Luckily, Maya believed us.
We rushed the DNA test on the baby, and Maya broke down crying when the proof was there in black and white. Clearly, her mom and stepdad had torn her down to the point where she doubted her own mind and what had happened. That she’d gotten the wrong guy.
A whole lot of everything.
“I hate myself for not being able to love that baby,” Maya sobbed in the room at the police station we were at. “I just can’t. I can’t. It reminds me of that night. The pain since. Being trapped. Every pain of having to work there. I know I’m horrible, but please don’t make me.”
“We’re not,” I promised. “And more than that, you’re not horrible. Not even close.” I looked at Kyria for help, and she easily stepped in.
“It turns out a second cousin of the monster who hurt you is a good person. Lives in another state and wasn’t surprised to hear about what happened,” Kyria explained to Maya. “And in an… Odd fate of events, can’t have children but has been trying to adopt.”
Even upset, the woman put it together fast, nodding that she would agree. Blubbering that she was gladitwould go somewhere to be safe. Someone good would take care ofitand helpithave a better life than she did.
I couldn’t even blame her. I really didn’t. Maya was one ball of abuse and trauma that… No one with any decency should have judged the poor girl who wasn’t even fuckingtwentyyet.
I told her what was going on while we handled everything else and waited for the legal parts to play out. Well, I told her what I needed to so she made the call needed and some othersfor her life. On the safe side, I asked her to call a few of the girls she worked with to let them know I wasn’t a problem and to trust me since I was helping her out.
That would at least let me know if they were worth anything.
The club was closed Monday—fairly standard for the industry—so that gave me some extra time to set up the background with the help I had. Since the cover was filling in for Maya, I wouldn’t even be jumping through the hoops of getting my own place or any of that.
No, it was a fun extended stay hotel that could absolutely be problematic given some people who stayed there for work would also frequent strip clubs. A lot of people didn’t want to be caught at the ones where they lived—people gossiped and ran their damn mouths.
But when they were out of town? Oh yeah, men and women—we saw it all the time at our clubs. We catered to it and events where they would want to do just that.
No judgment; simply how things worked. Which was why I made sure the one I stayed at was about as far away from the club as reasonable without having to go through the bullshit of driving an hour each way per shift. As a demon who could use portals, that would be more than I could deal with and keep my sanity.
And that was how I could get caught.
Nothing would ever be perfect and something would always go wrong, but years and years of doing undercover work made me ready for just about anything… Except the new things that seemed to always pop up recently.
Mostly since I’d met Aidan, but I knew I couldn’t blame that on him.
Once Maya was fully situated, Tuesday morning I went through the last-minute list of what was needed before hittingthe stage and going through my normal intros. Which now included loading up on power because I had that option easier.
“Your energy is off,” David muttered when I went to feed from the angels. He was the first I’d met when I’d worked undercover in Denver and how I’d met a whole group of them.
How my life had been changed and now I could have things I’d never dreamed of.
“There’s a lot going on,” I told him with the best smile I could muster. I leaned in to kiss him and feed but flinched when he moved his fingers over my lips.
“No, hear me, Jasmine,” he murmured as he studied me. “Nathanial, come scan Jasmine. Something is different.”
The angel nodded and came over while on a call, he grunted a few replies while focused on me. I saw the moment he registered whatever Daniel was talking about.
“I’m going to have to call you back. Push my first appointment, but I’ll make court,” Nathanial said and hung up before waiting for an answer. “This isn’t just—” He focused on me and gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
“Okay, now I’m worrying,” I chuckled nervously.
“Your energy is more powerful than normal with this level of dampeners.” He reached out and booped my nose when I opened my mouth. “The plan is working of you getting regular feedings. You’re growing big and strong.”
I swatted his hand away playfully when he tried to do it again. “I know when I’m being playacted, thank you. It’s more than that.”
“It’s more than that,” Nathanial confirmed. “Your energy reads almost… Not ancient. Demons equate power with age. That’s how it works for your kind. If I didn’t—you said it was what threw you with Bain. He was too powerful for a pup.”
“Right, but they have certain bloodlines and…” I swallowed loudly. Right, I wasn’t the child of just any angel. I wassupposedly the child of the most powerful angel who had one. The highest level of angel and the once right hand to god himself.
Supposedly.
