Page 57 of Demons in My Bed
“You boys didn’t tell me we had a guest,” she said with a flirtatious smirk. “What’s your name?”
Two low-pitched growls were her answer, and I smacked Talon on the arm. “Don’t be rude!” I leaned around him and waved. “Hi, I’m Palmer.”
“Charmed,” Lucille replied, eyeing Talon and I with what looked like surprise. “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you guys at fight night? I’m gonna clean up and head down there. I’ll call the cleaner about that.” She tipped her chin to indicate Pete and his two men.
“We’re heading there now.” Talon started the engine and backed up. “Oh,” he called out. “Lucille? You ever flirt with my girl again, you’ll regret it. Understood?”
Lucille nodded, and I had to give her credit, she didn’t cower. “Apologies. I didn’t realize. I meant no disrespect, boss. Won’t happen again.”
“Wonderful.” Talon grinned at her so wide, I wondered if it hurt his mouth. Then we were off, speeding through the streets once again.
About ten minutes and one very long, dusty road later, we arrived at a huge barn, otherwise known as ‘The Valley.’ Mostly because the barn itself was in the middle of one. Talon parked and helped me off the bike, his eyes constantly scanning our immediate surroundings.
“So Pete was stealing money?” I asked, wanting to see if he’d talk more about what had just happened.
“Yeah. Lucille was our inside man over the past few years. We suspected something was going on but could never prove it. She’s a hell of a mechanic though, and her affinity for magnetism enables her to create the perfect tool for any job. Stinky was a fuckin’ sexist and I’m sure she put up with a lot from him in her time there. Giving her that garage was the least we could do. Loyalty is rewarded. Always.”
Misha came around to stand at my back, and I looked up at him. “But I thought you gave people a chance to like... fix things? The guy at the club that night…” The big guy snarled at the mention of the man he and Ashland had stabbed in the neck at the club. “What? He could’ve gotten his debt erased, so why not Pete? I still think it’s pretty fucked up to just kill someone like that.”
Talon sprang forward, making me stumble back into Misha. “Listen here, Bunny. You’re talking about shit you have no idea about. We don’t do anything without a reason.”
“Okay, fucking hell, Talon. Back the fuck up. I was just making conversation!” I pushed him squarely in the chest, forcing him back a whole inch. Small victories. He smiled and leaned down, crowding into my space. A large hand settled against my stomach, and Misha tugged me closer.
I could count the freckles on Tal’s face as he grinned in that unsettling way he often did. “Does it seem silly to kill sick fucks who like to do bad things to little kids?”
“W–what?” I stumbled over the word, because that was basically the last thing I’d expected him to say.
Talon nodded. “That’s right, Bun-Bun. That fucker in the club? A boy’s mama came to us a couple of weeks back with some evidence that Jack was up to some really sick shit. Naturally, we wanted to make an example of the scum and publicly execute him, but this boy’s mama, she begged us not to reveal his crimes. Know why?”
My stomach clenched in disgust. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what he was about to tell me.
“Jack was her husband, and the victim? Her son. His ownstepson, Palmer. If we’d outed him as a child molester, everyone would’ve been able to guess who he’d victimized.”
“So you did it the way you did to... protect them?” My mind was kind of exploding at the moment, like a huge firework.
Talon tilted his head and studied me. “Well, wouldn’t you have done the same thing? Jack did owe us money—that was true. We did offer him a chance to clear his debt, but Ash fuckin’ knew he’d never follow through with it. Too much pride. So in the end, a pedophile was wiped from existence, and our loving citizens got another example of why you don’t fuck with us.”
I knew my mouth was open in shock, but I couldn’t seem to close it. Damn. All the things I’d thought about them, all the things I’d read... But then there was Pete. Curious, I asked, “And Pete? Was he a sick fuck, too?”
Misha snorted behind me. “No,kukola, Pete was a thief and he smelled like horse shit.”
Aaaand they’re back to being psychos. But they kill child predators, too. They’re not complete psychos.I was giving myself mental whiplash with all of the waffling back and forth I was doing lately. What was six months of this going to do to me?
Without another word, we started moving as a group toward the entrance. I moved on autopilot, allowing my feet to carry me as if I was floating, because my head was spinning. Just when I thought they had maybe a shred of humanity in there—doing what they did for that kid—they go and kill a man because he smelled like horse shit.
“Please tell me they have alcohol here,” I mumbled as we skipped the line and entered the mayhem. I needed a few shots of liquor. Who the fuck really were these demons and why the fuck had Asrael sent me here? I really wasn’t convinced they were as bad as I’d been led to believe.
“We don’t do anything without alcohol. Let’s grab you a drink and then find Rhodes.” Talon slipped his hand in mine and guided us through the throngs of rowdy people.
A fight was already going, and the energy was high and heady. It had been too long since I’d gotten to use my fighting skills, and I’d have been lying if I said I wasn’t feeling the itch. Especially in this setting. It reminded me of the training center at Montague.
“You good, Bun-Bun?” Tal asked, putting his face right in front of mine. We’d stopped walking and were standing at a wooden bar, complete with dancing men and women and a few bartenders.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m good. I’ll take whatever liquor is available.” Tal looked at me for a couple seconds before nodding and slamming his hand down on the bar. All three bartenders scrambled to get to him the quickest and take his order. The one who won out was a woman with huge tits and jet-black hair. Her lips were painted red, and she batted her eyes at Talon so hard, I thought her fake lashes might double as a pair of wings and carry her skanky ass away from—
Wait. No. I’m not jealous. I have no reason to be jealous. And yet...
She leaned in to whisper something in his ear that had him laughing. I slowly looked up at Misha who wasn’t looking at Tal, but down at me. He lifted a brow, as if to ask me the question I was already asking myself.Are you going to allow this?
