Jax tried to talk to her, but she wouldn’t let even him get close. She dodged away whenever he came within a few feet.
“Okay, okay,” he finally caved, “no one will hurt it. Just give it to Kerry.”
I shot a glare at him. I couldn’t keep that promise.
Or could I?
Hmm. Maybe there’s a way.
“How about I return it to where it came from?” I offered. “Would that be okay?”
Gigi stared down at the sleeping demon and started to cry.
“You can’t keep it, Tennessee.” I felt bad for her. “And it should be with its own kind, don’t you think?”
She shook her head so hard, her black curls bounced.
“I doubt it, but did they give you a receipt, Mira?”
I turned and saw Rome had swung her up in his arms. Her face was pressed into his throat as she clung to his neck.
“No,” she muttered.
“How much did you pay for it?”
“Two hundred bucks. I really am stupid!”
“You are not stupid.” Rome laid his cheek against the top of her head. “You were fooled, like hundreds of thousands of others have been. It’s what evil does.”
“How did you pay for it?” I was curious. Surely the seller hadn’t accepted Rome’s Council credit card!
“I have some money of my own.”
Rome growled and I knew what he was thinking. She couldn’t have a lot—and she’d wasted it on this.
“Maybe I can get a refund.” I grinned, trying to lighten things up. “I can be pretty persuasive when I wanna be.”
“Persuasive or destructive?” Rome gave me a look.
“Whichever gets me what I want,” I smirked.
Jax talked with Gigi until she finally agreed to the plan. Mira untangled herself from Rome, went to the couch, and picked up a square basket with a lid that latched. She took it over to Gigi.
“Here’s what it came in.”
Very carefully, Gigi laid the demon in the basket. With one hand pressed over her mouth, she backed away, then spun and ran into the girls’ bedroom. Jax stood there with his mouth open.
“Hey!” I shoved his shoulder. “Get your butt in there and let her slime up your shirt!”
He looked at me blankly for a second, then took off in a blur.
I scrubbed my hands over my face.
“Guess that coulda gone worse. Boots, where’d you buy it? And how did you find a shop dealing in demons? Don’t tell me you went to the Diabolical Market!”
“Of course not. I called Mimi and asked where I could buy a little demon. She said Valhalla’s research lab could give me one for a donation, while a shop would charge me an arm and a leg. I said okay and she sent Titus to escort Jax and me over there. I picked one that seemed the least likely to cause trouble, donated the suggested amount, and brought it back here.”
I am going to kill Titus Wray.
