CHAPTER NINETEEN

Arriving at the private area for staff in the Red Rooms, Ella smiled up at Ghost. "Thank you for the ride."

He'd first teleported to Ella's place and then Mia's to collect them. He would have taken them straight to Viper's office, but the president was apparently having a meeting with Dice and Jester there.

Ghost gave a slight bow, his mouth curved. "My pleasure." He pointed to a door nearby. "You can access the main club area through there. I'll let Viper and Dice know you're here," he added, poking his temple as he backed toward the restrooms.

Once he disappeared out of sight, she and her sister began heading for the door he'd indicated.

"It sure is handy having teleporters around," said Mia.

It was also a good way to ensure that not only was it hard for Ella's pen pal to track her movements, but also hard for Kasper and Arman to report her whereabouts to Luka. As predicted, her anchor had gone apeshit on hearing about the attempted break-in at her apartment two and a half weeks ago. From now on, whenever she was inside, one of her guards stood sentry outside the front door.

"Just think," began Mia, nudging her gently, "if you hadn't come here with me that night I badgered you to come, you probably would never have slept with Viper. And then maybe you guys wouldn't have what you have now."

What they had . . Well, it was nothing close to a shallow arrangement anymore. It had been his idea for them to have a little fun here at the club rather than simply go straight to his clubhouse. He did that now. Proposed they go here or there. Sometimes to the movies or restaurants, though she'd use a glamor spell to conceal her identity from others. Other times he'd choose isolated scenic spots, and they might even take a picnic. He never called them ‘dates', but that was what they were.

More significantly, he took her out for rides on his bike. She knew it was no little thing that he'd had her on the back of his bike. It showed that he truly considered her his. Not just in a sexual sense, but in a whole other way. And since her own feelings of possessiveness were pretty intense where he was concerned, it was a relief that they both appeared to be on the same page.

Her demon liked him a whole lot; wanted to keep him. Which wasn't necessarily a good thing. Such entities lacked the capacity to feel love, but they did form very strong attachments to people. If that happened, well, the entities wouldn't let them go.

"You should thank me, really," Mia pushed. "I'm basically the reason you two got together."

Brushing a hand down her emerald-green halter neck dress, Ella snorted. "I just knew you'd try to take credit for it." She pushed open the door and stepped out of the staff area.

Her demon frowned at the loudness of the thumping music and the strong scents of cologne, alcohol, perfume, and musk. It was only the knowledge that Viper was further inside that kept the entity from urging Ella to leave.

She and Mia slowly walked through the club, both bopping their heads to the music. Ella didn't worry that anyone would recognize her, since she'd used a glamor spell to edit her appearance. It had been Viper's idea for her to do that whenever they were out in public together. He didn't want any watchful strix to turn their attention to her. Dice was in the same boat with Mia, and so she too wore glamor tonight.

Of course, for Ella, using glamor had the added bonus of ensuring that her loved ones remained in the dark about her involvement with Viper. But at this point, it seemed unfair of her to keep him a secret. He didn't appear to be upset about it, but it still felt wrong. "I need to pull up my big girl panties and finally tell Mom, Jocelyn, and Luka that I've been seeing Viper."

Mia sighed. "When you do, I'll tell them about Dice. I wasn't going to, since things aren't serious between us. But it'll help take some of the heat off you."

"I wouldn't expect you to—"

"You'd the same for me."

Yes, Ella would. "I had planned to cough it up before now, but then Viper assured me Neta would keep her mouth shut and so I took the out that gave me." Neta really had kept quiet.

"What holds me back at this point from making stuff public is that there's still so much I don't know about him," Ella went on. "I'm hopeful that he'll eventually shine a light on things." It particularly bothered her demon—it didn't respect his need for, or right to protect, his privacy. It felt entitled to know his personal business. "I'm also hopeful that I'll get fucked in an alcove again tonight."

Mia laughed. "Dice and I prefer the dance floor. But yeah, alcoves are fun too. You know, I wouldn't have thought public sex would be your jam."

"That makes two of us. But then, I also wouldn't have thought I'd fuck an angel."

"That makes two of us. We've surprised even ourselves." Her gaze turned inward, suggesting she was having a telepathic conversation. "Ah, Dice said the meeting's over and we can either head to the office or wait for them to join us."

Ella hummed. "I say we both head there."

"I'm with you on that one."

His hip propped against the office wall, Jester said, "We've looked hard. We've set traps. We've checked for any cameras or listening devices. There's nothing to suggest we're being watched."

"I'd like to say that puts me at ease, but it doesn't," said Viper, sinking into his chair.

"Sting could be right that you're being monitored through rumors and business transactions," said Dice, standing on the other side of the desk. "The celestial could be sticking to the shadows."

"Much like the strix," Jester added.

On the one hand, it pleased Viper that the strix were proving elusive. It meant he could focus much of his time, energy, and attention on Ella. But on the other hand, he needed the threat eradicated. Strix were dangerous. Took lives without a qualm. They couldn't be allowed to live.

His annoyance at being unable to locate them was eased by how well things were going with Ella. She and her sister had arrived at the club mere minutes ago, and he was looking forward to having more time with his woman.

He now saw Ella every day without fail. Though she enjoyed alone time, she never made excuses not to see him. Never sent him away if he turned up at her apartment uninvited. Never turned down any suggestions he made for how they might spend time together. She even came up with suggestions of her own.

She shared more with Viper now. Ran a lot by him. Confided in him about things she once would never have mentioned to him. She didn't yet trust him all the way, but she was getting there.

Many times he'd come close to telling her of their relationship in her previous life, but he needed to wait until the time was just right . He couldn't afford to jack it up. Especially when there was so much he'd need her to accept. It was essential that he treaded carefully.

He brought her to his compound often, wanting her to feel comfortable there. She was at ease around his brothers, having gotten to know them well. She laughed with them, played pool with them, shot the shit with them.

Little items of hers were now scattered around his bedroom. He fucking loved that. Loved having her mark there. Loved that evidence of her feeling so sure she'd return.

"We done here?" asked Dice.

"Meeting's officially over," Viper confirmed.

"I'll let Mia know, then." His eyes took on a faraway look for a brief moment.

"Do she and Ella still use glamor?" asked Jester.

Dice gave a grunt of confirmation.

Jester's gaze sharpened on Viper. "I'm betting it pisses you off that Ella's gotta edit her appearance—you can't be clear to one and all that she's taken."

"It does, yeah," Viper admitted. "But it's more important to me that any strix or celestials who're watching our club don't clock her with me."

"What about when the danger's passed? You think you'll be able to convince her to drop the glamor? Or is she gonna want to hide that she's seeing you?"

"I don't think she'll wanna keep hiding it. She talks about telling her family. I feel like she's waiting for something. Not sure what."

"You haven't made it clear that you're serious about keeping her. Dealing with the backlash she'd receive from her loved ones won't be worth her bother for a fling, will it?"

Viper gave a moody frown. "What I've got going on with Ella has gone way beyond a fling. She has to feel that."

"She probably does. But she ain't gonna feel positive about it unless you spell it out. I'm surprised you haven't done it yet."

"I need the time to reel her fully in, so that no amount of bitching from Belinsky or her family will make her try to break things off with me," Viper explained. "Those demons are already on edge because of the threat hovering over her. They won't handle this well on top of that."

Jester looked at Dice. "Do you think Mia's anchor will protest to her sleeping with you if she mentions it to him?"

"Yeah, but I don't think it'll solely be because I'm one of the Fallen," replied Dice. "Things went a little sour between them. On the surface, it seems like he's pulled his shit together. She says he's back to normal, though things are awkward. But if you ask me, he's still got his head lodged firmly up his ass. He doesn't make an effort to see much of her. He also doesn't text, call, or even telepath her often to check in."

"Then he's clearly got a problem with her," Jester asserted. "But what?"

"Don't know. If it was Mia who'd put a stop to them sleeping together, I would have said he's bitter about it. But he did that, and he's now fucking a woman he works with." Dice rolled his shoulders.

A knock came at the door.

"Come in," Viper invited, expecting Ella and Mia. But when the door creaked open, it wasn't either of their heads that popped inside; it was Prophet's.

"Hey," he greeted with a chin tip. "Any of you seen Merchant?"

They all shook their heads in the negative.

Prophet's lips thinned. "No one seems to know where he is. He's supposed to be taking over for me at the bar. Speaking of the bar … you and Dice might want to know that your regulars are over there. The brunettes, I mean."

"Regulars?" a female voice echoed, the word brittle, cold, and coated in disgust.

Ella.

Shit.