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“Aziel, what’s going on?”

CHAPTER TWENTY

DECLAN

“You’re in danger.And it’s my fault.”

His words slid like ice down my spine and I stood frozen a few feet from him, waiting for him to explain. I’d barely known Aziel for a few days. I couldn’t comprehend what could’ve happened in such a short amount of time that would put me in danger. Me and Ollie, since he was staying with me this week.

“My family… They’re not good people. I do my best to distance myself from the way they live, but they take exception to that. Violent exception. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve ended up in the care of a healer when they went too far.”

Crime family. Manny said Aziel’s family was a crime family. I forgot to ask because I was too stuck on my unintentional discrimination issue.

“What does that have to do with me?”

Aziel kept his expressions close to the vest. He was either irritated or angry, or he wore a blank mask. Even in bed, it took work to get something other than anger from him. So the pained look that crossed his face spoke louder than his actual words. And his words were fucking loud.

“It wasn’t intentional, getting you on their radar. They saw Danteplaying with you and Ollie at the park. He got in trouble for it and they took his punishment out on me. To protect me, he told them he was spending time with Ollie to get information. Your family works for some of the biggest names in the city. I told him once that making friends with the workers was a good way to get information. And since I had information to back up his claim, it got them to back off.”

My gut churned at his confession. He was using me and my brother to get information for his family. It pissed me off, and I reacted without thinking, marching up to him and clocking him in the jaw. He didn’t move much, and he didn’t fight back. He didn’t even flinch, like getting hit like that was normal for him. The shock and betrayal were mixed with a heavy dose of pity that threatened to knock me on my ass. He was used to getting hit.

I didn’t let the pity stop me from shoving him again. “So you were just using me? And Dante? He’s up there trying to get information out of Ollie? The kid who is working his ass off to be Dante’s friend? Even giving up his own friends who he knew wouldn’t treat Dante right? Are you fucking serious?”

Aziel’s grim regret was painful and when I shoved him again, he let me until his back was up against the wall. He wouldn’t look me in the eye, and he refused to fight back. He’d let me do whatever the hell I wanted to get back at him. And damn if that didn’t make me want to stop. I hated that. I wanted him to fight back so I wouldn’t feel so bad about it.

“You fucking asshole! You need to take your cousin and get the hell out! Now!”

He shook his head slowly. “I can’t do that. I thought I got rid of the asshole who saw me with you, but if they’re sending you packages in the mail, then you aren’t safe. I–”

“I’m not safe if you’re here! You’re the reason they’re doing this! If you go the fuck away, they will too!”

I knew before I finished that sentence that it wasn’t true. And the look on Aziel’s face said the same damn thing. Now that I was on their radar, there was no getting off of it. It wasn’t just me on their radar, either. My little brother was part of this, thanks to Dante. I shoved away from Aziel, ripping my phone out of my pocket.

“What are you doing?”

“Calling the cops. I can’t believe you’d put a little kid in danger like that just to save your own ass.”

I never heard the bell ring over the front door, so when a voice spoke behind us, I startled hard, dropping my phone on the floor.

“He had no intention of doing that,” the old woman argued. “And you can’t very well blame a little boy for trying to save his cousin from his own mistake. Those monsters go after what you love the most and use it against you. Hurting Aziel was Camus’s way of showing Dante what happens when you go against the family way. Dante said what he said to save the one person who cares about him in this world. Surely, you can’t hold that against him.”

Spinning around, I took in the group behind me. A few faces I recognized, Felix and Hendrix, and the woman who came with them asking about tattoos. The rest I didn’t. Two more demons, somehow bigger and taller than the other three, and one other woman with blonde hair and bright purple eyes. They all looked grim, not dangerous, but I felt out of my depth. The desperate urge to get Ollie out of here and run the fuck away was so strong, I actually took a step towards the back.

The old woman who spoke first didn’t even glance over her shoulder as she spoke. “Malakai, dear. Go upstairs and watch the boys for me. We’ll need to ward both levels and it's not safe to leave them alone right now.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but she waved me away before the words could get out. “There’s a lot to explain, I know. If it makes you feel better, Aziel fought tooth and nail against this. He didn’t want you or your brother involved. But fate is funny that way, never listens to reason. While we talk, Vivi here is going to ward your shop. It will protect you against unwanted visitors.”

When I shot an incredulous look over my shoulder at Aziel, it missed its target. He was too busy staring at the floor, regret and self hatred written all over his face. It pissed me off that my first thought was to comfort him. We hooked up twice. That didn’t make us a couple, and it wasn’t my job to make him feel better about the fact that he and his cousin fucked up our lives.

People started moving without my permission. Felix cleaned up the mess the lesser demon left with the woman who’d asked about a tattoo. Hendrix stood guard by the back door, another demon watching the front.The one they called Malakai headed upstairs, and the blonde started pulling things out of her bag for some kind of spell. That left Aziel against the wall and the old woman watching me. She pointed a gnarled finger towards the couch.

“Sit.”

“Or what? You’ll hurt me?”

She gave me a flat look, gesturing to herself. “Does it look like I’m equipped for that?”

It didn’t matter that she was beyond ancient. She was tossing out orders and everyone was listening to her. She had to be stronger than she looked. She must’ve seen it on my face, because a smirk pulled at the wrinkles on her face.