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“You were willing to ditch Cain’s deal if Reynard paid you,” I said. There were no cameras in this room. Just me, Agatha, the unharmed twin, and the other one, climbing to his feet on the other side of the gaping hole Reynard had made.

“Oh, I just wanted see what it was worth to him,” Agatha said. “It turns out, not much. But to you? That’s a different story, isn’t it? Whatever this spybot saw has you concerned, Mr Vex.”

“This might be a good time to point out that anyone who has crossed me in the past few weeks has regretted it, including Gideon.” Although, I’d mostly mildly inconvenienced him.

“Hm, I’m intrigued. What can a little human boy like you do to me?”

I checked Reynard, out cold on the floor, and the two twins, now ready to pounce into action. Granted, I didn’t look like a threat. But that was the point. “I don’t think you want to find out. Give me Tom Collins, and you can go about the rest of your life knowing you dodged a bullet here.”

Agatha tilted her head. “I’ll take my chances. Cohen. Shoot Mr. Vex.” She snapped her fingers. “Then bring them outside. We’ll throw them both in the bay. I have a meeting with Mr. Cain.”

Cohen raised his dart gun and fired. The dart hit me clean in the arm. “Ow . . .” I swayed, closed my eyes, and flopped forward.

As we’d learned at the restaurant, one dart did little more than make my head a bit fuzzy. Still very awake, I allowed Cohen to heave me over his shoulder, thinking I was as unconscious as Reynard. A quick peek confirmed the other brother had Reynard draped in his arms. Good.

Outside, I’d have more room to maneuver and it would be easier to escape while carrying Reynard.

The fae’s handsome shoulder wasn’t the worst place I’d been slung, and his expensive cologne did smell kinda nice. After some huffing, the warm, dusty, San Francisco evening air tingled on my tongue. I could smell the salty ocean, baked grass, and hot asphalt. Distant traffic hummed. Finally, we were outside where I could stretch abilities I definitely did not have.

I lifted my head. “As surprisingly comfortable as this is, you should definitely put me down.”

“Fuck!” Cohen flung me down with as much care as a sack of potatoes. I smacked the rough asphalt with a heavy oomph.

He fumbled with his dart gun again, trying to whip it free and reload.

“I really wouldn’t.” I got to my feet and cracked my neck muscles. The twins and Agatha stared. “It’ll just make me angry, and I’m already grumpy.”

“Huh.” Agatha remarked, approaching. At several feet taller than me in her heels, she still didn’t see the threat. “What kind of human withstands enough tranquilizer to drop a vampire?”

“The me kind.” I held out a hand toward Agatha. “Hand over Tom Collins and you all get to walk way.”

The breeze rattled the rusted fence and gusted through dusty dried grass. I couldn’t escape my glamor—Daisy had been right about chains holding me restrained—but I could stretch it, as the three demons outside Razorsedge had learned. And the duke.

As Agatha was about to discover.

A missile shot from the sky, knocked Agatha onto her back, and pinned her down. She barked a cry, then abruptly fell silent as a seven-foot-tall, metal-tipped-leather-armored, Stetson-wearing demon stood on her chest, wings splayed, tail thrashing.

“Helllloooo, Tinkerbell,” Zee grinned. Agatha writhed under Zee’s boot like a worm on a hook. “This is Shareen.” He stroked his sword. “Fifty inches of Fuck No. If you don’t recognize me, because of the hat, my name is Zodiac.” He tipped his cowboy hat with holes cut out to accommodate his horns. “From classics such as The Fucked & The Furious and I Did the Demon Next Door. An underrated masterpiece.”

“I know who you are, demon,” she snarled, sounding less than impressed by Zee’s resume. “Get your cheap boots off me.”

Zee pointed his sword’s deadly tip at Agatha’s chin, then beamed over his shoulder. “Kitten, do you like the hat?” His horn-ring glinted, his leather armor creaked, and his sword was always impressive. The Stetson should have looked out of place, but as with anything he wore, he made the look his own.

I sighed with relief. Zee was here. Everything was going to be alright, and I didn’t have to get messy. “I really do.” I squelched over to him. “It’s been awful. We were trapped in a tank, the water came in, I got all wet, and⁠—”

“Were there frogs?” His face paled.

Thankfully, I didn’t recall seeing frogs. “I . . . don’t think so.” Just other sea creatures. Were frogs sea creatures?

“Well, that’s a fucking relief. I looked them up. Frogs use their fucking tongues to strangle prey. Can you believe that shit? Their tongues! All this time, they’ve been among us.” He shuddered and checked the shadows around the lot. “Everywhere.”

“Get them!” Agatha gurgled, gesturing for her twins to attack.

The twins glanced at each other, second-guessing their life choices, then back at us.

“Do it!” Agatha screamed.

“Touch us, and Zee will turn your boss into spaghetti,” I warned.