JJ’s heartrate is high and his lungs feel breathless, but he’s not sure if it’s the intensity of the workout or just the rich sound of Cass’s laugh. Maybe both. “Oh, sonowit’s a fight?” he asks, making his next strike a bit faster.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about, lackey,” Cass says, blocking it effortlessly.
The escrima is uncomfortably hot in JJ’s hand now. Cass seems to notice, because he adds the slightest burst of strength and speed, his stick moving in a blur as he herds JJ back towards the couch?—
And then, without warning, Cass aims the tip of his stick at JJ’s chest, pausing a hair’s breadth before his sternum. “Boop,” he says, and he pokes lightly, pushing JJ down onto the cushion.
Desi laughs, crawling over to throw her arms around JJ. “Super fun! I want to learn, too!”
JJ pulls her into a one-armed hug, grinning up at Cass while he catches his breath. “Sure, sweetie. Cass and I can teach you.”
Cass smiles back. There’s something different about the smile, something bright and fond andhappy,and JJ’s heart melts a little at the sight. “Another day, though,” Cass says, and unexpectedly, he reaches out to card his fingers through JJ’s locs. “We don’t want to wear out poor JJtoomuch.”
JJ’s breath catches. For a split second, Cass’s fingers are sifting through JJ’s hair, tracing along his scalp, lighting his nerves on fire?—
Abruptly, Cass pulls away, tugging JJ’s escrima stick out of his hands. “I’ll put these on the top shelf and get started on dinner,” he says, and he strides away without another word, leaving JJ with a racing heart and an unfamiliar buzzing in his veins.
29
It’s just past noon on a chilly March day when Cass steamrolls into Micah Devereux’s Outpost Office and snaps his fingers to shut the door behind him. “All right, I’m here,” he says without preamble, raising his eyebrows expectantly at the two demons behind Micah’s desk. “What do you bozos want?”
Gregorio stares back. “I beg your pardon?”
“Then beg,” Cass says, crossing his arms over his chest. “I have an unattended former hunter and a demon toddler at home. Make it snappy.”
“Wait.” Micah squints at him.“Cass?”
Belatedly, Cass glances down at himself. Right. The glamour. It’s not the same one he used on his field trips with JJ and Desi—he’s considering that one compromised until further notice—but it does its job just as well. “The one and only,” he says, and he spreads his arms wide. “Well? You wanted to see me?”
Sighing explosively, Gregorio waves a hand. Instantly, the blinds clatter shut and the door’s lock clicks into place, closely followed by the telltale tingle of a soundproofing spell falling over the office. “Well, you certainly know how to make an entrance.”
“Thanks. I try,” Cass says, letting his glamour disappear.
“It wasn’t a compliment.” Gregorio looks even more annoyed and grumpy than usual, which Cass thinks is fairly impressive for him. “What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Chin?”
“Nothing!” Cass protests. “I’m the absolutepictureof a law-abiding citizen!”
“You literally just said you have an unattended former hunter and a demon toddler at home,” Micah points out. “I’d say that counts as ‘something.’”
“Nothing besides the obvious, then,” Cass says, leaning back against the door. Both Micah and Gregorio are across the office from Cass, Micah in his chair and Gregorio sitting on the edge of Micah’s desk, but somehow, Cass still feels like he’s being boxed in. “Listen, is this about your whole ‘I need you to trust me when I ask for it’ thing? Because if we’re about to tread any deeper into blackmail territory, then?—”
Micah’s eyes widen.“Blackmail?Cass, we’re not blackmailing you!”
“Then whatareyou doing?” Cass demands, frustrated. “The jig is up. The Chain found out about JJ and Desi—hell, Maggie Khan called me the other day toregisterDesi. You lost your leverage. There’s nothing left for you to exploit. So why am I here?”
Gregorio’s jaw works. “Wow. I wasn’t aware that you thought so little of us.”
Cass’s temper spikes. “Actually, I thought theworldof you two until I realized you’re keeping secrets that could put the people I care about in danger,” he snaps. “And you have no legitimate reason to help me. Nothing to gain and everything to lose. So what’s your game?”
Micah’s eyebrows furrow. To Cass’s surprise, he looks almost… sad. “So we’re not friends? Because friends generally help each other, Cass.”
The words catch Cass off guard. “I—” he begins, and he takes a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. “I always… considered us friends, but—but you have to see this from my perspective. You stumbled onto a dangerous secret I was hiding from the Chain—a secret that I made it clear I’d do anything to keep—and you expect me to believe you covered for me just out of the goodness of your hearts?”
“Yes,”Micah says, exasperated.
“No.”
Micah turns to Gregorio, appalled.“Babe.”
