I wanted to.
I didn’t even understand why.
Mr. Lemon’s expression darkened. “Normally, I would say it’s not, but I will make an exception. The fee may be higher, but we have learned to trust the word of angels—and archangels. And archangels do not interfere with mortal affairs without good reason. How often would you like her to be checked on?”
“I would pay to have it done once a month if I could.”
If anything, only to make certain her future guardian walked a narrow line.
If something happened to her, I wanted to know—and I wanted to know immediately.
“I think an arrangement can be made, and I have a few ideas on how to make sure the guardian doesn’t do anything inappropriate. But the day she turns sixteen, she’ll be on her own. And if she were to run from a potential situation earlier? Well, arrangements can be made to make certain she is able to take care of the necessities. That can be extended later into life as well.”
“What do you mean?”
“When guardians are flagged as problematic enough a divine interferes, there are steps the government takes to smooth things over. When she’s sixteen, she’ll have an easier time with obtaining a driver’s license, especially in terms of permanent residency issues. She’d be able to get an exemption for her license, as well, in that she won’t have the curfews newer drivers face, as we can’t control her work hours. She’ll also be legally able to work at a younger age. It’s a permanent flag on her record, which employers, landlords, and the government sees if her name is run in the system.”
“She doesn’t have a last name.”
“That’s fine. We have a special form for that, so as long as her first name is unique, she has a birthdate in the system, and she has some other information, which the government will provide to her and only her, she’ll be able to function.”
“Will her lack of a last name be a problem?”
“No, not really. Not with the flag in place. Please come with me, and we’ll take care of this somewhere a little more comfortable. Will you want to take the baby to her new guardian yourself?”
If I met the guardian in my current mood, there would be a murder, I wouldn’t be able to storm the gates of hell to help my brother, and my life would be even more of a mess. “Can I decline? I’d rather this person understand the government is carefully watching her. However, if I could have a copy of her passport, birth certificate, and whatever other official documentation that is available for her, I’ll hold them safe for her.”
And, down the road, perhaps I could hunt for her and make sure she had a happy adulthood even though her childhood would be less than ideal. Something was better than nothing.
I could live with my guilt for that long—and once I had the Devil doing my bidding, I could make a real difference.
As far as plans went, I delved into the dark depths of insanity, but what was one more impossibility added to what I already intended to do?
“Yes, of course. I will make sure to send a pair with backup to impress upon the guardian that the CDC and FBI will be keeping a close eye on the situation.”
I allowed myself a grim smile. “I don’t suppose you can recruit an angel or devil or demon for that task, could you?”
“Normally, I would not mention something like this, but should you ever have children, ma’am, you’ll be one hell of a mother. You’ve gone into momma bear mode, and you haven’t even had custody of her for more than an hour or two at most.”
I indulged in cuddling with the little girl, grateful she peacefully slept. “She deserves it.”
“All children do. It takes a special person to be willing to take on such a burden for a child.”
“She’s my responsibility.” It didn’t matter she’d only be my responsibility for a short while. I’d heard Michael. If I didn’t show her love and compassion, who would?
“And that’s special. I see a lot in my job, but it’s rare for someone to take on such a burden for another’s child. Most would flinch about the fee for once a year, and I bet the only reason you hesitated about once a month was you trying to figure out if you could afford the payments.”
“Yeah. That’s right. I’ll figure out some way to pay it,” I promised.
“If needed, I’m not above coercing an angel or find a charity to pay for it,” Mr. Lemon confessed. “I can’t do much, but I can do that much.”
“I’ll do my best to take care of the payment myself.”
“I understand that, too.” Mr. Lemon led me to an elevator and up several floors, taking me to a small office with a couch taking up the space his desk didn’t. “This will take a few hours, so please make yourself comfortable.”
I sat where he directed, settling the baby onto the cushion and retrieving my brother from my purse. Jacob gave me a dose of the cold shoulder.
“Is that a chipmunk?”
I held up his travel case. “This pain in my ass is my transformed brother, as he decided it was a good idea to make a deal with some stupid loan shark. They gave him a transformative. This is the result. If this adds complexity to my passport, I will understand.”
“It sounds like you’ve had an interesting time of it lately, Miss Esmaranda.”
“Yeah. You might say I’m having a devil of a time right now. It is what it is. Silver linings and all that. It could be worse.”
“I’m afraid to ask,” he confessed.
“I could be unable to do anything at all.”
Four
You’re lucky I love you too much to eat you, Jonas.
The paperwork went smoothly, but I delayed the proceedings because Kanika woke up and required care. Once fed and changed into a clean diaper, I fell prey to her charms, cooing and playing with her for almost two hours before I caved to the inevitable.
She needed to go to a different home, and I needed to storm the gates of the Devil’s many hells to get my brother back. Revenge came second to that, although I would work hard on that front as well. No matter how much I wanted to keep her, I couldn’t.
Handing her over hurt my heart, but I refused to say goodbye.
I’d see her again someday, so I wished her well and told her to kick ass in the process. Teaching a baby to curse wouldn’t win me any points, but an archangel had already confirmed I’d be going to hell long before I saw any heavens, so what was one more infraction on my list?
Armed with an official copy of her passport, her birth certificate, her social security number, instructions on how to renew them all, more instructions on how to act as a super-secret guardian agent, and more instructions on how to smooth the way for her into adulthood, I left the CDC’s building and headed home with my brother in tow.
I dumped my brother on the front seat, buckled his cage in, and hissed at his wretched little car, one of the sources of my many problems. Jonas complained in a squeak and beat at the clear wall of his cage.
“You’re lucky I love you too much to eat you, Jonas. I have a date with the Devil because of you, so you better watch your pipsqueak mouth. Once you’re back to human or the equivalent, I’m going to kick your ass so hard you can’t see straight for a month. After you can see straight again, I’m going to kick your ass again. The number of times I kick your ass will be determined by how much you piss me off between now and returning you to your proper form.”