Kidnapped By Dark Fae

5

Daisy burst into action. She recognized the two guys from the pictures easily, one near the window and the second belonging to those run-down sneakers. Green light for night-night.

She slapped the light switch and doused the room in darkness. The woman screamed. One of the guys said, “Ohhh whoa ahh.” Very strange reaction.

Moonlight fell over him, but she’d already memorized his location and lined up her body. She pulled a throwing knife from the holster on her thigh and flung it. It lodged in his throat. Perfect shot. No one in this room had a Demigod’s blood magic—except her—or fast healing like a shifter. That dude would bleed out sooner rather than later.

But the blood loss wouldn’t kill him.

Acid spit gurgled out of his mouth and over his chin. It rolled into the wound and seeped in.

He had terrible genetics. Usually acid spit didn’t affect the spitter. Not with this guy. Getting it on his skin was fine, but if it went into his bloodstream, it would kill him. He couldn’t tolerate his own magic, something very unusual for magical people.

The guy on the couch started, his eyes wide. Daisy was on him in a moment, peppering him with knife strikes and quickly ending his flailing.

Low-hanging fruit, these characters. This was beneath her and Zorn in every way. It was good practice for her, though. A nice, easy steppingstone for her first semi-solo job.

She slowed, walking toward the woman. Ava. Very pretty, this lady. A knockout by anyone’s standards. Mordecai had surely stopped thinking the moment she smiled at him.

She wasn’t smiling now.

“I know who you are,” she said, her voice quivering. “What do you want?”

Zorn pushed the window open and climbed in gracefully, nearly invisible despite the moonlight.

Ava let out a surprised sound, hurrying away from him and into the corner.

“Who’s the guy in the tub?” Daisy asked her.

Zorn started moving toward the hallway immediately. He’d make sure the guy in the tub stayed put until they were ready to deal with him or her. They weren’t implicated in all this. Yet.

Ava’s body started to shake and then her voice changed octaves. A wave of sadness washed over Daisy. Ava was a magical mood changer.

Yawn.

“This is the last time I’m going to ask nicely.” Daisy took a step toward the woman.

“He wants to meet the buyer,” Ava said quickly, flinching toward the wall. “He works for Randall. He’s higher up on the chain of command and wants to make sure the buyer feels comfortable.”

The emotion changed to rage.

Daisy laughed. “Really? You want me to show you rage?”

Ava’s face paled. The magical emotion she was pushing switched to depression. Her fear was messing with her control.

“The buyer of what?” Daisy asked, ignoring the changing emotions.

“A-antique. An antique. Don’t come any closer! I’ll tell you everything.”

“Yes, I know.” Daisy stepped forward and yanked Ava around until her face was pushed into the crack of the corner. She ripped the woman’s hands behind her back before sliding the point of her bloody knife against the hollow behind Ava’s ear. She pressed hard enough to break the skin.

“A goblet,” Ava said frantically. “He called it a chalice. I don’t know which one it is. Honest. I’m not on the payroll.”

Daisy leaned into the woman, pressing the blade a little deeper. A thin rivulet of blood traced down the woman’s neck. Her terror rose, her breathing becoming choppier and more panicked.

“You know who I am,” Daisy said in a low voice, “and you certainly know who Zorn is. You must also know who my brother is.”

“That wasn’t my fault!” Ava trembled. “I told him I didn’t want to be tied down. I told him! He said he’d be exclusive, but I didn’t.”

“Did you also tell him that you were with him so you could pass information to your boys? To make it easier for them to rob him?”

She froze.

“Yeah. The cheating thing is bullshit, obviously,” Daisy went on, “but you were upfront about that. Fine. Having someone filming you doing it while talking s**t about my brother? Not good. That sort of thing gets under my skin. But setting him up to be jumped and robbed?”

The anger nearly dragged Daisy under.

“He’s the type of guy who suffers in silence,” she said with a constricted throat.

The picture Jerry had taken seven days ago flashed through her mind. Mordecai hadn’t been with a woman at all. His whole body had been battered and bloody, his nose broken along with a few of his bones. He’d hidden that from Daisy and stayed at Jerry’s while he healed so she wouldn’t know.

The guys thought it was because Mordecai didn’t want Daisy to claim vengeance on his behalf. That was probably partly true. But she knew Mordecai better than anyone. She knew what made him tick and why he did the things he did. He’d hidden because he was ashamed. He’d allowed himself to be caught off guard, and despite the rock-solid training they both had, they’d taken him down. It didn’t matter that it was eight against one. He knew Daisy always tried to build him up, and he’d hate causing her pain by seeing him torn down. If he hadn’t had the blood magic and the naturally fast healing of a shifter, he would’ve died. That was what had frozen Daisy’s insides. He’d been done dirty and he’d suffered for it. That was inexcusable.

“You have him jumped, you take his s**t…” Daisy clenched her jaw as the rage swelled and twisted. “Then you make a s*x tape while mocking him for it. He got that yesterday morning, right?”

It had crushed him. He had liked this chick for some f*****g reason. He’d been over the moon about her. And she’d gone and s**t all over him.

“Who talks s**t about another lover while actively banging someone? No one. You were trying to hurt him emotionally after these assholes hurt him physically. What sort of hell spawned you?”

“He’s nothing but an exiled shifter,” Ava said through her teeth. “And you’re nothing but a dirty Chester!” Magical self-loathing swamped Daisy. “It was embarrassing when he sang a Chester’s praises in front of everyone. An angel? Yeah f*****g right. He should’ve known better. He got what was coming to him.”

He certainly should’ve known better. Mordie was too lovely to see Daisy for what she really was—the devil with razor-tipped heels. Death walking. That was his error, but this b***h was not the right person to call him on it. Daisy alone had that privilege.

The fake magical emotion couldn’t beat out Daisy’s very real fury.

Her voice was low and intimate. “First of all…” She shallowly jabbed the woman in the thigh with her knife, then in the side. Ava cried out and fell harder into the wall, back to being docile. “He was exiled as a child, right after his parents, the alphas, were murdered. Now he is working with Demigods. He could have a pack if he wanted, but he’s choosing to stick with a very powerful family. He leveled up, you ignorant t**t. Second, just so we’re clear about the type of guy you f****d around with, he wanted to walk you home to make sure you got there safe. He didn’t like this lifestyle for you. Is your air freshener actually a flaming dog turd? Because that’s what it smells like. He’s kind and lovely and gentle, but even if you hate that, he’s very good-looking and has a stellar body. Like…what sort of stupid are you? That guy Max is dumpy as s**t. Do you actively try to make bad decisions?”

Daisy gave her a few more shallow cuts, numb to the violence but wanting this message to be crystal clear. f**k with one of her people, and you f****d with her directly. She didn’t have compassion and she didn’t play games. Zorn had taught her well. This chick wouldn’t die, but she’d be laid up for a while. She’d have plenty of time to think about what she’d done. Plenty of time for the fear to take on a life of its own.

“You’re going to send him an apology. Is that clear?” Daisy shook the woman. “You will send him an apology for being human garbage. After that, you will never speak to him again. You will never go around my family again. If you do, for any reason, I will finish this job I started. Get me?” She pressed the blade against the crying woman’s throat.

“Yes,” Ava whispered.

“What?” Daisy prompted.

“Yes!”

Daisy used the woman’s slinky dress to clean off her blade before stepping back.

“Out of curiosity”—she put the knife away—“do you still have the watch or car you took from him?”

Ava sank to the ground in a tapestry of blood and defeat. “I don’t have it. Randall took it and gave us cash. He’s got it. I don’t have it!”

Randall, hmm? Daisy might just look him up. He was the big fish of the operation. Actually, Zorn might want to handle him. She still had to go after the other six turds who had helped these dead guys take down Mordie.

The rage simmered.

Daisy turned her back on Ava, a signal that the woman was no threat. Doing that as a Chester was the gravest of insults to a magical person.

Zorn waited in the darkened hallway, no moonlight reaching this far.

“You left her alive?” he whispered.

“She needs to send an apology to Mordecai. You heard Jerry. He said Mordie feels betrayed. I don’t want him to lose faith in women or people in general. Besides, he’d flip out if I killed her. He’d take responsibility and feel guilty and it would be a whole thing. I don’t have the patience.”

“Careful. Your big heart is showing,” Zorn murmured.

She rolled her eyes at him.

He jerked his head at the closed bathroom door. The light was still on. No splashing came from inside.

“The shades are pulled on the window,” he said. “I couldn’t have a look. He must’ve heard the screaming. He didn’t get up to investigate.”

She hooked a finger over her shoulder. “They were utterly useless. Killed by your own acid? Give me a break. Mr. Bathtub is probably scared.”

“Probably.”

“He’s part of the organization, so he’s fair game, but we don’t know what kind of magic he has.”

“Correct.”

Daisy bit her lip. Zorn stared down at her, no expression. He’d take point if she wanted. He was silently asking if she was up for this.

Nervousness roiled in her belly, but she didn’t back down. This was her life. Sometimes, part of that life was walking into danger blind. With Zorn as backup, she should be able to handle it.

Should being the operative word.

“I’m on it,” she said, not allowing the nervousness to quiver her voice. She headed that way.