Page 43 of Wicked (Dark Delights #5)

Shadrach

Shadrach didn’t sleep, the memory of Isaac’s blood on his hands too fresh for him to find rest. After they settled in bed together, he watched Isaac sleep, listening to his slow breaths and delighting in the warmth of his body.

Sometime around midday, his phone chimed quietly, and he reluctantly rolled away from the softly snoring human to check it.

It was from Wolf.

Bring Isaac to the Rink. We’d like a word.

Shadrach sighed. It didn’t seem to be urgent, so he rolled back over to ease Isaac into wakefulness.

His hair was a crimson splash against the white canvas of the pillowcase, and Shadrach’s eyes trailed a path down the planes of relaxed muscle.

The sheet pooled around his middle, hiding the knife wound from view.

Shadrach folded the sheet back and stroked a hand over the smooth skin.

The scar was barely an inch long, still fresh and pink.

Demon blood could heal many things, but it couldn’t erase scarring.

It just sped up the natural healing process.

He wished they could bring Lilith back just so he could take his time with her. She’d died too quickly for his liking.

“What’re you doing?” Isaac croaked, turning his head toward Shadrach and stretching his beautiful body.

“Admiring you,” he said. “And daydreaming about killing Lilith.”

“Can’t.” Isaac’s voice was husky with sleep. “I already killed her.”

“I know. We need to work on your technique. You always kill people far faster than they deserve.”

Isaac’s molten chuckle sent warmth through Shadrach’s veins. “My bad. I’ll try to do better.”

“See that you do.” He leaned in for a kiss that lingered, and Isaac’s fingers found their way into his hair, holding him in place.

When they parted, Isaac murmured against his lips, “Morning.”

“Good morning, killer. How are you feeling?” Shadrach asked.

“Surprisingly good, given that I was stabbed last night.”

“I got a text from Wolf. They want us to meet them at the Rink soon.”

“What for?” For a stone-cold killer, he pouted like a champ.

“They didn’t say. Don’t worry, we don’t have to stay long.” He’d much rather bring Isaac home and spend some more time worshiping him.

Isaac sighed, turning toward Shadrach to bury his face in his chest and throw an arm around his waist. “If we have to.”

Shadrach guided his head up and kissed him, slow and feather-light. “Be a good boy, and I’ll tie you up and hurt you later.”

Isaac’s gaze darkened, and his cock twitched against Shadrach’s hip. “‘Kay.”

They dressed, and Isaac let Shadrach teleport them to the Rink instead of driving. It would be faster.

It was a little surprising when they arrived at the Rink to find it mostly deserted. The colorful lights over the training area were off, and Ira and Wolf were standing together by the snack bar. The scent of coffee filled the air, and Isaac made a noise of interest.

“Drink?” Wolf asked.

“Please,” he said, eyeing the coffeemaker.

“Still a bartender at heart, aren’t you, Wolfman?” Shadrach teased.

Wolf met Shadrach’s eyes. “You look different,” Wolf drawled. “I’ve never seen you smile like that. It’s weird.”

Isaac leaned forward to get a better look at Shadrach’s face, who poked him in the ribs. Truthfully, he felt different. Lighter, like there were sunlit, fluffy clouds in his chest, soft and warm.

“Can’t a man be happy without getting the third degree?” Shadrach said, draping an arm around Isaac’s shoulders.

Wolf cracked a smile. “Glad to hear it. Now maybe you’ll stop ribbing the rest of us about our humans.”

“Oh, not a chance. Now I’ll just say I have the best human.”

“Debatable,” Wolf replied, looking at Ira, who smiled softly. “Highly debatable. Talon would protest the loudest, I think. ”

“Talon always protests the loudest.” He waved a dismissive hand. Talon was pricklier than a cactus.

Wolf handed Isaac a steaming mug of coffee, and Isaac asked, “How’s Talon doing, by the way?”

It was nice of him to even ask, given how often Talon had threatened him. That was growth, right? Shadrach was proud of him.

“I went by earlier to check in with them,” Wolf said.

“Talon’s doing a little better. It’s going to take him a few days to heal.

Apparently those rounds did a fuck-ton of internal damage.

There was a hole in his chest the size of my fist. He said one shattered his rib cage, and another nicked his spinal cord.

Shit like that takes time, even for us.”

Shadrach whistled. Wolf was a big guy, and his hands were the size of frying pans. “That’s a big hole.”

Wolf nodded. “I’ve never seen him that injured before. Alex was distraught, of course. He’s doing better now that Talon is able to get up. He can see for himself that he’s getting better.”

“It takes a lot to bring down a demon,” Shadrach said. “Alex knows that.”

Wolf shrugged. “It’s one thing to know. Another to see.”

Shadrach chuckled. “You’ve been around Ira for too long. You’re starting to sound cryptic.”

Ira smiled, and Wolf rumbled out a laugh, pouring another cup of coffee. “You should know now, there’s no such thing as ‘too long’ around your human.”

Shadrach gave a euphoric sigh, turning his head to inhale Isaac’s scent. Wolf laughed, reaching over to thump him in the chest. It was more familiar than they usually behaved with one another, and a growl tripped out of Shadrach at the unexpected touch .

“Oh, shut up,” Wolf admonished. “You’re one of us now.”

“I don’t see why that makes it okay for you to hit me.”

“Do you want coffee or not?”

“Yes, please.” Shadrach smiled beatifically, and Wolf handed him a mug.

“Anyway,” Wolf said, pouring coffee for them both and then one more for Ira. “Ira has something for Isaac.”

“For me?” Isaac asked.

“Yeah, come on.” Ira led them over to the sofa and sat, setting his mug on the coffee table and reaching for something hidden by the edge of the sofa. Isaac sat on the other side, cradling his mug. When Ira placed whatever it was on the cushion between them, Isaac froze.

It was Lilith’s black bag from the beach.

“Is that…”

“A million dollars,” Ira said. “I figure you earned it. You killed her. It was your plan that drew her out in the first place.”

“But…” Isaac’s face was slack with shock. “Shouldn’t Alex at least have half of this? I mean, he was kind of the key to the whole plan. It wouldn’t have worked without him.”

“You two could split it, if you wanted,” Ira said. “It’s up to you.”

Isaac cast a lost look at Shadrach, who offered him a patient smile and shook his head.

“This is your decision, killer.”

Wolf sat in one of the metal chairs across from the humans, crossed his ankles, and said, “Maybe I could offer some options, though.”

“Oh?” Isaac prompted.

Shadrach settled on the armrest beside him, intrigued.

Wolf said, “I went over to visit Talon not just to check on him but because I had a business proposition for him. He wasn’t interested, which I expected, so I thought I’d ask you two.”

“A business proposition? You want to go into business together?” Shadrach asked.

“What else are you doing with your fortune?”

Shadrach shrugged, smoothing a hand across Isaac’s shoulder blades. “Spoiling my human.”

Isaac ducked his head with a quiet huff of laughter.

Wolf smirked at them, his gaze dancing over to Ira knowingly. “Now that Lilith’s gone, there’s a vacancy in the city.”

Shadrach raised a hand to stop him. “I’m not fucking running the halfling show, if that’s?—”

“No, it’s not. Shut up and let me finish,” Wolf deadpanned.

Shadrach subsided with narrowed eyes, and Isaac snorted into his coffee and had to wipe it off his upper lip. People were a lot more afraid of him before he had Isaac.

“The vacancy is not the leadership, per se. It’s the club.”

Shadrach’s mouth made an ‘o’ of understanding.

“It’s up for grabs right now. I worked there for a hundred years. I’d like to buy it.”

Shadrach nodded. “You definitely could. I doubt you need a backer, though. You have the funds for something like that, don’t you?”

“I do, but I thought it would be wiser to go into that kind of investment with a partner. Someone I could trust to have my back. It might help the Sentinels with their business, to know the club is safe for them to go in and meet halflings and other demons when the need arises. It’d be nice for the club to be ours again.

We all used to spend a lot of time there.

It would bring in some extra income for the Sentinels, and I don’t think I’m the only one who misses it. ”

Shadrach hadn’t gone to In Extremis often enough to consider it his , but he understood the sentiment.

It was where most of them hung out before they met their humans.

Hell, Talon used to go there often enough that he had a designated table.

It wasn’t reserved; everyone just knew it belonged to him.

Shadrach always knew he could find him there, if the need arose.

“Are you asking Shadrach or me?” Isaac asked.

“Both. Either. However you’d rather do things,” Wolf said. “I’m just putting options on the table.”

Isaac glanced up at Shadrach, who shrugged. He’d invested in plenty of things over the years, but this felt more personal. This wasn’t about making money. This was about staking a place for themselves here in the city.

“The club would need a new location,” Isaac said. “A place the paladins don’t know about. Especially if word gets back to them that we’re involved with it.”

“Agreed,” Wolf said. “I’m also thinking somewhere bigger, better. And warded against intrusion.”

“Like Ira’s protection spell here?” Isaac asked, pointing up at the little sachet hanging above the front door.

Wolf nodded. “That would work for a time. Those types of spells have to be renewed after a certain amount of time. Best option would be to hire a witch to maintain wards on the place. They could put up something stronger, because they can harness more power.”

“Why didn’t Lilith do that ages ago?” Isaac asked.

“Because she was a cheap bitch who didn’t care,” Shadrach said. “Witches are rare. A good one who can put down solid wards will cost a pretty penny. Luckily, we have a few of those in our pockets.”

Shadrach peered down at Isaac, who was staring at the suitcase with a thoughtful look on his face. “What do you think, killer? Interested?”

“Maybe, yeah. I was also thinking I might invest in this place.” His eyes wandered the room. “It seems like this is the beginning of something new. I’d like to throw my hat in with the rest of you.”

Ira’s mouth quirked. “You’re right. We’re building something special here. We’d be happy for your assistance—and your money.”

They laughed.

Shadrach stood, clapping his hands. “All right. We expect to be involved, Wolfman. Scouting new locations, picking out the furniture, hiring the employees.”

“Oh fuck me,” Wolf said, throwing his head back in despair. “I regret this already. You two are going to be pains in my ass, aren’t you?”

“Only a little, and not the fun kind,” Shadrach promised.

Wolf laughed. “Well, we don’t have to scout for a new location, at least. Talon has offered us a very generous deal for the use of the basement level of his new building.”

“Fantastic. We’ll need to set up a walk-through just as soon as he’s available to give us a tour and see what kind of space we’re working with,” Shadrach said without missing a beat, and Isaac snorted into his coffee again.

“After that, we can set up a bank account for Isaac and then transfer you whatever you need.” He paused as the reality of Isaac’s situation occurred to him.

“Isaac, do you have your social security card? Birth certificate?”

Isaac blinked. “No.”

“None of us did,” Ira said calmly.

Shadrach nodded. “We have people who can set up new identities. It’s kind of a necessary thing here in the modern age for us immortals. We’ll get you some new information and go from there.”

Isaac’s brow furrowed. “Will I have to change my name?”

“Not unless you want to. It’s just a formality, really.”

He’d never thought about what exactly the guild took away from the paladins.

Yes, he’d heard the stories from the Sentinels about how they had nothing when they left to be with their demons, but the reality of the situation was harsher than he realized.

They truly had nothing when they left the guild, not even their own identities.

Did the guild keep their records? Was there a way for them to get them back?

Or maybe the guild destroyed their records when they joined, turned them into ghosts for the cause.

They were already isolated from the rest of the world behind those holy walls.

Cutting them off entirely made them beholden to the guild, discouraged abandonment and independence.

“Why are you scowling like that?” Isaac asked, standing.

“Just thinking about all the ways your guild has mistreated you.”

Isaac’s head tilted as though in confusion, and Shadrach patted his cheek patronizingly. Isaac swatted his hand away.

“None of that matters,” Isaac said. “I’m here now, aren’t I?”

Shadrach pulled him close. “Yes, you are.” And he would never let him go. For as long as he drew breath, Isaac would never want for anything. Shadrach would make sure of it.