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“I’ll talk to Ollie about minding his own business. I didn’t know he was doing shit like that. My parents conveniently didn’t mention it. He’s not a bully or anything. He’s loyal to a fault and nosy. He was just sticking up for his friend.”

The demon didn’t reply, though I saw the muscles flex in his jaw. He wanted to, but he kept whatever he wanted to say to himself. And I wasn’t about to piss him off more by pushing.

“Well, I gotta get back. I’ve got clients soon. Thanks again.”

He nodded once and spun around, his hand resting on Dante’s shoulder before they disappeared. I heard demons could teleport, but it was still a little shocking to see it in person, both times. They were just gone. No pop, no shimmer of magic, nothing. Just poof.

Shaking my head, I jogged back into the shop right as Ben came in through the back door. He tipped his head at me, looking between me and the front door.

“Did you just get here?”

“Nah, I was just talking to someone. I need you to watch the shop for me. I’m gonna go see Ollie for a minute. I won’t be long.”

He waved me off, dropping his stuff off behind the front desk. I already set up for our first clients and was going over email requests for appointments when the demons showed up, so there wasn’t a lot for him to do but wait for the clients to show up. I grabbed my helmet, taking my bike to my parents’ place since I wanted to get back quickly. I didn’t get off the bike, I wasn’t welcome in that house anyway, but Ollie heard the engine and came racing out, beaming at me.

“Dec! I–”

The front door opened, and Dad stuck his head out, frowning at us. “He can’t play. We got stuff to do.”

I waved him off, pulling the potion out of my pocket and handing it to Ollie. “This is supposed to help with the bruises. And we’re going to the park after school tomorrow. You and Dante are going to apologize to each other.”

Ollie’s face screwed up, and he whined at me. “But why? He hit me first!”

“You antagonized him. And got involved in a conversation that had nothing to do with you. Mom and Dad might be comfortable letting you be a bully, but I’m not. You’ll apologize and keep your nose out of other people’s business. It’s not your job to play protector. That’s what teachers are for. Are we clear?”

He looked put out, but he didn’t argue, tossing back the potion without a word. He smacked his lips, his eyes lighting up like it was delicious or something. It occurred to me that maybe I shouldn’t have trusted a potion from the kid who knocked around my little brother, but it did what Dante said it would. The bruises faded and disappeared completely within minutes, and when Ollie poked at it, he didn't flinch.

“Hey, that’s cool!”

“You can thank Dante for that on Monday. Now, go on. I’ve got a client coming. I’ll see you on Monday.”

He groaned but did as I said, handing me back the vial and trudging inside. Dad looked at his face, frowning, and looked at me, but he didn’t come over for an explanation. That would require him to be closer than sixfeet to hear me over the engine. And I wasn’t nice enough to shut off the engine to give him the opportunity. I tucked the vial back in my pocket and mock saluted before heading back to my shop. I’d always be a pariah to them. The only family member who cared about me was Ollie, and I was determined to get him back on track.

CHAPTER NINE

AZIEL

It wasby sheer dumb luck that my uncle never caught wind of the fight between Dante and the human kid. I gave him the potion to hide the bruise and when we went to the next family meeting, there was too much chaos for my uncle to even check in with him about his week at school and any information he gathered. Not that I thought Dante would snitch. He got the picture of what would happen if we weren’t a team after our little trip Saturday night. But he was still only nine, and I didn’t want anyone questioning him too hard. He wouldn’t hold up well under pressure.

There wasn’t a miraculous change in him in one day after he agreed to be better. I wasn’t really expecting that. But I could tell he was trying. He at least picked up the clothes off his floor and put them in the hamper, and he ate dinner on the couch with me instead of holed up in his room. Baby steps were still steps, and I squeezed his shoulder to show my appreciation before he went to his room and I ducked out to do security at my uncle’s club for the night. Dante could handle being alone for a few hours, and he had a phone to contact me if he needed me.

He’d been walking to and from school on his own for a few weeks now, so he let me sleep in the following morning. It was a little disconcerting.He was usually as obnoxiously loud as possible in the mornings to make me suffer right along with him. But I woke up to an empty apartment and when I checked his phone’s location, he was at school where he belonged. It was refreshing and as a reward, after I got ready for the day, I stopped at the store to pick up ingredients for his favorite dinner. He never got praise for doing the right thing from his old man. He deserved to know making the right choices was appreciated.

My uncle had been busy lately. He didn’t tell me why or what was coming, but I could tell something big was going to happen within the next few months. He kept my jobs the same, but he seemed to be targeting human politicians lately. It was concerning. I didn’t want to get anywhere near that, but I didn’t have much of a choice. Luckily, since he didn't trust me to actually participate in the work, all I was required to do was to gather information. He had me following a politician around to get her schedule down. One of my uncle’s soldiers took over a little after I was supposed to pick up Dante, and I flew off without a word to go meet him at the park.

I’d expected to find Dante on the playground as usual, listening to conversations and doing his job. When I didn't find him, I checked the GPS on his phone and followed it to the basketball courts. He was playing ball with the human boy and his older brother, a big smile on his face. It meant I’d have to get information for him to keep him out of trouble, but seeing how happy he was, I let that go.

“Az! Come play!” he shouted, waving me over. I shook my head, pointing at a bench instead, and sat to watch them as they played. For being so small, the human boy was pretty good at the game. He was quick and dodged past Dante and his older brother, getting close enough to the net to get the ball in. His brother snatched him up and swung him around, shouting at Dante to get the ball. Dante darted forward, snatching the ball away, and took off with the human boy following behind him with a laugh.

It was hot, the height of summer, so it didn’t surprise me when the human boy pulled off his shirt and used it to wipe his sweaty face. Dante did the same after shooting me a questioning look. It was when the older brother mimicked them that I stiffened.

I’d never taken a close look at his tattoos. I didn’t see the point. ButAthena’s voice filtered through my head as I stared at the white tiger stretched across half his chest. The tattoo made the skin look shredded, the snarling tiger peeking out. Dread filled my stomach, and I yanked my phone out of my pocket without hesitation, dialing Athena’s number. She answered on the first ring, her craggy voice smug.

“You found him.”

“Tell me this is a joke.”

“I’ll do no such thing. I’m not prone to lying,” she replied, and I could hear the grin in his voice. She was enjoying this.