in my mind, and my smile faltered. Not a day went by that I didn’t see them, full of fear… and also acceptance.
Sighing, I pushed the image of those eyes out of my head and headed to my office. It wasn’t raining, which was fucking lucky. It seemed to always be raining. I didn’t have any clients today, but my mind operated best when I was in my office.
I preferred to walk, especially since it was such a short distance. Didn’t make sense to me to go through the hassle of dragging out a car or bike for such a quick walk. The others loved their automobiles though. We didn’t have them in Besmet; they weren’t necessary. All demons could fly, and if you were injured or elderly or needed to travel a great distance, you could always jump to whatever destination you needed. Much easier than the way these idiots lived.
I adjusted my tie as I rounded the corner, seeing my pride and joy come into view, The Edge. I admired the red brick exterior and the large picture windows that gave passersby a look inside. Of course, the windows were bulletproof. I liked natural sunlight when it came around, but I wasn’t a fucking fool. Too many enemies out there who could decide at any time that today was the day to try and kill The Exiled.
My barbershop was my baby. Call me vain, I didn’t give a fuck—there was nothing that compared to a fresh cut and shave, and every man who came in here left feeling like a million bucks. Not only that, the atmosphere was relaxed and I’d gained a steady crowd of regulars who liked to pop in and hang out. Several of them belonged to the gang, but there were also the old men who hung out just as frequently.
The bell at the top of the door signaled my arrival to my two employees, who were currently hunched over the table in the center of the shop.
“Morning, boss. This box of donuts was on the step when I got here about twenty minutes ago. Your name’s on the card. Here ya go,” Hawthorne told me, handing over a small, blue envelope. I peeked around him, my brow pinching together as I wondered who the fuck would send me donuts.
“Oh, a secret admirer?” Briar teased.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t start, Bri.” She held her hands up, feigning innocence. I wasn’t fooled. The girl was a gods damned troublemaker, but it was part of why I liked her so much. She had the same the-world-can-get-fucked attitude that I had, though hers had a freshness to it that only youth could provide. I was just a cranky, old bastard.
“I’ll be in the office. Got some work to do. Here.” I reached into my vest pocket. “Fight night tonight. Here’s some tickets.”
“Aw, hell yeah. I’ve been waiting for another fight night. The last one was—”
I held up a hand. “Yeah, yeah, we all remember the last one.”
Hawthorne chuckled, shaking his head. “Not so sure about that, boss. That poor fucker... I don’t think he even remembers his own name.”
“Yeah? Well, the ring isn’t for fucking posers,” I barked. There had been a bit of an incident at the last event, and one of the fighters learned a hard lesson. Don’t act tough and talk shit if you can’t back it up, and always,alwayskeep your chin tucked.
“I don’t know why you insist on snapping at us like that, boss. We’re like, youronlyfriends.” Briar flipped open the donut box lid, and both she and Hawthorne instantly gasped, scrambling backward. “W–what the fuck?!”
“That’ssick,” Hawthorne forced out, trying not to gag.
Immediately, I was on high alert. I focused my hearing and got closer. “Fuck’s sake,” I muttered, seeing what they were so disgusted by. There were donuts, but they were covered in mold and swarming with maggots and ants. “Burn it out back. I need to make some calls. Let me know right away if you see anything suspicious outside.”
“You got it.” Hawthorne slammed the lid shut with a grimace and disappeared with the box out back.
“You good, Bri?”
