Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Otis
The morning was quiet, for which I was grateful.
No one enjoyed a visit from the archdemon or archangel.
By their very nature, they were uncomfortable to be around.
Their presence was too big, their morality undetermined, even the archangel.
They lived by a code that was outside of our understanding, and I hated the uncertainty of it.
If I’d had to worry about an influx of call outs on top of their visit, I might have quit then and there.
Hailey was settling in well, and we’d only have to shadow her for another couple of shifts before we could let her handle it on her own. She was already better at it than Syke. The callers seemed to react well to her, even the creature callers. She oozed empathy on the phoneline.
My nose twitched, and I ignored it. I tried not to scent Syke on her skin, or Eric.
That was none of my business, outside of keeping two members of my team safe.
Syke’s tastes were… particular, and I’d been a little worried, but she seemed content.
Not that I thought Syke would hurt her or do anything she didn’t desire, but the power differential between them was significant, even with Eric at her back.
Judging by the love bites on both of them, they had enjoyed their time with our resident demon.
“It will be fine, Otis,” Ilyas rumbled beside me. He’d emerged from his nap and didn’t even look ruffled for it. Gargoyles didn’t need much sleep, since they rejuvenated in the moonlight. I knew he’d have his coffee, and by the time he finished his cup, he’d be ready to face the afternoon jobs.
I cast him a pointed look. “There are so many variables. Besides, it is my role in the team to worry.”
Ilyas huffed. “And you do it so well.”
I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was time for Syke’s meeting with the arches, but they hadn’t arrived yet. Again, time meant nothing to them, unless they were the ones forced to wait, and then punctuality was next to godliness.
As if they could sense my negative thoughts, a swirl of dark shadows formed in the foyer.
Archdemon Mohan was terrifying. He had eyes that were wide and pitch black with no visible irises or sclera.
Just an unending abyss. He held a glamour that gave him the look of an uptown businessman, and I never wanted to see his true form.
He looked around, and his jaw tensed. “Michael hasn’t arrived?”
I shook my head, and he sighed. “And the demons are the ones considered uncouth.”
A flash of blinding holy light burned my eyes, and Michael appeared. His glow was as uncomfortable as Mohan’s darkness, and I didn’t want to look at either of them. “Did someone say my name in vain?”
“Never in vain, always with a cursed purpose,” Mohan retorted. His nostrils flared with irritation. “Where is Syke?”
Syke appeared from the meeting room, looking completely relaxed. I worried for him, but he didn’t seem to have any such qualms. “Here. Come on in, Louis made lemonade.”
“Oh, lemonade,” Michael gushed and moved toward the meeting room. I began to follow, but Mohan lifted a hand.
“Your presence isn’t required, Mr. Talor.”
I dipped my chin respectfully. “With all due respect, your archness, Syke is part of my team and deserves my support.”
Mohan raised a brow. “He’s one of my demons, and a good one at that. Trust me, Otis,” he murmured softly.
I gritted my teeth but nodded. “As you wish, sir.”
He walked into the conference room and shut the door quietly. I looked over my shoulder at the rest of the team staring at the door too. Hailey looked worried, and Louis was squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.
Sucking in a deep breath, I lifted my chin at the rest of the team. “Back to work.” I sat down beside Hailey, and we both pretended not to stare at the conference room. Her knee bounced, but she entered the case notes I’d given her to work on into the system distractedly.
When Michael appeared at the doorway again and called for Hailey, her whole body froze in fear. I reached down and interlaced her fingers with mine. “Let’s go. It’ll be fine.”
She stood on shaky legs, smoothing down her skirt, but she didn’t let go of my hand. That was okay, I would hold her steady.
When we got to the conference room, Michael looked at me. “You are free to wait outside, Team Leader Talor.”
I bowed my head reverently. “With all due respect, Archangel Michael, Hailey is my responsibility, and I believe she’d find my presence reassuring. I will be offering her support within that room.”
Michael tilted his head in a way that told me he was also glamoured—not that I hadn’t already known that. “Is she not Syke’s lover?”
“She is, but that doesn’t negate the fact that she’s also mine to protect.” Let him think what he wanted about that.
Michael stood to the side and allowed us both to pass.
I gave Hailey a tiny nudge toward Syke, and she took the hint willingly, all but sprinting toward Syke.
Maybe it wasn’t due to my suggestion, maybe she wanted the security of his arms. Maybe they’d cemented something more than an excuse last night.
I sat beside them, and Mohan gave me an irritated expression but didn’t try to kick me out.
“Miss Swoon, Syke tells us that you’re lovers, and he was protecting you and your honor when he exterminated the human, Graham Sawyer.”
That was a leading question if I’d ever heard one, but Michael couldn’t really argue with the semantics without seeming like he had a grudge against the demons and was therefore no longer impartial. It was a fine line of bullshit diplomacy.
“Yeah, I met the guy that day at the diner where I worked, and he followed me home. He told me that he wanted—” Her voice broke, and she swallowed hard.
“He told me that he was going to fuck the humanity into me or take me out of the gene pool entirely.” She reached over and gripped Syke’s hand.
“I smashed the teapot Syke left for emergencies, and he came to save me.” She chewed her lip. “He saved my life.”
Syke ran his thumb over the back of her palm reassuringly.
Michael raised an eyebrow at the connection. “Our source believes you barely know each other.”
I snorted at the betrayal of one of our own, though I knew it was in an angel’s nature to tell the truth. She didn’t have to run to Michael with the gory details though.
“Your source was barely on duty and didn’t know all the details,” Syke countered. “I regret tethering her to that summoning spell, but I needed to know that my lover was safe when I wasn’t with her. The area in which she lived was not exactly safe. Obviously.”
“Why would Allison assume that you hadn’t known each other prior to a call out your team went on?”
Fucking Allison. “Because we didn’t. Hailey’s orc mate was suffering from clan sickness, but as we nursed him back to health, we all grew closer,” Syke answered.
“Besides, as Mohan can attest, time is not a defining factor when it comes to taking lovers. Did you not take Ora as a lover within fifteen seconds of meeting her?” Ora was a powerful demoness who more than matched Mohan in attitude, if not in power.
“I’d been lying beside Hailey and her mate for days.
It was quick, but I harbor a lot of protectiveness over my new mates. ”
“Mates?” Michael squeaked.
“Well, as much as a demon can possess a mate bond. They are mine.” The growl in his voice had me believing it too. Hailey was stiff beside me, but she didn’t contradict him.
Mohan’s lip twitched, but he clapped his hands together.
“Well, I think this is pretty cut and dry. He was protecting his mates.” He savored the word like it was the punchline to a joke.
“I’m reassured he won’t go on a killing spree.
I know you don’t like it when we go vigilante, Michael, but I doubt the human race will suffer with the loss of Graham Sawyer.
” He raised his eyebrows at me. “However, if the human authorities wish to pursue something, that’s on you. ”
Syke nodded. “So be it.”
Disappearing in a swirl of shadows, he left Michael behind. His eyes still wandered between us, me included. “An interesting collection of lovers you’ve created here, Miss Swoon—one we’ll be watching closely.”
She swallowed hard, slipping her hand over to grip my thigh, her fingertips digging into the muscle under the table.
You wouldn’t be able to tell by her face though.
“Relationships are hard, sir. Mate bonds are even harder. Though I can’t guarantee our success, I’m going to ensure that everyone gets what they need and that they get the happiness they deserve. ”
“Indeed.” He flashed brightly and disappeared.
We sat in silence for a long moment, and then the shaking of Hailey’s hands moved up her body, from her legs to her torso to her lips. She shook as the adrenaline from sitting in front of two of creature kind’s most powerful beings and lying consumed her.
I didn’t even think. I pulled her into my lap and wrapped her in my arms, squeezing her tightly as she panted.
She was having a panic attack.
Syke gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him. “You’re okay, Sunshine. We’re okay. Deep breath in and hold it. Out. I have you. Otis has you. Louis and Eric have you. Even Ilyas, the surly bastard, has you. You’re safe.”
I looked up and noticed that both Louis and Ilyas were indeed both in the room. Louis looked like he wanted to come over and rip her out of my arms and run away with her. I tightened my arms around her imperceptibly, but if he did try to take her from my arms, I knew I’d let her go.