Knock Em Dead (Supernatural Security Force Book 2)

by Heather Hildenbrand

  “I don’t,” I said. “I mean, this isn’t—” I reached up and grabbed the little monster currently attaching itself to my upper half and attempted to pry it loose, but the thing wouldn’t budge. “Holy hell, this thing is strong.”

  “Well, it is Hell’s child,” Jax said.

  Beyond frustrated, I reached out and wiped my mucus-coated palm down Jax’s bicep. His eyes widened, and I watched with satisfaction as his expression morphed. His eyes narrowed and gleamed with something like a threat. “If you want to touch me, beautiful, just ask.”

  I huffed. “That’s not—”

  “Motherhood becomes you, you know. And I have to say, I don’t make a habit of encouraging the idea of offspring with the women I’m attracted to. That’s not a responsibility I’m ready to take on. But you look suited to it.”

  My jaw dropped, and I stopped trying to pry the baby demon off me. “Are you hitting on me and hinting that you want to get me pregnant in the same breath?”

  He opened his mouth to answer, but the smirk told me all I needed to know.

  I held up a hand. “You know what? Don’t answer that. I think I’ve had about all I can handle today of slimy come-ons.”

  Jax’s eyes danced, and he leaned in, unconcerned with the baby demon now sleeping on my shoulder. “Darling, I can promise once you start with me, you’ll never get enough.”

  A ripple of pleasure ran through me at the memory of his lips on mine. And I couldn’t quite regain my balance in time to toss back some sarcastic retort.

  Jax just straightened knowingly. He turned and tossed his machete at the demon carcass and the growing pool of fluid around it.

  “The goo will melt right through that thing if you leave it there,” I warned.

  “Yes, it’s a handy way to destroy evidence.” He gestured to the mess. “I assume you know what to do with this?”

  “I’ll call it in,” I said, my words slow with suspicion now. “But you already know that, don’t you?”

  He turned back to me, his expression deceptively blank. “You’re SSF. It’s not hard to tell.”

  My eyes narrowed. “You knew that night? At the ball? And you still flirted with me? Made out with me?”

  He smiled crookedly. “I don’t discriminate.”

  “Yes, I can see that,” I muttered.

  He tilted his head thoughtfully. “Although, something about you . . .” He trailed off, and the uncertainty that flickered over his expression made me wonder if he wasn’t just as off-balance as I about whatever this was between us.

  Finally, he cleared his throat. “Will you turn over the infant?”

  “What?” I frowned in confusion until I remembered the monster currently clinging to my torso.

  “The child. It’s not going to be allowed to live. Not as a level five. I mean, it looks like a hairless cat now, but by next year, it’ll be a scaly rottweiler. They’ll want to put it down before it gets that far.”

  For some reason, the idea of killing something helpless—even a demon—struck me as wrong.

  “No,” I said. The word was out even before I’d fully thought it through. To make it worse, my hand came up and pressed against the baby’s back as if I was protecting the thing.

  It snuggled in closer, snoring softly.

  Jax’s brows lifted. “You want me to kill it now instead? Save them the trouble.”

  “No,” I said again, twisting away from him.

  “I see.” Jax softened. I opened my mouth to utter a slew of threats, but he held up his hand and stepped closer again. “Your secret’s safe with me, darling.”

  This close, I could just make out his scent over the stench of the demon-goo. It was enough to knock my thoughts sideways all over again. In the back of my mind, logic screamed at me to stop the craziness. But my mouth wasn’t attached to reason. Neither was my decision-making ability.

  “Seriously, Jax. You can’t tell anyone,” I warned.

  “You have my word,” he said solemnly, and I paused at the softness in him. It added a layer to his too-big personality that I didn’t like. Or a layer I couldn’t trust. Mostly because I wanted to like it.

  Damn. That was a crazy-ass burrito of feelings I’d have to unwrap later.

  “And what do you want in return?” I asked in a hard voice.

  Jax didn’t miss a beat, confirming my suspicions. “Information.”

  I sighed. Of course he did. “What kind of information?”

  Jax hesitated, and I felt my impatience spike. On my shoulder, the demon baby slept on, but I wasn’t sure how long that would last. I needed to finish this and get the hell out of here.

  “What kind of information?” I repeated.

  Jax’s brows drew tight, the first sign of stress I’d ever seen on him. “The werewolf attacks outside of the city—who’s behind them?”

  I stared at him. “I don’t know. I just found out about the case today. How do you even know about them?”

  “Not important. Listen, when you find out more, will you pass it along?”

  I frowned. “How would I do that? I wouldn’t know how to find you even if I wanted to—”

  “I’ll find you,” he assured me in a way that made me wonder if he’d known where I was—who I was—all along.

  “How in the hell—”

  “Gem, darling.” Jax’s voice turned urgent. “I’m sure your senses are a bit dulled what with childbirth and all.” I flipped him off, but he continued, unaffected, “But mine are picking up on someone—or something—headed this way.” He tilted his head, listening.

  I did the same, finally catching a hint of movement far to the front.

  “They’re examining the door outside,” Jax said quietly, “And looking for your missing friend, whom I suspect is still inside the belly of the beast at our feet.”

  My eyes widened. “Murphy? How do you know he’s in the demon’s belly?”

  Jax pointed, and I looked over to see the fluid leaking from the open torso had pushed a body to the edge of the gaping wound Jax had cut earlier. A hand stuck out of the hole complete with a sleeve I recognized from earlier this morning.

  “Shit,” I said.

  “It would be in both of our best interests to wrap up this little agreement we’re making,” Jax said. “And be on our way.”

  I looked back at him, my palms clammy at what he was suggesting. But I couldn’t bring myself to say no, not when that meant handing over a helpless infant to certain death.

  Besides, I’d already made one side-deal to inform on SSF secrets. What was one more?

  “Fine,” I said, and Jax nodded then stuck out his hand for a shake that would seal the deal. “I’ll give you information on the attacks as long as you don’t tell anyone about the baby.”

  “Perfect.”

  I slid my hand into Jax’s, and we shook. His lips curved, and his eyes gleamed with something that made me wonder if I hadn’t just made a huge mistake that went far beyond secret demon babies and agreeing to inform on a case. But it was too late now.

  “I’ll be in touch,” Jax murmured before reaching out to brush a soft kiss over my cheek. I closed my eyes, savoring his mouth on my skin. Pure reflex. Meant nothing, obviously.

  By the time I opened my eyes again, he was gone.

  Before I could think too hard about the idiocy of my own actions, I hurried to find another exit and get the hell out of here too. Apparently, I now had a baby to feed.

  Chapter Four

  By the grace of all things Celestial, I somehow made it home without exposing my stolen child for the demon it was or running into anything that wanted to eat either of us. Unfortunately for me, by the time I shut and locked my apartment door behind me, demon-spawn was awake. And hungry if the sucking noises were any indication. I’d only barely made it past the door belonging to my nosy-ass neighbor, Patrice, who lived on the first floor, before making it safely upstairs. No doubt she’d heard the weird noises coming from the little bundle in my arms. I’d need a sto
ry for that later.

  Now, a pair of too-large eyes set against a pinched little face tracked me while I frantically searched my pantry for anything resembling food. My fridge had already revealed itself for the sad, empty box that it was, and I was praying my cabinets didn’t yield the same goose egg, or else hungry was going to turn into hangry real fast—and I, for one, did not want to see what a hangry demon baby looked like.

  “Uh, how about gummy bears?” I asked, grabbing the only thing inside my depressingly empty pantry.

  I yanked the bag of candy open and pulled out one of the squishy bears, holding it up for approval. The demon-baby sat in a milk crate on my kitchen table—the only “highchair” I could find on short notice. Already, the towels I’d tucked inside were coated in a slime layer that was either oozing from the baby’s pores or still lingering from the birth, but I figured feeding before a bath sounded smart.

  Who needed What To Expect When You’re Expecting when you had gummy bears and a milk crate?

  The baby eyed the candy with a growing sense of interest, and when I got close enough, it suddenly reached out and snatched the red squishy bear right out of my fingers, nearly drawing blood in the process, thanks to thumbtack sized baby claws already sprouting from its little T-rex arms.

  “Ow!” I retracted my hand, frowning at the scratches left behind, and watched while the demon baby popped the gummy bear into its mouth and gummed happily.

  I’d already done enough of an inspection to know the infant hadn’t sprouted teeth yet, thank goodness. But apparently, its gums were up to the task, because less than five seconds later, its eyes lit up and landed on the bag of candy I still held.

  Red gummy bear drool poured from its open maw.

  “Rawr.”

  The noise it made was maybe the cutest and most pathetic thing ever. My heart softened, and I reached into the bag and held out another gummy bear. “Aww. You liked that? Here you go.”

  I was rewarded with another scratch, and my smile vanished as I watched the second gummy disappear.

  “Ugh. Just take the bag,” I said, handing it over when gooey fingers reached for a third.

  Clawed hands snatched the bag from me, and I stepped back, watching with disgust and begrudging admiration as the little monster tore into the bag of treats.

  My phone rang, and when I saw my mother’s name, I knew I couldn’t ignore it.

  “I’m fine, Ma,” I said by way of greeting.

  “Gran told me about the demon. You’re not hurt?”

  “Nope. Totally unscathed.”

  The baby made a gurgling noise then burped.

  “Oh, do you have company?” my mother asked.

  I hesitated, knowing full well my mother’s manners wouldn’t allow her to grill me with company present. Like the lying daughter I was, I went with it.

  “Uh, yeah, actually. Can I call you back?”

  Gran’s voice was in the background, crooning about Jax McGuire. My mother giggled, and I rolled my eyes.

  “Of course, go ahead. Call me later,” my mother said.

  “Talk soon,” I said and hung up.

  I watched as the baby scarfed the rest of the gummies. When the last piece had been eaten, the tiny burp that followed made me smile all over again.

  “You are the most adorable ugly thing I’ve ever seen,” I said.

  It beamed back at me, gums on full display, and I shook my head.

  “Okay, it’s bath time then bedtime….” I trailed off as I realized I’d yet to come up with a name. In fact, I had no idea what gender it actually was.

  “Are you a she-demon or a he-demon?” I asked.

  Even though I knew it was pointless to expect an answer, I was trying to avoid checking for myself. Besides, demon genital identification wasn’t exactly a skill of mine. Their junk didn’t even look like our junk. As far as I knew anyway. Ugh, I was spending way too long thinking about demon junk.

  “Rawr,” it said again.

  I shook my head, grabbing the demon up in a handful of snotty towels, and carried it to the bathtub. “Okay, kid. Moment of truth.”

  I ran a few inches of water and dropped the bundle into the tub, towels and all. When the soaked towels sank, I got my first look at its little crotch.

  I blinked, frowning and craning my neck for some sort of sighting—but there was nothing.

  “What the hell,” I muttered, totally confused. Where was Demon Anatomy on Wikipedia when you needed it?

  “All right,” I said, sitting back and watching with fascination as the little monster dove in and out of the water with ease. “You love sweets, cuddling, and baths, and not a single protrusion in sight. Sounds like a girl to me.”

  The little monster smiled up at me, revealing soft pink gums as she floated on her back in the center of the tub.

  “Let’s see. . . Girl names,” I muttered. “Hmm. How about—”

  Squawking cut me off, and I shot to my feet, staring down at the baby as it suddenly wailed up at me. The sound of it bounced off the walls, echoing in the tiny room, and I had no doubt every one of my neighbors had just heard it too.

  “Shit,” I said, but my voice was drowned out by more high-pitched cries. The demon stopped floating and sat in the lukewarm water, staring up at me with its little arms raised as giant tears leaked from its eyes.

  “Definitely a girl with these kinds of mood swings,” I muttered.

  “Waaaa!” The wail echoed, and I gritted my teeth at the prospect of having to explain this to my neighbors.

  “Okay. Bath time is officially over,” I said, snatching her into my arms. The moment I picked her up, she burrowed into my shirt and promptly fell asleep. “Motherf—”

  I stopped myself, wondering if I should try to set a good example for her little ears.

  “Bedtime,” I cooed instead, and with one hand holding the baby, I used the other to gather more towels and pillows onto my bed. When I was done, I’d created a sort of cocoon that I hoped would keep her contained if she tried to roll.

  I set her down in the middle of the pallet and backed out of the room as silently as possible. Not that it mattered. Her snoring covered my tracks easily, and I made sure to shut the door behind me.

  For the next twenty minutes, I cleaned up and tried to figure out what part of my brain had short-circuited tonight to cause me to think taking that demon baby had been a good idea. Not to mention the agreement I’d made with Jax. Maybe the gorscht’s slimy blood had soaked into my skin and fried my brain cells. Maybe I’d had a break down after meeting Adrik. Some people freaked out over angels. Maybe I was in shock or something.

  My phone vibrated against the kitchen counter, and I snatched it up, answering before the sound could wake the kid.

  “Hello?” I said quietly.

  “Hawkins. We’ve got a mess.” The voice on the other end was unmistakable despite the fact that he’d never called me before.

  “Romanov,” I said.

  Holy shit. Could the guy read minds? Had he known I was thinking about him? No way, angels weren’t telepathic. Were they?

  “How’d you get my number?”

  I could practically hear his eyes rolling in the pause that followed.

  “You’re my employee and a registered agent of the SSF. Why wouldn’t I have your number?”

  “Right,” I muttered.

  A beat of silence passed, and I realize too late he was waiting for me to say something else.

  “Did you need something?” I asked.

  “Help with a mess,” he said, and I realized he’d already said that. “You’re up.”

  “I’m off the clock,” I began, getting impatient. The last thing I needed was for Adrik to overhear an infant in the background. A demon infant at that.

  I needed to end the call. I needed—

  “A cleaner is never off the clock,” he snapped. “Now, get down to the office. And bring those supplies I told you to pick up.”

  “The supplies?” I repeated. Shit.
I’d totally forgotten about the list he’d given me.

  “Yes. We found a greater demon in the warehouse next to the office,” he said, and my pulse leaped.

  Angel balls. If he’d found the dead demon, did that mean he knew I’d been there? That I’d stolen its baby? This wasn’t good.

  “Hawkins, you still there?”

  I jumped.

  “Greater demons haven’t been sighted in the city in years,” I said, hoping my voice sounded high-pitched out of disbelief rather than nerves. If Adrik found out what I’d done, there was no way I’d ever get promoted to agent. I’d be a cleaner for life. Or worse. Fired.

  His voice dropped low. “Which is why we need to clean this quietly. If word gets out, it’ll spook people. And the last things this city needs are a bunch of spooked supernaturals. We’ve got enough crime as it is.

  “You have thirty minutes before I start marking this against you. And don’t forget my reports go straight to headquarters. Hell, they’re probably reviewed by the head agent in charge of hiring and firing—and promotions.”

  “Be there in twenty-nine,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “Good.”

  The line went dead.

  I slid the phone into my pocket, hesitated for about five more seconds while my thoughts raced ahead toward a plan, then I lurched into motion.

  I had twenty-nine minutes to make this work.

  Shit.

  I ransacked my medicine cabinet and found the half-empty bottle of NyQuil I’d stashed away after the last time I’d been sick. Fae didn’t really catch colds, but I’d accidentally gotten too close to a molina demon last year, and it’d sprayed me with enough germs and yuck to give me the flu for a week. NyQuil had been the only thing that let me stop coughing and sneezing long enough to sleep.

  It was also about to be my new babysitter.

  No judging. Being a demon mom was about ingenuity and survival—mostly my own, but still.

  I hurried back to the bedroom, dosing the baby with NyQuil then shushing her back to sleep. Once she was out, I slowly, and as quietly as possible, shoved my dresser in front of my bedroom door and locked up. Most days, I didn’t bother with all three deadbolts, but tonight, I slid every single one closed and prayed it was enough to contain the destruction if the thing woke up before I got back.