by Dunbar, Natalie; Glass, Seressia; Jeffries, J. M. ; Banks, L. A.
Time demons did not totally stop time, but caused a distortion in time for short periods. How simple. Stop time, robe the casino and get away. In the time it took for a normal person to take a single breath was ten minutes for Kenny. Even though Solange wasn’t up on her demonology, she’d read about time demons. Ten minutes was the maximum, and the range was usually only a thousand feet or so. Most people wouldn’t worry or even notice about the loss of ten minutes. And late at night, no one would notice that the casino was running in slow motion while the world outside was still at normal time.
Laurel wasn’t going to be able to stop Kenny from doing anything. By the time the time chant ended, they’d be gone and Solange would probably be dead. Solange’s heart pounded loudly. She had stop Kenny.
“Just a little extra insurance, little lady.” Kenny gestured for Solange to move away from the door. “Come on, Nicholai,” he said to the demon.
“Where are you going?” Solange asked.
“I have something to do,” he said. “Maitland, keep the lady occupied. I’ll be back in a second.” He giggled and left the vault with the demon in tow.
Solange looked at Jarred and he simply smiled. He turned to Mitch and when Mitch began to wheel his cart out, Jarred walked over and slugged him. For a second, Mitch looked surprised, and then he crumpled onto the floor.
“Let’s go,” Jarred said, grabbing Solange’s hand as he reached behind his back for his own gun.
“Wait.” She grabbed one of Julius’ ornamental swords. Every demon had a weakness. Even though she didn’t know this demon’s weakness, there was copper forged into the sword. She closed the door to the vault, trapping Mitch inside. When he came to he would be in for a big surprised.
Solange and Jarred ran up the stairs, passing people who appeared frozen in the act of moving one step. Solange dodged around Laurel who had one hand inside her jacket gripping the butt of her gun. They were all caught in the spell and Solange could do nothing.
“What is Kenny planning?” she asked as she shoved open the door to a main corridor following Kenny and the demon’s scent.
“I don’t know,” Jarred said, with a frown, “but this appears to be a change of plans.”
They raced down the hallway, dodging Laurel’s security teams. Up two more sets of stairs, and they were on the office floor.
“They’re in Julius and Esther’s apartment.” Solange flung open the door and raced inside.
Julius and Esther sat in their living watching TV. The television flickered unaffected by the time distortion.
Kenny stood in the center of the room pointing his gun at Esther’s head and smiling while the demon lounged against a wall. They both whirled when Solange and Jarred burst in.
“I told you to keep her occupied,” Kenny snarled at Jarred.
“No can do,” Jarred said, pointing his gun at Kenny.
The demon snarled and jumped up. Jarred fired at the same time Kenny did. Kenny’s bullet hit first and Jarred crumpled, blood rushing from him in a geyser. His shot had gone wide, missing Kenny completely.
“You can’t kill me,” Kenny said.
“Sure I can.” She flung the sword at the demon, impaling him against the wall. The demon glanced down at the sword protruding from his belly, a look of stunned surprise spreading across his narrow face. She hadn’t killed him, but she had immobilized him. Her copper sword trumped Kenny’s copper necklace, and she now controlled the demon.
She sprang, changing partially to wolf form; her hands outstretched shifting to claws. Kenny pulled the trigger a second time. A bullet skimmed past her as reached for Kenny. Her claws dug deep into his neck and he screamed. She sank her claws deeper and Kenny went down groaning. She savaged him until she knew he wasn’t going to get up again. Then she ran to Jarred.
His blood leaked out. Too much blood. Kenny had hit a major artery in Jarred’s stomach. She glanced at the demon. “End the spell. Now.”
The demon nodded unable to disobey her. He chanted and time snapped back to normal with a pop that hurt her ears.
Esther and Julius looked stunned as time rearranged itself. Julius took one look at the demon, Kenny groaning on the floor in a growing pool of his own blood, and Jarred cradled in Solange’s arms. He reached for a phone.
“You didn’t have to protect me,” Solange told Jarred.
He coughed. Blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth. “It’s the alpha male’s job to protect.” “Esther,” Solange cried, “he’s dying.” Esther knelt down next to Solange. As she did her jaw began to elongate and her canines extended.
Solange grabbed her arm. “Esther you can’t risked this. The Preternatural will hunt him down and—” .
Esther stroked her arm. “Do you love him?”
Solange looked down at Jarred’s face. His color fading as the life slowly drained out of his body. “More than anything.”
Esther smiled. “Then he’s one of mine now. I take care of all my babies. And is there a beastie on the council who doesn’t owe me a favor?”
Maybe they would turn a blind eye, but she was putting the entire pack at risk just for the man she loved. “Thank you.”
Pain filled Jarred’s eyes and he grasped her hand. “I have to tell you something before I die. I love you.”
“I know, but you’re not going to die.”
He shook his head. “Trust me, I’m dying. Dumb ass me, I didn’t wear my Kevlar vest.”
Solange grinned at him. “Tell me you want to be with me forever.”
“If I could arrange it, I would.” He coughed and more blood dripped down his chin and spread across his collar. The blood from the gunshot wound spilled out into a growing pool beneath him.
“A hundred years from now,” she said, “we’re going to laugh about this night.”
He gave her a strange look. “No.”
“Yes. I’m going to give you, besides my love, the gift of the wolf.”
He smiled. The light started to fade in his face.
“Now, Solange,” Esther said.
She let the change come over her once more and with a sad look at Jarred’s face, she bit his arm, her life-saving saliva pumping into his veins.
Epilogue
Jarred stood at the microphone. Every TV station in Las Vegas was there, including every reporter from the national stations. He pointed at the reporter from CNN. “Is it true the Temples knew nothing about the sting operation?” the woman asked.
“Absolutely not,” Jarred replied. “Without their help we could never have arrested the Casino Crashers gang. As you know, ladies and gentlemen, attempted robbery does not carry the same sentence as an actual robbery. The Temples were more than willing to let their money be stolen so the perpetrators would do more jail time. The city of Las Vegas owes them a debt of gratitude for their forbearance in this investigation.”
The reporter from the Las Vegas Review Journal raised her hand. “Is it true you’ve resigned form the FBI?”
“I have been an undercover agent for many years, and with my mug splashed all over the media, I think I’m out of a job.”
“What are you going to do next?”
He laughed. “I’m going to Disneyland.” He glanced back at Solange who stood next to him looking very beautiful. He leaned into the mike and whispered, “on my honeymoon.” He left the podium to Harry who stepped up to answer the rest of the questions.
“Going to Disneyland is your big plan,” Solange said as they walked back into the casino.
“Now the other packs know you’re not only a bad-ass pack, but that you’re smart.”
She took his hand as the front doors whispered open. “Are you going to challenge Malcolm for leadership of the pack.”
“Hell, no,” he replied. “You and me are going to start our own.” He leaned over and kissed her.
“Meet me in my room,” she said with a breathless little start, “in ten minutes. And we’ll get started on our pack.”
“Make it five.” He
spied Esther and Julius waiting patiently for their moment to speak to him.
Solange headed toward the elevators as he walked over to them. They smiled, all showing their teeth, and all he could think of was that his life was going to be very interesting from now on.
Before the elevator door opened, Malcolm stepped up to her. “Solange,” he said, “you’re wrong.”
“About what?”
“About the pack and the value they put on you.”
Solange simply studied him. “My decision remains.” Though suddenly she felt better and didn’t know why.
“I had to do what was right for the pack,” Malcolm said. “And that was no reflection on who you are.”
“And I have to do what is right for me,” she replied.
“You’ll be missed.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
“You and Jarred always have a home here.”
She glanced at Jarred still talking with Julius and Esther. Even though he was relaxed, she could tell he was anxious to be on his way up to her. “We’ll be just fine.”
Malcolm followed the line of her gaze and nodded gravely. “I think you’re right. Jarred loves you in a way I never could. And you deserve better than anything I could give you.”
Solange smiled. “Thank you, Malcolm.”
As Malcolm walked away, Solange found a new lightness in her as the elevator door opened, and she headed up to her apartment. She would miss the French Quarter, but she had a different path to follow.
As the door started to close, a hand reached in and the doors slid open again. Jarred jumped in and even before the doors were fully closed, he reached for her, his hands sliding under her blouse.
“I don’t think I can make it up to your apartment.” He groaned deep his throat. His face phased in and out, the shadow of the wolf in his eyes. He was young yet and the change would and he would have almost a month before the next full moon.
“You’d better. I don’t want to scandalize the hotel guests now that Marcus has managed to bring the business back up to normal.” He licked her ear while his fingers reached under her bra. “Hmm. I guess we’d best not scandalize the guests.”
“We have our whole life ahead of us.”
The doors opened, and Solange leaped out and raced for her apartment with Jarred on her heels. They might never make it to the bedroom, but she knew the carpet was a pretty comfortable place to consummate her marriage and the beginning of the rest of her life.
The door slammed behind them and Jarred pounced on her. They rolled across the floor, and Solange found herself laughing with a carefree abandon she hadn’t known in years. God, she loved this man. She would love him forever.
Double Down
by Seressia Glass
Acknowledgements
To my friends, magical and mundane. To my muse, awesome and strange. To old fans, along for the ride. To new fans, giving me a try:
Thanks to you all.
Chapter One
“I’m sorry, Ms. Temple.”
“Sorry?” Simone stared at the agent, doing her level best not to growl at the man. “What do you mean, ‘sorry?”
“Kadim extends his sincerest regrets, but he’s not interested in doing the special.”
“Not interested.” Simone knew she sounded like a parrot, but her only other option was to rip the poor man’s throat out. The last thing she wanted was a dead agent in her office and blood covering her Versace skirt. She’d never get the stains out.
Decades of practice to not reveal any signs of weakness made her uncurl her hands and paste a pleasant smile on her face. “Does Kadim understand the importance of this special, not only to the French Quarter Hotel and Casino, but also to his career as a magician? The Mystery Channel hasn’t approached anyone else; they want Kadim.”
“I know, Ms. Temple.” The agent looked positively green, not flattering against the olive-gray of his suit.
“This is a golden opportunity for Kadim to reach international stardom if he wants; to receive prestige and acclaim that most entertainers on the Strip wished they had,” Simone continued.
“I told him that, too.”
“The amount the Mystery Channel is offering is extremely generous, even after the hotel’s share.”
The agent’s sickly hue deepened. “I know. I’ve told Kadim all of this. He’s adamant about not having any of his performances recorded, even for something like this. I’ve done everything I can to convince him.”
Simone was sure the agent had. He’d receive a very healthy commission, if only he could get his client to agree to the deal.
She swallowed another growl. This deal was important to her, to the hotel. Marketing was banking on announcing the Mystery Channel deal at the end of the Texas Hold ’Em tournament, riding the publicity the twenty million dollar contest garnered. She’d told the network and her family that she’d have the deal done.
Losing the deal would be a major blow. The news would get out, as it always did, costing her and her brother the display of control and status quo they needed, especially with their parents due to retire at the end of the week. People needed to see that Simone and Malcolm could and would keep the hotel going.
Rival clans were sniffing for any opportunity to exploit a weakness and steal the hotel. Just because they’d recently fended off a couple of attempts didn’t mean that other clans wouldn’t keep trying. It was much easier to take over an established moneymaker than try to build one, and the French Quarter Hotel and Casino was the jewel of downtown.
It wouldn’t happen because of her. It sure as hell wouldn’t happen because of Kadim and his agent.
“Ms. Temple?”
She flicked her attention back to him. The agent swallowed hard. Simone could hear his heart beating faster; hear the blood rushing though his veins. One of his arteries was partially clogged; she wondered if he knew.
The agent was a professional, protective of his client’s best interests. They’d played hardball before. This was the first time he’d smelled of fear, and it was all she could do to not sniff the air, revel in the endorphin rush. She didn’t know the cause of his fear, aside from the fact that he probably knew she was pissed. Idly, she wondered if she could make him run. With that partially blocked artery, she’d down him in seconds.
“Thank you for coming by,” she said abruptly, rising to her feet. “I appreciate the courtesy of being given the news in person.”
“Of course, Ms. Temple. Have a good day.” The human climbed to his feet, revealing his round stomach. One swipe of her claws would rip through jacket and shirt, exposing the soft belly. Warm intestines, hot blood.…
Simone realized the man held a hand out to her. For a moment, she forgot what she was supposed to do with it. Then, she blinked, shook his hand. Thank God her nails hadn’t lengthened into claws.
The agent quickly released her hand, bobbed his head, and then headed for her office door. Simone gripped the edge of her desk to keep from following him. Correction— chasing him.
The heavy oak door closed behind the man, and Simone breathed a short sigh. Her wolf rode her hard. It had been too long since she’d changed, since she’d allowed herself a full-out run. She hadn’t been on a hunt, not to mention an all-out fight, in more than five years. Her lupine nature was beginning to ripple through her self-control. The moon hadn’t controlled her changes since puberty, but she could feel the need to get wild growing inside her, becoming relentless.
That was a problem with being a born werewolf instead of turned. The wolf was as natural as the human form to her, and at times she had to struggle against her other, wilder half. She didn’t need a forced change in the middle of her office because she was pissed off.
Damn Kadim! She stalked around her desk to stand before the bank of windows. The magician was the hottest act on her entertainment roster; his shows booked three months out. Only Mardi Gras got more press, because of the Hollywood and music world A-listers that liked to see and be
seen in her nightclub.
She’d made few demands on Kadim since booking him as the French Quarter’s headliner a year ago. He had access to all that the French Quarter Hotel and Casino had to offer, including a suite that rivaled those of the family, though he only used it the nights he worked in the hotel’s amphitheatre.
Despite his moneymaking status, he’d made little in the way of demands except for requests for privacy. She’d honored those requests because Kadim’s publicity phobia only added to his mystique—and their bottom line. Let him be eccentric, let him be mysterious, but don’t let him fuck up her ability to handle her business.
Her phone buzzed, snapping her out of her sour ruminations. “Malcolm’s here,” her assistant, Lisa, informed her.
Simone fingered the lacy strands of gold around her neck, reining in her mood. She barely had time to paste a pleasant smile on her face before the prerequisite knock came a second before her door opened.
“What did you do to Kadim’s agent?” Malcolm Temple asked, looking every inch the alpha male and heir in his navy Armani shadow-striped suit. “The man left here looking like a frightened rabbit.”
“Nothing.” Simone heard the defensiveness in her voice and tried again. “We were just discussing Kadim’s schedule, and doing the usual contract dance.”
“Is he refusing to do the Mystery Channel performance? Or thinking about jumping ship?” Her brother frowned as he closed the office door. “What’s the point of always having dinner with the man and giving him a suite if you can’t get him to agree to a simple business deal?”
“You make it sound like more than it is.” She pulled herself straight. “Those dinners happen right after his last show of the week, and they’re about business. Besides, he’s got another year on his contract, so there’s no danger of him leaving. And even if there were, I could handle it.”
“Under normal circumstances, yes you could.” Malcolm ventured further into her office, pausing beside her at the window. Vegas at midday didn’t have the same luster as at night, but the power and money ran strong twenty-four-seven. “But nothing’s normal right now, is it?”