Chapter 22
That idea of trying to realize I was doing better than I thought stuck with me the next few days. It made me take stock even as I finished up all the choreography at corporate.
I went back to Denver and saw the progress.
LA to see how much better things were there. Yes, there were still problems with the vampire coven there, but it was… They weren’t holding demons like sex slaves.
I went around to the safe houses and felt the amount of rescued demons.
Other newer clubs that were finished or had been worked on in the past years.
The new headquarters of Heavenly Properties that would give a lot more jobs—security and income to people.
The house of mine that my friends were now safe in.
Even the club we’d had problems with in Jackson that was now back on the right track.
Mason was thriving in his new role and the twins were thrilled at the possibilities ahead for them. They were a lot like me where the day-in and day-out routines burnt them out instead of being comforting.
There was a lot they really loved—as I did—but being stuck as the one locked in was too taxing when you felt too much. Exactly how I felt.
Which was why undercover was where I thrived.
I looked over the updated lists of assets we were not locked in on. Yes, there were still too many headaches, but instead of looking at those, I saw the possibilities. Fine, we’d fumbled the ball—badly even—but the game wasn’t over and we had thousands and thousands of properties to do a lot with.
So much to be grateful for.
Which was what I was filled with when I went to talk to Sam. I told her the truth that I couldn’t be impartial, but I wanted her to hear it from me that I thought she was worth saving as long as she was willing to pay the price of her crimes. If she would pay her debt then I would advocate for her.
Her answer was instant.
Yes.
Even if we took her head in the end, she wanted to pay her debt to this world because she’d started out with the best of intentions and it upset her that she’d lost her way. She didn’t kill to be the bad guy.
She’d killed because she thought there was no other way and wanted to take monsters out as long as she was damned.
That wasn’t the truth, but good on her for wanting to set the scales right. Truly.
I was settled hearing that. We could all have second chances as long as we were willing to work for them and our mistakes weren’t rooted in evil.
Didn’t that seem like a better world than the one we were currently living in?
I realized I was settled in a lot more than that after taking the time to really take stock. I had so many people in my life who truly cared about me.
Now that I’d let them in, I could see it.
And more than just friends. Lovers. It might have started with Dylan, but I had the twins, Aidan, and Mason. Maybe one day I would thank Dylan for the push even if we ended badly.
Maybe.
I could hope to grow that much?
Realizing how much was going better—how far I’d come personally in even the past year—put me in a really good mood for the weekend. The choreography was done and so much was in motion. I had a meeting with Ricco and the supes of Rome now that construction was really going.
There was some back and forth with the development and I wanted our security to hammer out a few things first. Nothing bad, but it was a bad area originally, so that meant more security.
Then we could finalize which shops we were allowing in and the final deals.
We had a lot mapped out but weren’t to the interior specifics yet.
Should we have maybe done that first?
Sure, but we also needed to be flexible in case one shop failed and another could take its place. That was just smart business and why malls had done so well for so long.
Déjà vu hit me hard when I stepped through the portal and immediately felt pain. My self-preservation told me to step right back through, but Ricco wasn’t just an ally anymore. I cared about the cat and his people.
Kyle came through right after me, and without a thought, I shoved him back through and closed the portal.
One movement to do that as I reached for the knife I’d started carrying with me and changed my glamour.
I didn’t even make the choice—have the thought and I was moving towards the problem as I started slicing dampeners open.
It was nicer in Rome and I’d ditched my jacket, so the short sleeves were easy access. And because I was smart, the new ones I’d had Elijah add to my stomach. Those were cut in a flash, gasping as my power returned to me.
Then I was out of time, reaching where I felt pain. Rage filled me when I found Ricco on the ground and his people restrained.
I couldn’t even fully assess the situation before someone was coming at me too fast. I reached out for them first and used fire to burn them as I crushed the arm I grabbed. Using their momentum against them, I threw them behind me.
But then there was another. Too old. Too fast.
I was grabbed, but not completely restrained, and I burned them as I snagged my arm back. Grasping their neck, I squeezed with all I had and felt it snap under my fingers.
Two more were there and one I kicked in the head full force, breaking his skull in a way that no living being could recover from.
It resembled a popped basketball instantly, but I barely noticed, taking on the next person.
I shot my hand out into the woman’s throat just to buy myself time.
It didn’t slow her down or hurt her as much as I’d hoped.
Fuck.
I flipped out of the way and used the knife to cut dampeners under my pants before she was back on me. My power rushed to me and she had no chance.
Still there were more.
I cut more dampeners on my other leg but then lost the knife. It was enough though. Not enough to change forms, but enough to know I could handle what I needed to.
No matter how difficult it was. A blur of fighting and blood. One was there and gone. One handled but not fully and then another moving faster than any I had fought.
No holding back for once. This wasn’t sparring and it wasn’t one target that was terrifyingly new and strong. This was an array of too much, overwhelming, and much better than I was used to.
But I won. In the end, they were all dead or at least broken as I gasped for air, trying to reach for more energy should I need it. I would if I had to, but it felt over as I knelt on one knee and tried to wipe blood out of my eyes to keep sharp.
“Impressive,” a familiar voice purred. “Truly impressive.”
I wiped again and swallowed a painful groan as I looked to my left. I couldn’t hide my shock as the crazy powerful super ancient female from China who I thought was a friendly was standing there assessing me.
“Oh, don’t look so betrayed, child,” she chuckled darkly. “You just killed a few dozen ancients who weren’t going to kill you and we’re not angry with you.”
“Ricco,” I coughed.
Shock filled her eyes but then something else. “You truly are a loyal one. He’s fine. I’ll kiss the bump he’ll have, I promise.”
Then the pain I’d sensed was gone. It had been fake.
“You played me,” I hissed.
“No,” she said firmly as she came towards me. She froze at whatever she got off of me, probably that I would rip her head off. She held her hands up in surrender and then looked past me.
“Jasmine!” Elijah roared as he raced over.
“Your adopted daughter is fine, but we have many, many questions, old friend,” someone said from my right. “How could one so young hold this much power? She killed three dozen ancients of different species, all over two thousand. And we saw her close a portal that shouldn’t be possible.”
“I want to know why she cut into her own skin and more power flared up,” someone else said firmly. “What is she?”
“Whatever she is, she is to be protected,” that woman said firmly. She nodded when I met her gaze. “I swear to you it was nothing but a test.”
“No, I felt their intent,” I coughed, relieved when Elijah reached me. “They weren’t fucking around, I swear.”
“You were blinded by my power to start, but then you hurt the pride of fools and they paid the price,” that second voice said. “That’s why we’re not angry. The goal was not to kill you, simply test you.”
“Who are you to test one of ours?” Ally demanded, her voice cold and deadly.
“You have a weapon unlike any we have seen and that is something that can affect all of us, so don’t act like—” he argued.
“I’m not a weapon,” I snapped, too beat to sound that threatening.
A very attractive man moved into my view, his eyes assessing, but not in a bad way. Not like the head of the tiger council or others who wanted to make me theirs or figure out how to use me.
No, this was a man who knew how to survive and where the threat was.
And that threat was me.
“You are, child. The question is what kind and how worried we should all be,” he said firmly before gesturing to the carnage around us. “Currently, I think very, very worried.”
Fuck.
Just… Fuck.
So much for being less interesting for a while like Aidan warned.
The End