Dead to Rights (Supernatural Security Force Book 4) Read online

  “And another thing we don’t need,” the guy continued.

  In the following pause, someone yelled, “Demon bloods!”

  The spokesman pointed. “You’re damn right! We’re sick of being infiltrated and overrun by those bastards! We’re sick of cleaning up the messes the SSF is helping to create. Because make no mistake, the SSF is helping them.”

  His eyes narrowed as he scanned the crowd, and I was extra glad we’d stopped to change our appearance. The crowd seemed hungry for a target. A few shot Milo scathing looks, but he didn’t notice. Or care.

  “It’s time we took our community back from both threats,” the man went on. He gestured to the building behind him. “No more SSF covering up their own corruption. Are you with me?”

  The crowd roared.

  For a moment, unease rooted me, and I watched in frozen anticipation as the man handed off the bullhorn and stalked to the entrance of Division Thirteen.

  His words replayed in my head, and I wondered if I’d misread this. If he planned to go inside—if this gathering was more than just a peaceful protest—shapeshifting into a disguise was the least of my worries.

  But the man only stalked to the door, which was apparently locked, and rattled the hinges. Then, he took his sign back and waved it around, chanting, “Clean the council, clean the council.”

  The crowd around us lifted their signs and chanted along with him.

  Milo and I chanted half-heartedly with them.

  “Now what?” Milo asked as the crowd began to shove and people attempted some sort of pacing pattern along the front steps.

  “Stay in line and keep an eye out for anyone who looks like they’re here for more than a demonstration,” I told him.

  “You mean someone trying to kidnap a supe and turn him into a Smurfy demon?”

  “Basically.”

  “Got it. What are you going to do?”

  I glanced at the man who’d given the speech. He still held the bullhorn in one hand but had a water bottle tilted against his mouth with the other. “I’m going to talk to the guy in charge.”

  “Be careful,” he warned as I turned and shoved my way to the front.

  No one made it easy to pass, particularly those at the front. But I did the whole broad-shouldered, man-spreading thing, and finally, I made it to the front steps. The speaker still stood his ground, and I walked up to him, stopping far enough away that my presence wouldn’t feel threatening. And so he wouldn’t be able to touch me. My boobs were still very much there even if the eyes did deceive.

  “Are you the organizer?” I asked.

  “Maybe.” He looked me up and down, assessing. “Who’s asking?”

  “Name’s Tony. I’m into your message, but I’m confused.”

  “What’s so confusing? The council’s corrupt. We demand they dismantle and get the hell out. Taking any demon bloods with them.”

  “And then what?” I asked.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Well, you’re calling for a complete dismantling of our government, and I hear you; there are definitely problems, but what happens when the leadership crumbles? Wouldn’t there be more chaos? Not less?”

  “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Well, some of our community is made up of the demon bloods you’re claiming to want to get rid of, so doesn’t that make you just as bad as the corrupt council for letting them become targets in all this?”

  His face flushed. “Did you come here just to argue? Because I don’t have time for this bull shit—”

  “I’m just saying, maybe consider changing the representation on the council. Adding more supes, you know. Instead of destroying the bit of structure that does work.”

  He frowned, but I could see him actually thinking through my words.

  “Not sure that’s an option anymore, man. We all know what happened with Fulburn. They voted him in then killed him before he could make changes.”

  I leaned in and bared my teeth, letting him think I was flexing some of my shifter muscles. “They can’t kill us all,” I growled, and he grinned then broke into a raucous laugh.

  “You’re damn right, they can’t. Name’s Dan.”

  He clapped me on the back, and even though his hand landed on a much broader and stronger shoulder than I’d woken up with this morning, my sense of balance hadn’t caught up just yet. I nearly stumbled, jostling a guy on the step below me. He glared but kept moving.

  When I looked over, Dan was still grinning. “You’re okay, man. Glad to have you on our side. Here.” He grabbed an extra sign and shoved it into my hands. “You can carry my backup.”

  I read the message printed: Down with the Demon Bloods.

  I wasn’t sure a second criticism would go over as well as the first, so I just lifted the sign and joined the chant.

  Dan’s voice rang out, drowning out my own as we both began pacing along the top step and yelling our message. If this went well, maybe I could ask him if he knew of others involved. Maybe even uncover whether he was part of the intended uprising.

  Starla wouldn’t be able to control me so easily if I brought her the rebellion leader’s name by the end of my first day.

  I scanned the crowd, searching for Milo, but then stopped when my eyes landed on someone else. A familiar face, although not one I expected to see here. And without his security detail.

  Jax wore a ball cap pulled low across his forehead, but I’d recognize his jawline and shoulders anywhere. The man had the cheekbones of the gods.

  I watched as he darted along the fringes of the protestors. He made it as far as the edge of the building and then turned the corner and disappeared into the alley.

  What the hell?

  I started in the same direction.

  “Where you going, man?” Dan called out.

  I glanced back. “Uh, I think I saw my ex-girlfriend.”

  I handed my sign back to him and hurried into the crowd.

  It took me way too long to make my way through the bodies pressing in. By the time I made it to where I’d last seen Jax, I was sure I’d lost him. But then I turned the corner and had to scramble back again to avoid being seen.

  Halfway down the alley, Jax stood, speaking with someone.

  A woman.

  I forced my breaths to calm and then peered around the edge of the building, careful to keep my borrowed form intact.

  Jax stood with his ball cap pulled low and his shoulders hunched, clearly not wanting to be recognized. But it wasn’t him I studied. The woman he stood talking to was petite and slender. Her shoulders hunched a bit so she looked shy, almost mousy.

  And most definitely familiar.

  I’d only met her once, and even then, our interaction had been brief, but I remembered her, especially seeing her here. Outside her place of employment.

  I’d never even gotten her name that day, but I recognized her without a doubt. The receptionist from Division Thirteen’s lobby.

  What the hell was she doing talking to Jax?

  He turned his head, and I ducked back before he could spot me. Leaning out of sight, I counted to five then risked another look.

  The alley was empty.

  Shit.

  I glanced around me, but there was no sign of Jax. He must have gone farther into the alley. A shortcut that probably led out the other side. So he wouldn’t have to risk going back through the crowd.

  I eased into the alley, stopping at the first door and pulling on the handle.

  Locked.

  Probably for the best. Jax was my target, at least as far as Starla was concerned. And I knew better than to think she’d be satisfied with only what I’d witnessed so far. Besides, my curiosity was just as much for myself now. How did Jax know her, and what could he possibly need to tell her that warranted subterfuge?

  I kept moving, picking my way slowly along so I could sense for an ambush. Jax was a predator at heart, so if he’d picked up on me at all, I knew from experience he’d attack bef
ore he’d run away.

  Behind me, something scraped, and I whirled in time to avoid instant death.

  “The fuck,” I gasped.

  Instead of a panther shifter with a penchant for throat-ripping, a blueberry-colored scorpion the size of a Fiat stared back at me. Its pincers snapped and stabbed, darting dangerously close to my face as I scrambled back.

  It clicked as it snapped shut on thin air. The scorpion advanced, and I shuffled away, sliding behind a dumpster. Behind him, I could see a second scorpion, blue as the first one, also headed this way.

  The urge to shift came over me, but I shoved it back. I couldn’t afford to give away my secret. Not with a crowd of demon-blood-hating protestors so close.

  Now what?

  “Kick his pinchin’ ass.” Gran’s voice nearly shattered what little reflexes I’d managed to call on.

  Adrenaline spiked as the shock of being startled wore off.

  I exhaled.

  “Gran, you can’t just pop up like that,” I said, darting sideways again to avoid another pincer.

  “Who’s poppin’ up?” she demanded. “I’ve been following your ass ever since you went rogue on your partner. Not a good habit, by the way. Besides, right about now, I’m saving your cheeks from getting pinched right the hell off.”

  “How exactly do you plan to do that?” I asked, breathless from moving my larger-than-usual body at such high speeds.

  “I brought reinforcements,” she said.

  Movement beyond the scorpion caught my eye.

  A ball of light gleamed in an open palm. Milo’s vampire face flashed and then was obscured again as he unleashed a flash bomb on the second beast. The first scorpion shuffled closer to where I’d hidden. His pincer darted out, and this time, I was too slow.

  It sliced my arm open, drawing blood and leaving a trail of poison in its wake. The wound flared with instant pain.

  “Shit,” I hissed.

  “Did he get you?” Gran demanded.

  “I’m fine,” I assured her, gritting my teeth against the intense sting that was already spreading up my arm toward my shoulder.

  This was not good.

  I couldn’t fight this thing with poison in me. Not if these suckers were anything like the actual demon they’d been created to imitate. And judging by the searing pain currently spreading like fire inside me, they were. In that case, I had ten minutes, maybe less to administer the antidote. And I damn sure wouldn’t make it that far in this particular form.

  So much for Starla’s orders about blending in.

  I climbed onto the dumpster and yelled at the top of my lungs toward the crowd at the mouth of the alley, “Hey, come quick. I found a vampire, and he’s talking shit about shifters!”

  A cry rose from those closest to the alley’s entrance.

  Over the scorpion’s head, I watched as several protestors turned and spotted Milo where he’d drawn a knife and was circling his prey. His black eyes watched warily as he looked for a vulnerability.

  “What the hell, G,” he called to me without taking his eyes off the blueberry killer.

  I felt kind of bad for using Milo as the bait, but the damage was done. His intact glamour meant that his supe signature was still that of a vampire, and the assholes knew it. Their eyes narrowed, and even though some of them had clearly also spotted the scorpion demons, they didn’t seem fazed. If anything, they looked hungry for the challenge.

  “Three demons for one low price,” one of them snarled.

  “Let’s kick their trespassing asses,” someone else called.

  They dropped their signs and entered the alley at a run.

  Milo swung out and managed to draw a bit of blood from his demon opponent before turning to glare at me.

  “You couldn’t let us put these assholes down quietly and just go home?”

  I shot Milo an apologetic look. “Sorry, but we need a distraction.”

  “From what? These demons aren’t the worst we’ve faced.”

  “I don’t want to kill them,” I hissed, ducking as another blue pincer arced toward me. Poison dripped off the tip, and I shuddered.

  “What the hell do you want to do? Hug ‘em?” Gran demanded somewhere over my head.

  “They’re blue,” I said impatiently, dancing out of reach of another poisonous pincer, “And that means they were once supes like us. We should be finding a way to cure them, not kill them.”

  “And how exactly do you plan to convince them of that plan?” he demanded.

  “Trust me, they’re not strong enough to—”

  The scorpion in front of me jerked suddenly, and I watched as a piece of brick thudded off its hard back. A second later, the demon trying to impale Milo fell.

  The crowd advanced, spreading out into small groups as they launched attacks. Fortunately, none of them seemed particularly skilled in combat. Then, one of them shifted, and I realized the boar might actually stand a chance.

  “Shit.”

  Maybe I’d misjudged the mob.

  But thankfully, as I’d hoped, the scorpions took one look at the army of opponents gathered and took off. Scaling the buildings with ease, they climbed up and away before any fatal damage could be done.

  For a moment, everyone paused to watch them go.

  Then, one by one, the protestors turned to us, and I realized we’d just lost our window.

  “What the hell,” one of them said, but he wasn’t staring at Milo.

  Every single pair of eyes turned to me, including Milo’s. His eyes widened.

  “What?” I demanded.

  “Your disguise,” he said, wincing. “It’s worn off.”

  I looked down and realized I’d shapeshifted back to my own form. The poison. Fighting it and holding another form was too much for my body.

  “Shit.” I looked up at the crowd, watching their eyes narrowing as the pieces clicked into place.

  “How’d you do that?” someone demanded. “You were a dude before. A shifter.”

  “And now you smell like a fae,” another one added, eyes narrowed.

  There was a pause.

  “She’s a shapeshifter,” a voice called out.

  Someone laughed. “Shapeshifters don’t exist anymore, dumbass. The council purged them for being a threat.”

  “Well, they missed one, and it’s here with a fucking vampire.”

  There was a long beat of silence and then:

  “Get them both!”

  “Um, I think that’s our cue,” Milo said in a low, urgent voice.

  I glanced at the advancing crowd and then up at the clouds.

  “Screw it,” I said and shifted into my griffin.

  Then, I grabbed Milo’s sleeve with my claws and lifted us both into the sky.

  Chapter Four

  Gran fell behind as I soared upward. Her voice faded, but not before I heard her promise to “sniff out our trail” and meet us later. I didn’t know how a June bug sniffed anything, but that was a question for another time. For now, I needed a cure for the deadly substance burning through my body, and preferably one within a ten-minute flying radius. After that, this poison would make flying impossible.

  Also, living would be impossible too.

  There was only one place close enough and with the right antidote.

  Four minutes later, I landed on the roof of my apartment building, doing my best not to crush Milo as I set him on his feet. With hands on his knees, he peered up at me.

  “I’m going to need enrollment into your frequent flyer program if this shit keeps up.”

  I let my griffin form fall away and winced as the burn of poison shot from my shoulder into my neck then down through my torso. “You’re welcome for saving you.”

  “Says the girl who called the dogs on us in the first place.”

  I scowled down at my bleeding arm as I stalked to the door that led downstairs to my apartment. “Those scorpion demons were blue, Milo. That means they’re Raguel’s little creations, and they could be our fr
iends for all we know. I couldn’t just kill them.”

  “How’d you know they’d run off when the crowd caught up to them anyway?” he asked as he followed me down the narrow stairs and into the hallway.

  I unlocked my door and stepped inside, shrugging over my shoulder. “I didn’t.”

  Behind me, Milo snorted then fell silent. His footsteps stopped, and I turned to find him staring wide-eyed around my living room.

  “What the hell, Gem. It looks like a bomb went off here.”

  “That’s because a bomb did go off here,” I said, crossing to the kitchen and pulling open the cabinet below the sink.

  Please be here, please be here.

  Bingo.

  I grabbed the vial taped to the underside of the sink and stood, ripping open the bag wrapped around it.

  Milo stood staring at me, still incredulous about the state of my apartment. Or judgy.

  “Okay, to be fair, most of this damage is actually from an octo-demon.”

  “An octo…” His eyes widened. “Those things are extinct.”

  “Well, no one told that guy,” I said, and he looked horrified. “But don’t worry, Faith and I put it down.”

  “Faith and you,” he repeated.

  “She showed up right before the demon.” I shrugged. “What can I say, we bonded over fighting for our lives.”

  Milo smirked. “That’s how you bond with all your friends.” But the smirk died as I uncapped the vial and tossed back the contents.

  “What are you— Shit, Gem, you’re hit.”

  He crossed the room and yanked on my wounded arm, pulling my sleeve up so he could inspect it.

  “And your bedside manner sucks,” I said, wincing.

  His glare was accusatory. Like this was somehow my own fault. “You need to get that cleaned and bandaged.”

  “I don’t exactly have sterile anything in this apartment.”

  His nose scrunched as he lifted a dirty dishrag from where it had fallen on the windowsill. The rag was stained with something dark, probably demon blood. “But seriously, you ought to clean this place up. How can you live like this?”

  “I kind of don’t,” I said. “I spent the weekend with my mom so I wouldn’t have to deal with it. But I can’t stay there permanently, especially considering Raph likes to just pop in whenever.”