Page 43 of Cold Curses

I watched her for a moment. “How long did you work on that speech?”

“Longer than you’d think,” she said.

But I liked the confidence. She seemed to be coming back to herself—or digging herself out of the emotional trench she’d been in for a while. And I knew Clint and the mural were part of the reason.

“You keep your screen with you at all times,” I said. “That’s an order.”

“When is that ever an issue?” Alexei muttered, earning a level stare from Lulu that had him grinning delightedly.

“I’ll be going, then,” I said. “Try to get him to drink one of those disgusting protein shakes.” I didn’t wait for the snarky response.

* * *

It seemed like a coffee (and donuts) kind of dusk, so I took coffee (and donuts) to the Ombuds’ office. And I was prepared to use fritters and twists as ammunition against any winged demons that might try to attack me on the way in. But the air was blissfully free of predators. Or predators larger than me, anyway.

I met Theo in the parking lot; he usually beat me into the office since he didn’t have to wait until the sun was down to make the trip.

“Donuts?” he asked, falling into step beside me.

“Yup. Take the drinks,” I said, and handed him the drink tray.

He accepted it, but wrinkled his nose. “Did you get the almond-syrup monstrosity for Roger again? It smells like lotion.”

“I know. But he’s addicted to it. And we don’t have to do budgets, so I figured we owe him.”

“Fair enough,” he said.

We walked in to find Roger’s and Lulu’s gazes on the wall screen. The mayor, who looked trim and efficient in her dark blue suit, had apparently given a press conference about the city’s efforts to deal with the demon threat.

With a growl of displeasure, Roger flicked the screen off.

“What’s wrong?” Theo asked as we put the food and drinks on a table.

“The mayor recommended humans consider evacuating Chicago.”

“Damn,” Theo said.

“She’s set up a relocation task force. There will be stations across the city to help people in need, and she’s asking for mobilization of the National Guard to help keep order on the roads.”

“It’s not an awful idea,” I said.

“No, that part’s okay,” Roger said. “Unfortunately, she also announced the Ombuds’ office will rid the city of demons, which we can’t legally do.”

“That’s been confirmed now?” I asked. “The legality part, I mean.”

Roger nodded grimly.

“I appreciate that she’s not willing to risk punishing an innocent demon,” Theo said, “not that we’re seeing a lot of those. But now the public’s going to blame us for every new incident and injury.”

“And she has a convenient shield,” Roger said. He glanced at the drink tray. “You get the Almond Surprise?”

“Even the name is awful,” Theo murmured.

“Yep,” I said, and pulled off my jacket. It was chilly out there. “It’s marked. Help yourself.”

“I call any and all donuts with sprinkles,” Petra said, but she had gone back to her desk and was fiddling with her screen.

I picked up my own coffee, took a heartening sip. “What else is new beyond our being tossed unceremoniously under the bus?”