* * *
“Here’s the plan,” Bael said as he paced from one end of the map to the other. He held a little pointer stick and kept stabbing it at the shredded page to accentuate his words. “The Legion, minus Az, are going to head to the warehouse now. We’ll find some good places to stay out of sight.”
“And wait for the fun to start.” Phenex grinned.
Valac folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, his bleached white hair falling into his eyes. “We’ll check for cameras before we go in. The killer could be monitoring the place. If he knows we’re there, he’ll never show up with Serena.”
I swallowed hard. “The only thing I ask is that you don’t doanythingto tip him off. If he knows we plan to trap him…”
“We’ll be careful,” Valac said, meeting my gaze. A shiver went down my spine at the pure darkness within his eyes. Valac had seen some shit in his life. I couldn’t help but wonder what, even though I knew it would probably scar me for life.
What could scare a demon?
“You’ll start your shift,” Caim added. “Get ready with the girls. Be ready to go out and let the patrons see you. But just before you’re set to go into your birdcage, leave through the back door and go straight to the warehouse. We think he’ll be in the crowd watching for you.”
“If you hear anyone following you, don’t freak out, love,” Bael added. “It might be him, but that’s okay. He’ll be checking to see if any of us are with you.”
“And, as much as I hate it, we won’t be,” Az said in a low growl. “But I’ll be keeping an eye on you from the sky. It’s a cloudy night. He won’t know I’m there.”
“Okay,” I breathed, glancing around at the six of them. “Anything else?”
“You don’t have to worry, Mia.” Phenex clapped a hand on my back. “We’ve got you. You’re one of us now.”
“And we protect our own like we protect our own lives,” Stolas murmured as he stepped up beside Phenex. Caim edged in, along with Bael. Valac even joined. The five demons formed a protective circle around me, and a low chant spilled from their lips.
“One fight at a time,” they shouted in unison.
My heart thumped as a strange sense of belonging washed over me. It had been a very long time since I’d felt this way, like I was part of something else. Part of afamilyalmost.
A family of demons, sure, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that it truly felt as if they were on my side.
In another week, this would all be over. No more demon contracts or vampire mob bosses or weird supernatural parties where people got killed. But no more Caim or Stolas. No more Phenex and Valac. No more Bael.
And no more Az.
Before they could see my unshed tears, I blinked them away. How embarrassing would that be, right?
As the Legion shuffled away, Az stepped in close. He captured my eyes with his. “You ready?”
“Not really,” I admitted. “I feel like a million things could go wrong.”
“That’s life, Mia,” he said. “But as long as you trust us, you don’t have to live in fear.”
“I know,” I said, meaning it. “I could see it in their eyes. They won’t let anything happen to me.”
“No, they won’t.” He wound his arms around me and pulled me against his chest. “But more importantly,Iwon’t. I will not let anyone in this world harm a hair on your head. Do you understand me?”
Swallowing hard, I nodded. “Actually, I think I do.”
* * *
The dressing room sparkled with activity. The dancers swirled through the space, along with the scent of sweet perfume, pizza, and chocolate cake. They were filling up their stomachs before they took to the cages, and I joined in with great abandon. I hadn’t been able to stomach much at the restaurant.
“You look confused and concerned,” Priyanka said as she twisted my hair into an elaborate braid. “Everything alright with Az?”
“Not really,” I admitted, careful with my words. I wasn’t sure how much she knew about our relationship or our plans to save Serena from a supernatural serial killer tonight. “It all kind of started off as a…joke.”
“A meaningless fling,” she said with a knowing smile. “And let me guess. You’ve developed feelings.”
