The Others Agency

by V J Lee

  Rissa snorted derisively. “He got to fuck me to keep me alive, so he benefited from it as well.”

  Sky’s dark eyes flashed gold, a sign she was getting pissed. “Yeah, and then you had to go and tell him to get out of your life, in front of everyone in the room. That was a total dick move on your part.”

  Did Sky just call her a dick?

  “Listen, I need to go catch up with Cosmo.” Before Sky turned to leave, she pulled something out of the pocket of her leather jacket. The creaking sound making Rissa inhale the leather smell.

  “I know you’ve got your mind made up, but …” Sky tossed something on Rissa’s chest. “… This could have something to do with why Trevor fucked Petra.”

  Rissa looked down. It appeared to be a small doll, made from brown and black hair braided together. It had a head, arms and legs—and what was clearly a small penis made from hair protruding from between its legs. Bits of red wax had been dripped on it in places and had dried.

  It totally creeped Rissa out, but she was curious. She brought the doll up to her nose and took a whiff. Her senses were flooded with Trevor’s scent.

  “What could this crazy little voodoo doll have to do with Trevor fucking Petra? And why is there red candle wax on it?”

  Sky smiled and suddenly looked decidedly wolf-like. “For someone who works with Others all the time, you don’t know much, do you?”

  Taking the doll out of Rissa’s hand, she turned the thing over and brought it up to her nose. “This is a sex idol. The black magic is so strong in this thing, it would take a will stronger than any human, to resist it. These little guys were all over in Petra’s life—in her office, all throughout the house, in all the vehicles. There were also red candles all over, with Trevor’s name written down the length of them.” Sky raised an eyebrow in Rissa’s direction. “A lesser man would have been fucking her all over town. Cosmo took one of the dolls to a high priestess in New Orleans who he knows. She said it was the most powerful magic she had ever felt. No one understands how Trevor was able to withstand the urge to fuck Petra, even for as long as he did. It could only mean one thing.”

  When Rissa looked over at the other woman, Sky placed the little doll back in her hand. “He loves you. Love is free will, and you can’t put a spell on that.”

  “But he still gave in to the pull of the magic.”

  Sky exhaled in disgust and shook her head. “You still don’t fucking get it, do you? You pushed him toward her. You put him into a situation he didn’t want to be in. You and your family values shit. Well, now you are a family, and you just pushed the father of both of your children away.” Her eyes glittered with anger. “You are such a fucking hypocrite. I thought you were different than most of the skanky woman of the world. I guess I was wrong. And now Cosmo has to be punished for his role in saving your ass.”

  Sky turned on her booted heel and stalked toward the door. That’s when Rissa noticed the patch on her jacket, at the small of Sky’s back. It said: “Save a horse; ride a Wolf.”

  Chapter 27

  It had been two weeks since Rissa was given the okay to leave the healing ward. Trevor had spent the time either working non-stop, or drunk off his ass—there was no in-between.

  Jacob wasn’t due back for another week, so he had left Rissa alone. He knew he was going to have to get in touch with his lawyer so they could draw up custody papers. He would never object to any amount of child support, but he wanted to be with his kids as much as possible.

  Trevor remembered sitting in that room with his daughter in his arms. He hadn’t been there for Jacob as a baby, but by God he was going to do whatever he could to watch his daughter grow up. Now two weeks had passed, and he knew she had already changed. It made his heart ache.

  But today, Rissa had texted him, asking if he wanted to see the baby.

  He always thought of himself as a manly man, but that one simple text brought tears to his eyes.

  He texted back one word. Please.

  So there he was, walking up to the door of the little cottage in the woods, where he had spent the best times of his life.

  He knocked.

  “Come on in, it’s open,” Rissa’s voice rang out.

  Trevor’s first instinct was to get pissed. Why the fuck was the door unlocked? But then, he realized she must have known when he would be there and probably had unlocked it for him. But it didn’t mean he liked it.

  Before he even put his hand on the door knob, the smells from within hit his olfactory senses—beefy, spicy, yeasty, sweet deliciousness. He turned the handle and walked into a wall of those wonderful smells. He knew what it was—roast beef, potatoes and homemade bread. Rissa had the table set for two, so she was having a guest for dinner.

  “She’s still sleeping,” Rissa called out over her shoulder. She was pouring a pot of boiling water in the sink.

  “Oh, well, I can go home so I can take a shower and change my clothes. I just came over straight from work. I need to go meet up with Cosmo later anyway. This will save me from having to go back home after.”

  Rissa turned back around, placing the pot on the stove. She had on a black-and-white frilly apron that looked like a French maid’s uniform. God, she was stunning.

  Cocking her head to the side, she looked right at him. “When did you and Cosmo become such close friends?”

  Trevor shrugged. “I don’t know, it just kind of happened while you were so sick. He helped me through some shit, and I got to see a side of him that I didn’t know existed. I think he’s not half bad. And I’d rather have him at my back, than in my face … punching it over and over again. That guy has a violent evil streak you don’t want to be on the receiving end of.” Trevor knew he should go, since the baby was sleeping and Rissa was expecting company. But the house smelled so good, and she looked so sexy. He couldn’t move, even if his ass was on fire.

  She walked into the living room, standing just a few feet from him now. He heard the clicking of her heels on the wood floor, but it didn’t register that she was wearing heels, until he looked down at her feet. She had on a pair of sky-high fuck me shoes. They were sexy as hell, and he knew then that she was having a man over for dinner. Rissa hated walking in heels. These shoes were for sex, plain and simple.

  “I thought Cosmo was off being punished for helping me live?”

  For some reason, that statement pissed Trevor off. “You say it like he’s complaining about it? He would do it again in a heartbeat. Do you know that when they say punish, they mean he has to go into a room and have every image of every horrific act he has ever done or had done to him, played into his head, over and over again? He’ll feel every ounce of pain and anguish. And to say Cosmo has had it bad is an understatement. Or so I’ve heard.”

  Rissa paled, and took a deep breath. Putting her hand up to her throat, she said, “I feel like such a dick.” Trevor could only raise his eyebrows in query. “Something Sky said, and she was right. I feel like a dick.”

  Trevor swallowed. “Well, it looks as if you have plans, so I’ll just go. You can text me when she wakes up.”

  “Faith.”

  “Excuse me?” He couldn’t have heard that right.

  “I named the baby Faith. I hope you don’t mind. Faith Ann Snow.”

  Holy fuck. Trevor’s heart stopped. He could feel sweat pop out over his lip and brows. He stood there frozen, as he watched Rissa walk closer to him.

  Swallowing one last time, he finally found his voice. “You gave her my last name? And named her after my mom? Why would you do that?”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t ask you. I didn’t think you wanted to talk to me after I kicked you out of my room. I know how close you were to your parents, and seeing how that little bundle of joy renewed my faith in life and love again, I figured it was appropriate.” Rissa smiled a small smile. “You’re her dad, so she deserves your last name. Then, I gave her Ann for my mom’s middle name.” She paused when she saw the look on Trevor’s face. “I’m sorry if you
don’t like it. We can change it if you want. I asked Travis if he thought it would be all right and he was over the moon.”

  Trevor reached out, grabbing her waist and pulling her into him. He squeezed her so hard her back cracked. He loosened his death grip on her and kissed the top of her head, before letting her go and stepping back. He had no words at how happy that made him.

  But before he could find his voice to tell her, she looked up at him and shocked the shit out of him one more time. “I do have plans … with you. If you’ll stay and have dinner with me. I made your favorite.”

  Then, Rissa kneeled on one knee. “Trevor James Snow, I know that I do not deserve you, but I love you.” He thought maybe his eyes popped out of his head. She licked those sweet, luscious lips and continued. “You saved not only my life, but the life of our daughter. I know you would have given your life for us, and I couldn’t get over the fact that you were with Petra.”

  When he started to tell her that he could never forgive himself for that one, she put her hand up, stopping him. She took his hand with one hand.

  “I have just realized that I pushed you toward her. I know you don’t want to be married, but …” She reached into a small pocket in the front of her apron and pulled out small, dark blue box. Opening it, she revealed a ring. It was dark wood set in white gold with a small diamond in the middle. “I was hoping you would take this as my promise to love you forever.” Tears were streaming down her face.

  Trevor fell to his knees in front of her, taking her small hands in his much larger ones. “I would love to take this, but … I just can’t.”

  She just nodded her head, the brown waves of silky hair bouncing around her shoulders. She cried harder, as she tried to get up off the floor.

  Trevor pulled her into his lap, as he fell on his ass. “I can’t take that ring as a promise that you will always love me. I want you to give that ring to me on our wedding day.” Her eyes went wide, as air rushed in and out of her lungs. Blinking hard and fast, she looked up at him.

  “Rissa, will you marry me?” Trevor’s eyes were pleading, shining with tears that threatened to spill over. “Will you make me the happiest man in the world by making us all a family? I don’t want anyone else to have my back, but you. You have proven, time and time again, that you will protect me. I promise you that I will always protect you and our family. No one can make me smile like you. I don’t like anyone touching me, but you. I know you are mine and I am yours, now and forever more. Be my wife, please? I know you’re the only woman for me and when I’m with you, everything is right in the world. When you’re not the world, it is just shit.”

  She snort-laughed—the cutest fucking thing he had ever heard. “Yes, I will marry you.”

  “And, Rissa, I love that you named our baby after our mothers. It makes me love you even more, if that’s even possible.” She leaned up and softly brushed her lips against the pulse on his neck. Her breasts pressed up against his chest, and Trevor was instantly hard.

  She giggled.

  He took the high road. “We have a lot of things to talk through, before we do anything naked,” he said, standing up. He held his hand out toward her, intending to pull her up off the floor. Little vixen that she was, Rissa got up on her knees.

  “Well, I haven’t been cleared by the doctors for sex yet, anyway.” She bit her lip and looked up at him, looking for all the world like some sort of sex goddess. “But I can suck your magnificent beast, and we don’t have to even get naked for that.”

  Before he could stop her, she had the hardest part of him out and all the way down the back of her throat. As he groaned, Trevor supposed there would be time enough for talking, when her mouth wasn’t so full.

  Chapter 28

  Cosmo stood in the back of the small church. It was standing room only, so it wasn’t that he was being disrespectful. He had just been released from the three-month sentence that had been handed down by the Fates for his role in helping Rissa live. The punishment wasn’t half-bad though, with Tate helping him, and Ethan coming in to talk and play cards. It all happened in his head, of course, but they were able to alleviate the cruel punishments that were being handed to him by the Fates. Had Cosmo known those two had possessed those kinds of skills, he would have tried to make friends a long time ago. But who was he kidding—he didn’t have any real friends.

  Pulling at his tie—damn, he hated wearing these monkey suits—he watched as Trevor and Rissa pledged to love each other until death did they part. For them, that was just a blink of an eye. For someone like him, that was forfuckingever, and no one would want to spend that kind of time with him.

  Rissa was a vision in a spaghetti-strapped A-line dress (at least, that’s what the women in attendance said it was; fuck if he knew for sure). The dress was white with white lace, though in some places, the lace was red. The bottom of the dress was trimmed in red, too, and she had on a killer pair of sky-high red lace heels that wrapped up her ankles. Cosmo only knew that, because he peeked when she raised her dress as she got settled in front of the preacher man.

  Trevor had on a tux and tails with a red tie and matching vest. The groomsman, Travis, was in a plain tux—no tails or red tie. Jacob’s suit had matched his dad’s and Cosmo had to give the little tyke credit. He stood up next to Trevor and Travis for all of ten minutes, before running off to sit with Rissa’s parents and his little sister.

  Rissa’s sister had on a strapless red dress that went to her knees. Both women held red and white flowers.

  Cosmo was trying to pay attention to the proceedings, but suddenly he felt the small hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He felt the black mist that began swirling and slithering across the ceiling of the small church, way before he saw it.

  Rissa and Trevor chose to hold their wedding in the evening, that way it was dark enough so their nighttime friends could share in their joy. The church was lit up like a lighthouse, so there really shouldn’t have been any darkness. Shadows, perhaps, but not this black mist pervading the air. Cosmo looked around, trying to catch if anyone else noticed the darkness descending on them. Tate, Ethan and Aurora seemed to sense something was up.

  Rissa had tracked down some of the Others she had been imprisoned with in Bune’s lair. She asked the Siren to sing as she walked down the aisle. Of course, measures had to be put into place, as to not enthrall everyone in attendance, but that was easy enough with their kind of connections in the Others’ community.

  Cosmo saw that the Siren and the Troll she was sitting next to were holding hands, staring at the black swirling mist.

  Looking over toward Rissa’s family, Cosmo could see the little hand of Faith reach out from where Rissa’s mom held her, but Jacob took her little hand in his.

  The light in the room somehow got brighter, chasing that shadowy mist away, back into the corners of the room.

  “Did you just witness what I did?” Ethan’s voice was right next to him.

  Cosmo turned to his left, and there stood the Vampire King, looking as impeccable as always in his tux.

  “I don’t know what the fu … heck, I just saw. But it’s something that we need to stay on top of,” Cosmo told the King.

  Ethan nodded curtly. “There is enough of us to watch out. Plus, I have measures in place to alert us if Bune decides he wants to ascend from Hell again. But something tells me he will be busy for what will seem like an eternity to him.” Ethan chuckled to himself, enjoying his little joke.

  Hiking his chin toward the kids, Cosmo asked, “Then what about that? Do you think Faith has some darkness in her?”

  Blond brows rose into the King’s equally blond hairline. “We all have a darkness within us. The difference between good and evil is what you chose to do with the darkness. As I’m sure you’d agree.”

  “Don’t know what you mean. It’s all darkness in here, my man,” Cosmo said, as he pounded where his heart should be.

  Their attention was brought to the front of the church. “You may n
ow kiss the bride. Again.” There was a hint of amusement in the pastor’s voice. The entire ceremony, Trevor had kept leaning over and kissing his beautiful bride, every chance he got.

  This kiss was very nearly pornographic. The pastor had to clear his throat to get them to stop. Once they did stop, Rissa’s parents brought up the kids. Cosmo had to wonder if someone had played inside her parents’ heads, in order to get them to be so understanding of such an instant family.

  Once Rissa took baby Faith in her arms, and Trevor took hold of Jacob’s hand, the pastor continued. “It is my pleasure to present to you, the Snow family.”

  The crowd jumped to their feet, cheering. For a brief second Cosmo felt a twinge of jealousy, for something he knew he would never have. The feeling lasted no longer than a heartbeat and then it was gone, floating away, just like the dark mist had. For now, he was happy that two people he didn’t hate were going to be happy.

  Athena came sashaying up to him in a short, tight black dress with no back and sky-high heels. Her short black hair was slicked back, giving her an elegantly sexy look. To think of tough-as-nails Athena as elegant, almost made him laugh out loud.

  The happy family ran down the aisle with a shower of birdseed flying at them. The red runner covering the floor was littered with seeds. Cosmo smiled, thinking that shit was going to be a bitch to get up. Shouldn’t have everyone waited until they were outside, before throwing that shit at them? But then again, what did he care?

  As Athena bumped her shoulder into his, she said, “So anyway, there are some Dark Ones hanging out by the reception hall. Do you want to go kill something?” She always did know how to make him feel better, and beating the shit out of Dark Ones was one way to do it.

  “Are you going to fight in that?” Cosmo ran his eyes up and down the stunning woman.