Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
D addy: I need you, Fox, and Bellamy in my office ASAP.
I stare at the message, squinting at the bright light of my phone in the darkness of Fox’s bedroom. It takes me several long moments for the haze of sleep to clear enough for me to feel the urgency of Annette’s message.
Me: *yawn* Do you need me functional or just present?
Daddy: I have coffee and a diamond bracelet.
Me: I’ll be there as soon as I can.
I turn back toward Fox, curling up behind him. And shaking him gently.
“We have one more day of paternity leave,” he mumbles, pulling my arm over him.
Sly fox. I can’t talk to him if I can’t type, and he’s facing away from me so he can pretend that I don’t have anything to say. He’s good, I’ll give him that, but unfortunately when the Avatar of good summons you to her office, you damn well get out of bed at two a.m. and go to her office.
I nip Fox’s shoulder, pinching the skin enough to make him release my wrist, and show him the message from Annette.
Fox stiffens in my arms and then rolls onto his back, turning to look at me. He studies my face and presses a chaste kiss to my lips. I linger there for a moment, then in tacit agreement, we haul ass out of bed, hurrying to get ready to leave.
Fox wakes Bellamy while I dress since it takes me ages to get into my suit and get my accessories in place.
By the time I have my hair tamed, Fox and Bellamy are both waiting by the front door, ready to go.
Bellamy’s all black clothes don’t surprise me; the fact that it includes a short, hooded cape sure does.
I’ve stepped into a video game. One of my characters can carry more weight than an iron man and the other is one with the shadows.
I think that makes me the posh narrator with the British accent that hires the characters to go on an adventure to get the treasure or whatever. Fun.
This time when we exit the house, we look both ways before crossing the ward. Belaphor waits in his cab, which makes me wonder if I’ve somehow gotten a driver or a stalker. I’m pretty much ok with either since it means I have transportation waiting for me when I step out of my house.
Belaphor eyes the three of us and starts the meter. No one has to tell him where we’re going, so I guess the depot hired him to be on call for me.
Fox pays for our ride when we get to the high-rise.
Bellamy fidgets under his hood as we enter the building, tapping his free hand nervously against his thigh as we settle into the elevator.
He carries with him a gun case for his sniper rifle that he leans against his hip as we head up to Annette’s floor.
I bend to catch his eye under his hood and pat his chest comfortingly; it’s hard going into ex-enemy territory for the first time.
Well, I assume so. I’ve never had enemies.
Bellamy frowns at me and brushes my hand off his chest, but he holds my hand until the last second, basically admitting that he needs his Papa’s comfort.
The elevator lets us off on the thirtieth floor, and I grab Bellamy’s wrist to walk him through the glass door leading into Annette’s office.
And holy shit. It’s a circus in here. Bodies everywhere, people yelling, what looks like angry parents crowding the paralegal’s desk.
It’s chaos, and the noise is just way too loud.
Fox takes one slow look around the room and lifts his hand to his lips, letting loose a sharp whistle that silences the room and stills the people milling about.
Once he has everyone’s attention, he lowers his hand and slowly swivels his blank mask so everyone can see him.
“If you are not essential, go home. If you think you are essential but Mallory doesn’t, go home.
If you are essential, but don’t want to be here.
Go. The fuck. Home. Anyone lingering in five minutes will explain to my sword why their presence is essential. ”
Nothing inspires mass exodus like a good old fashioned death threat. It probably helps that the threat comes from Timothy Blackblade, aka Fox.
Within a few minutes everyone clears out from the waiting room, leaving the three of us and the paralegal behind her desk. She gives Fox a frazzled look. “Thank you. Annette is expecting you in the conference room.”
Fox dips his chin and leads us back to the same cozy room where I initially met Annette. The room is empty, and Fox pulls me into his lap like he did the last time. Bellamy takes a seat next to us, sitting stiffly and leaning his gun case against his body between his legs.
I pat his shoulder as his gaze darts around the room. My boy is ridiculously uncomfortable, but he’ll get over it.
Annette storms into the room, cigar hanging from her lips, scowling as she takes up the space across from us, leaning her butt on the table.
She pulls the cigar out of her mouth and ashes it straight onto the floor.
“Santanos is missing, and someone infiltrated the processing center where we were housing the cherubs and stole five of them right out from under us. We know that Santanos didn’t take the cherubs; his people are in as much chaos as we are searching for him.
They’ve asked us for help. The council has approved the request, so now we have to track down the cherubs and Santanos.
I want you three to find the fucking Avatar and get him safely back to his people.
” She lifts her hands against some imagined protests, I’m sure.
“I know. Whatever happened to him is probably a problem of his own making, but the council insists that we save that asshole, and you three have the best chance of finding him, better than any of the rest of my people. Bellamy, is Romily’s ward working for you yet? ”
Bellamy stiffens at his name and then nods. “Yes, most of the bullets from the attack this afternoon were aimed at me, but the ward deflected them.”
My head spins toward him so fast, my brain bangs against my skull.
Bellamy glances at me and shrugs. “I accepted your claim.”
“Which is good for us. You were quite the thorn in our side.” Annette puffs on her cigar and points it at Bellamy. “I, for one, am glad you’ve defected; do not disappoint me.”
The door opens and one of Annette’s minions enters carrying a tray of to-go cups and a decanter of what better be coffee. He sets the tray on the table at Annette’s elbow and exits the room.
Annette perks up, stands up from the table, and practically skips out the door without a word.
Fox sits me next to Bellamy and stands to pour three cups of coffee, doctoring mine perfectly before handing it to me. As he and Bellamy fix up their coffees, I sink into the heat and bitterness of mine, anticipating the caffeine jolt that I’ll get from it.
“We should start with Gregory and Hassan; they’re Santanos’ main bodyguards. You saw them in action at the club,” Bellamy suggests after getting his coffee and settling back next to me.
Fox takes up the space Annette abandoned as I bring out my phone because I really need words to participate in this conversation. My men almost absently take out their phones as well, making me grin as I start a group chat between the three of us.
Which ones were his bodyguards? There was a lot of sex going on. I assume that was a function of Santanos being an incubus?
“Incubus plus. Most incubaccha only feed on sex. They don’t otherwise have much in the way of magical power.
They’re low on the totem pole of predators.
Most can’t even draw enough energy to kill a human; not like you see in pop culture.
Santanos is one of the original four sex demons that were born from a pairing of the Lilith and Bacchus.
He already had more power than the usual incubaccha, but then the council granted him more when they made him the Avatar of evil.
He can use the power he draws from sex to cast spells, create wards, and other things I haven’t been privy to witnessing. ”
So the orgy was just him powering up?
Also, my love, telling me Santanos is a hybrid plus doesn’t really scream two powerful mythological beings that even I’ve heard of had sex and made baby Santanos. Next time feel free to elaborate.
“I didn’t think it was relevant,” Fox grunts.
Bellamy releases a long-suffering sigh; clearly he understands my frustration.
“Anyway, yes, the orgy was a power draw for Santanos. Gregory was the one blowing him, and Hassan stood behind him. Their jobs are to keep Santanos brimming with magic. They’re his bodyguards, and if someone actually took Santanos, they were there when it happened. They never leave his side.”
Annette returns carrying two brightly colored gift bags. “I come bearing gifts for my sugar baby and grand sugar baby!” she announces, handing me and Bellamy one bag each.
“This is not the time, Annette,” Fox disapproves quietly.
Annette pours herself a cup of coffee, scoffing at him as she takes it to her bar. “No time like the present for presents. Live in the moment, Fox.”
As she adds a bit of Irish to her coffee, I rip the tissue paper out of my bag.
“Grand sugar baby?” Bellamy grunts, but let’s all just notice how he doesn’t hesitate to pull his tissue paper out of the bag. Look at him being a good grand sugar baby.
I pull out two gray shirts first. The top one says, “Him.” The bottom says, “Me.” I grin, tossing Fox’s shirt to him and holding mine up so that Bellamy can’t miss it.
Bellamy glares at his shirt, which reads, “Mini Me.” Just like I wanted.
I add Annette to our group chat.
We’re wearing these on our first family outing. Thank your grand sugar daddy for the lovely gift.
Bellamy stares at the shirt for a moment before reaching into his gift bag and pulling a velvet box out of it. I gasp and look in my bag, finding a matching box. When I open it, a gold chain sits attached to a delicate script on a gold plate with sparklies that reads, “Daddy’s Favorite Me.”
Bellamy growls, drawing my attention to an identical bracelet that reads, “Grandaddy's Favorite Mini Me.”
God. I love this woman.
Bellamy grits his teeth at Annette. “I’m not calling you Grandaddy.”
“Say ‘thank you,’ son,” Fox responds without missing a beat.
Bellamy bares his teeth in a mock smile. “Thank you.”
Annette’s wicked grin makes me fall in love just that much more. “You’re welcome.”
Thank you, Daddy! We love your gifts!
Annette drops onto the couch next to me and helps me put the bracelet on, then pulls me into a hug, looking up at Fox. “What’s the plan? I need to get back to finding our cherubs.”
“We’ll start with the bodyguards. Is he blocked from the council tracking?” Fox asks.
Annette grimaces. “Both his magic and his chip are blocked wherever he is.”
I knew the chip was a tracking device.
Annette shrugs. “Obviously.” She stands up and brushes her hand over my hair. “Find the other Avatar, boys. We really don’t want to find out what kind of person the council would replace him with. The enemy you know and all that.”
She takes her leave again, and for a few moments we all consider our next steps.
Bellamy gathers all of our presents into one bag and trashes the other and the tissue paper. “Santanos’ home is hidden behind a dimensional ward. We’ll have to get a minion to drive us in.”
Do you know one who will cooperate?
“Belaphor does. Santanos owns half the cabs in this city.”
Annette owns the other half.
Bellamy nods. “Yep.”
Score two points for me.