Chapter 2
CHAPTER
TWO
Mercer
During my last deployment, news broke that demons were real. It was all anyone on base would talk about for weeks. We didn’t see much evidence of the supernatural overseas, but it was just my luck that Heaven and Hell would choose to plant their flags in my hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada.
After my discharge, I traded one desert for another.
But Vegas had changed. Casinos had been gutted, rebuilt, and rebranded with holy or hellish themes.
The Basilica—formerly the Bellagio—was where I landed.
They called it hospitality work, but most days my job as armed security meant showing drunks, cheaters, and sore losers the door.
The fountains out front remained our biggest draw, and I’d heard rumors that the water in it was blessed now, spewing sanctified fluid hundreds of feet into the air.
I was skeptical right up until I met my boss.
Antonella Rossetti looked every inch the immortal being she was.
Since joining her staff, I’d seen things I’d never thought possible.
Ethereal beings strolled the property like it was their private park while Antonella’s half-breed children treated it more like a playground.
Rumor had it she’d birthed the four of them through a string of human husbands, black widow style.
It was an unsettling claim, but I’d learned not to ask questions.
As little as I knew about angels, I knew less about demons. They weren’t allowed on the premises. Hell, they weren’t even allowed on this side of the Boulevard. The Strip had been split clean down the middle, divided by a line in the sand no one dared to cross.
But I’d heard whispers. Talk of Antonella setting her sights beyond her half of the city. I tried to stay out of it. My job was to handle what happened inside these walls, not outside them, and I was done fighting.
Retired.
Regrettably.
Being forced out of the Marines had left me adrift; I’d planned to be a lifer. At thirty, I was still young, but without the structure, camaraderie, and sense of purpose, I was restless. And patrolling casino floors day in and day out didn’t scratch that itch.
I rounded the corner of the gaming floor and started yet another loop.
My right leg gave a sharp twinge, and I paused to rub the spot where my knee met the socket of my prosthesis.
Walking for hours wasn’t a mental burden, but it could be a physical one.
I’d rushed through recovery and discharge against my doctor’s advice, but even then, I hadn’t been sure what I was racing toward.
What I ran into was the harsh reality of everything I’d lost.
While I stood there stooped, a voice crackled through my earpiece: “We’ve got infernal activity on the main floor. Keep your eyes open and proceed with caution.”
That perked me right up. I ignored the responding pinch of pain as I started into motion with my head on a swivel.
The main floor of the Basilica spanned over a hundred thousand square feet, so I could only hope the next report was more specific.
“Infernal activity” was bound to be more interesting than repeating my rounds for the umpteenth time.
I hurried along, listening for an update until I saw one instead. At the edge of the gaming floor, three guards clustered. The way they flocked combined with the announcement made for easy math.
They likely had the situation handled, but I was curious enough to at least get a glimpse of the interloper.
In the past few months of my employment, I’d seen a few dozen angels, but the closest I’d ever gotten to a demon was riding past the billboard signs for the strip club down the road.
That was an exotic bunch, for sure, flaunting horns, tails, and pointy teeth.
As I closed in on the intervention in progress, I got my first look at the intruder.
The tiny thing was fully a foot shorter than the guards surrounding her. She wore a frilly top with a corset cinched around her middle, and a miniskirt over sheer thigh-high stockings.
Her hair was wavy white, though she wasn’t old. Near my age. Maybe younger?
Oddly, her demonic traits were the last things I noticed. A long black tail swished between her legs, the motion reminiscent of an agitated housecat, and a pair of ram-like horns curled on either side of her head.
When the lead guard lunged for her, I almost wondered if she wouldn’t counter with a headbutt and knock him on his ass.
Rather than attack, the little demon reared back, fighting the pull as the guard dragged her toward… not the exit.
Rough treatment was one thing. But the direction they were heading—toward one of the casino’s interior rooms—broke protocol completely. Unwanted visitors were supposed to be escorted off property, not stashed out of view.
I was close enough now to hear her protests.
“It was an honest mistake, I swear! I’ll leave, I’m going, just please…”
Her voice was deeper than I expected and not exactly feminine. My brow furrowed as I quickened my pace, suspicion mounting with every step.
I caught up to the guard at the rear and spun him around.
“What are you doing?” I demanded. “Did someone forget the way to the door?”
The man I knew as O’Leary faced me without a hint of shame.
“The little rat says it’s on a tour.” He jerked his chin toward the other guards. “So we figured we’d show it one of our more exclusive areas.” He waggled his brows while the other two continued hauling the demon toward the closet.
The demon—male or female, I still wasn’t sure—kicked and writhed, slowing progress to a crawl. One of the guards seized the demon’s flailing arm and lifted them clean off the ground. A high-heeled shoe flew off mid-struggle and skidded across the tile.
At this point, customers were starting to take notice. Even the constant dinging and ringing of the slot machines couldn’t mask this kind of racket.
Surging forward caused my leg to protest, and I fought a limp as I squeezed into the space in front of the guards. I blocked their path then fixed them with a glare.
“If they’re here to see the casino, I doubt you’ll impress them with mop buckets and brooms.” I nodded toward the demon dangling from two meaty hands clamped around their arms. “The fountains are nice,” I added. “And they’re outside, to boot. I’d love to show them out.”
The guards exchanged a glance before the one on the left turned toward me with a sneer.
“Yeah? And then what? Shove it in? Watch its pretty skin melt off?”
The demon thrashed harder, tail whipping wildly and orange eyes glowing with unnatural light.
The guard chuckled and gave them a shake. “That water eats demons alive.”
I grimaced. So the fountains were a bad suggestion. But my point stood, and so did I, still blocking their path.
The guard on the left hoisted the demon higher, wrenching their shoulder in the process. “Whaddya think, hell spawn?” he hissed near the creature’s ear. “Wanna take a dip in the pond?”
Pushing forward, I held out my hand. “That’s enough. I’m escorting them off-site. Per policy.”
The guard on the left rolled his eyes. “We got it, rookie. Don’t wanna turn this into a bad joke. How many guys does it take to put a demon in its place?”
The pair snorted with laughter and braced to barrel past me.
The demon suspended between them gave another twisting jerk, but they were clearly outmatched.
I tried to remember if demons had any powers or abilities I should be aware of.
Poison skin, acid spit, or looks that could literally kill.
This one certainly had a wicked glint in their eyes, though what might have been hatred was heavily tempered by panic.
If they could defend themselves with unholy magic, wouldn’t they have done it already?
I set my stance and crossed my arms. “I’d hate for something like this to give Antonella cause to investigate what other rules you’ve been ignoring. I don’t think they wrote the procedure manual for fun.”
The other guards scowled at me, debating while I did the same.
I was new here and reluctant to make enemies of those who should be my allies.
Threatening to report wouldn’t win me any brownie points, but letting them haul a demon into the storage closet and out of sight of surveillance didn’t sit right either.
The guard on the left released his hold on the demon’s arm then nodded for his buddy to do the same.
“Jesus, Mercer,” he grunted at me. “You’re determined to ruin this. Fine. It’s your problem now. Get the piece of shit outta here.”
His partner gave the demon a shove that sent them stumbling in their single high heel. They crashed into me, a waif of a thing I fumbled to catch while my fellow officers left in a huff.
My efforts to stabilize the little demon were met with a cold shoulder of resistance. They shrugged me off, nearly lost their balance again, then let out an exasperated growl.
Stalking over to where their other shoe had landed, they snatched it up and jammed it back on. Then came the primping. Tugging at their sleeves, smoothing down their skirt, and shaking that shock of white hair until it fell into perfect waves.
When they lifted their head and glowered at me, I just stared.
Feminine features. Flawless makeup. Powder-white hair tucked neatly around dark brown horns. Not a she but a he. I’d heard it in his voice, and the bulge of his Adam’s apple in his throat confirmed my suspicion.
I skimmed down his form again, all the ruffles and lace and the shoes adding inches to his diminutive height. At his back, his leathery black tail made the shape of a serpent preparing to strike.
The combination of it all struck me dumb, not with confusion but rather some kind of awe.
I’d never seen anything like him.
After a long pause, his nose scrunched. “Is it the tail or the lack of tits?”
“What?”
Propping his fists on his hips, he squinted up at me in a way that could only be described as impudent. “I know the look. I get it a lot. So, which bothers you more, the fact that I’m a demon or that I have a cock tucked under this skirt?”