“Yikes, man,” Bonbon barked, taking in Damien’s shirt. “Is it Halloween, or did you run over an entire marathon on the way home?”
Damien could not deal with the supernatural clown show at the moment. “I am going to get cleaned up.”
He went upstairs and stripped off another ruined suit. His brother had certainly had his fill of violence tonight. No one, not even the poor gardener, had been left alive. It reminded Damien of the fundraiser, only this bloodbath would have far greater repercussions.
Whine all you like, tailor, but this is your fault. You should have let me out to play sooner.
Damien stepped into the shower, scrubbing the blood from his hands, face, and neck.
He doubted he’d ever forget the look on MF’s face as she stood in the middle of that gazebo while the guests were mowed down. His brother had found several automatic rifles in Natasha’s armory. Once the bullets ran out, his beast went to work with a very large knife he’d found behind the bar, used for cutting up fruit.
I wonder why I did not touch MF. Maybe she was right. Maybe he did care. So was Sky onto something regarding the nature of his curse?
The water started backing up in the drain, so Damien shut off the shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist and went for his suitcase at the foot of the bed.
“I bet you want to be alone right now.” Sky’s beautiful face appeared before him.
Was he asleep and dreaming right now? “How am I seeing you?”
“It won’t last long. Takes a lot out of me to manifest in the physical world, but I thought you should know that I went with you to the party.”
Christ. He’d told her not to.
She went on, “Which is why you’ll find there’s no silverware here in the house. Pet flushed it all down the toilet while I was gone. Apparently, the shiny surfaces were interrupting her sex mojo.”
No words.
Sky continued, “I saw what happened with that woman, Damien, and…”
“You were disgusted.”
Sky shrugged her brows and pressed her hands to his chest. He could actually feel her. “You did everything you could to warn her off.”
“What does it matter? She is dead. Her entire family is dead.” The Russian mafia would be coming after him if they ever found out what he had done.
“Yes. They are. But those were not nice people.”
“So what? I am a man who has left many dead bodies in his wake. I do not get to decide who deserves to live or die. I am as bad as they were.”
“I don’t agree. Not even a little. Which is why what I have to say is extremely difficult. I…wanted to say this to your face.” She sighed. “I thought it was all in your mind, but after tonight, I know you were telling the truth. It’s not safe to be around you.” She paused. “I texted Amelia and told her to take Miguel to a hotel.”
She’d seen the truth about the darkness living inside him. “A wise choice.”
“But I am not abandoning you. I’m going to help you fix this, Damien. There must be a way to free you.”
“Do not waste your time.”
Sky began to fade. “I have to go. But please don’t lose hope, Damien.”
He said nothing and dressed. A while later, a text came in on his phone from Sky.
Sky: Search came up empty on the sponsors for the festival. Permit for the event is registered to SBP, Inc. SBP is owned by the Newberys, who also invested in Brown Mexican Salsa.
This wasn’t the clue he expected, but it proved there was a connection between the Newberys and the event organizers.
He could feel it. They were close to figuring this out, and even better, he was close to getting his life back. After the bloodbath, the clown show downstairs knew he’d been telling the truth about how dangerous he was and would want to keep their distance.
No more ghost’s family, no demons, no insane fairies, and ex-vampires. Just him and his curse.
A pit formed in his stomach. The pit of relief. Yes, that is what it is.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Damien got up early the next morning. MF was nowhere to be found. Neither was Pet.
Excellent. His beast had proven to be useful for once. Finally. I am alone.
Bonbon and Gorgonzolina trotted into the kitchen. “Morning, Damien.”
And again I spoke too soon. Damien poured water into the coffee maker. “How is the honeymoon going?”
“Great. We think we are going to stay in Miami for a while. We met a nice couple next door. They have no children, and they give nutritious ear rubs.”
In other words, even the two demons were cutting bait. “Glad to hear it.”
“Yeah, we just need you to write a note when you go, saying you don’t want us anymore. That way they’ll feel really sorry for us and hold us a lot.”
“Whatever you like.” Damien filled the coffee maker with grounds and hit brew.
“I know you’ll miss me, but Pet and MF will still be around to keep you company.”
“They have thankfully gone their separate ways.”
“What are you talking about, man? They left with Sky to scout out the festival.”
“What?” Damien hoped Bonbon was joking.
“MF said you were looking a little rough after going into beast mode last night. She thought it would be helpful to get the lay of the land.”
That was incredibly reckless. The event had been organized specifically to lure immortal creatures.
Bonbon turned his head. “Oh, hey, Sky.” Bonbon’s little white ears darted straight up. “Oh, guess you were right again, Damien.”
“What’s wrong. What happened?”
“Sky says the metal detectors are rigged. MF was nabbed the minute she walked through them with Pet in her pocket. Some security guards dragged them off.”
Dear gods. “Does Sky know where they were taken?”
“She says they’re in some trailer with cages in the back parking lot,” Bonbon explained.
“I will go dress and leave immediately.”
Bring the weapons, tailor. All of them this time.
Damien did not have a choice. He would have to cut the power to the detectors, too. Who knew how many immortals might show up to the event.
He looked down at the little demons.
“Bonbon, Gorgonzolina, exactly how much energy can you spare?”
“Why?”
“I need you to short out the transformers supplying the festival.” Tripping a fuse simply wouldn’t do the trick. They needed the entire event to be a no-go. And little-known fact: love-sucking demons were like supernatural batteries. When they liked, they could set off a charge.
“We’ll be very hungry after.” Bonbon blinked his big golden eyes.
“I will make sure you both get all the affection you can handle.” It was a festival. The power would be out. The attendees would have little else to do while they sat around.
“What are you waiting for? Get our leashes, man.” Bonbon smiled. “We’re going to a festival.”
“God, I love being married to you. It is very exciting,” Gorgonzolina muttered.
Damien parked in the back employee lot, giving a hundred-dollar bill to the security guard, who’d asked for his credentials and did not buy Damien’s story that the little dogs belonged to Lady Yaya, one of the headliners, who apparently made a name for herself by yodeling while playing an electric guitar.