“You hate everyone,” Graham whispered, focused on Ricco and unable to hide his shock. Then he looked at me. “And you are—”
“Don’t confuse my personality with my attitude, kitten,” I cut in with a dark chuckle. “My personality is who I am, and my attitude depends on whoyouare.” I took a step towards him to make it clear to everyone there that I wasn’t afraid of him. “And we met with you throwing a knife at my back. Whether I caught it or not—you did that not caring if I did.”
“Disgusting. All the feline councils are disgusting and line their pockets on the backs of their people,” Ricco sneered. “Why is he—my nose is filled with your death.”
“His son is vile but also sloppy, and we made sure ISLE found out about it,” I said happily. I raised an eyebrow when one of Ricco’s guys said something in Italian, several other people in the lobby looking amused.
“He said you have the biggest cock and balls of anyone he’s ever known and yet you have none on your body,” Ricco explained.
I met the guy’s gaze. “That’s not the first time I’ve heard that, but it sounds much prettier in Italian with your lovely voice.” I was absolutely sure the cheetah blushed, but I wouldn’t call him on that.
Graham didn’t like people siding with or appreciating me, the steam coming out of his ears as his desires turned extra vile. Which madeeverydemon around us go on high alert.
And that was before the idiot opened his mouth thinking he was still at the top instead of understanding he’d walked into the lion’s den.
“You are still a mongrel that needstraininglike all good attack dogs do and that is all demons are and their—”
Demons weren’t actually faster than other supes. We were stronger. But with age and power came more strength—pretty limitless for demons which was why we were so terrifying to other supes. But I wasn’t the average demon and now we understood that better.
And I was done playing games with this monster who would absolutely come for my people any chance he had. He hadn’t learned his lesson, only developed a thirst for revenge.
So I didn’t hold back, feeding on what I should and from the angels doing amazing things for my growth. Faster than some there could even keep up with, I grabbed a marker off the front desk and had it uncapped before dancing between Graham and the five in his party.
Before they could even react.
“Holy fucking shit,” one of the ISLE guys whispered when he saw what I’d done.
I chuckled darkly as I held up the marker and gestured to Graham’s throat. “That’s how fast I can take six of you out,kitten. So you might think me a dog, which most don’t, but Iamwell-trained. Beyond trained and evolved. I just won’t allow someone so beneath me likeyouto ever be my master. It’s actually insulting you think you should be and it’s not the other way around.”
I capped the marker and tossed it to the amused demon behind the desk, flinching when Ricco and the other cheetahs burst out laughing.
I winked at them and turned to one of the security I knew well. “There was a situation in Italy. I have to get back to undercover. Call in Kyle and he will handle it with the appropriate people.” I turned to Ricco. “I’m sorry for the cloak and dagger, but the demons who used to freelance getting papers are now all being threatened and—”
“And fools are trying to scoop them up before you can,” Ricco nodded. “But knowing you, you already knew who they were and had some of your own.”
“Not all of them and—you know the perils of leading,” Elijah said, sounding tired even as he extended his hand to Ricco. “Glad we could help you out of whatever jam yours were in.”
“There was an emergency, and people do notlistento stay hidden when their papers lapse because the police in Rome are getting more aggressive with us,” Ricco mumbled, shooting his two guys nasty looks. “There aren’t public packs, covens, and such like your New York and LA, but the humans are getting clued in.”
“Yeah, I have an idea for that, but it will cost you,” I told him with a wink. And I did, but it also tickled me that everyone simply ignored Graham’s ranting that I needed to be leashed.
For what? Getting marker on his neck?
He was seriously lucky itwasn’ta knife I’d used after all him and his son had done.
Oh, and ISLE wasn’t dropping the charges against Graham’s son. There was so much more that was found that it was a laundry list of crimes. If the world was remotely fair and corruption didn’t rule every fucking governing body, Graham would have been out too.
A goal for next year maybe.
9
I swung back to home base to get more information on the murder victim and the club so I could look it all over. The initials on the nails were the best angle to focus on and I wanted to send in a few of our people to inquire at salons in the area. It would probably be looking for a needle in a haystack, but like what was the worst that could happen?
Some of our demons got free manicures?
Oh no, not that!
But thinking of that made me realize something on my personal list was to pick up some more of the volcanic ash spa stuff I liked to soak with. I’d added the extra jar I had to Melissa’s gift basket because I’d been telling her about it and I knew she worked really hard for me.
