Page 54 of The Blood Widow

A greasy-haired pimp hastily ended his conversation with a blonde prostitute by slapping her so that he could scamper over to the arriving demon. “Marcus, I wasn’t expecting you tonight.” His voice was shaky, but he hid it well.

“Do I need to announce myself to the likes of you?” His voice bounced off the wall with a deep bass, the kind of voice that trapped a person inside their nightmares.

The chilled wind kissed my face as I watched. The woman who’d been hit rose to her feet, nursing her bruised face and shooting a scowl toward the man who’d hit her. She didn’t even acknowledge the large man following behind her drooling like a dog as she left. I didn’t want Marcus sniffing me out, so I followed her and his lackey by hopping roof-to-roof along the next buildings. They never went far from the corner. I didn’t understand why, it wasn’t like their pimp would risk his life to protect them, not with how he beats them. It was probably a territorial thing.

The prostitute and man stopped behind a tower of tires. He didn’t waste any time before his paws were all over her. The disgusted look on her face and fake moans made the Widowinside of me want to come out. This close, I could see how young she was.

“You’re so pretty.” The man grunted. “You feel so good.”

I would put him on my list of people to watch. I’d get Cole to look into her later. No matter how much he hated me, he’d help the girl. I’d send her somewhere far away, so her pimp wouldn’t find her.

The guy orgasmed and squeezed her apple-sized breast harder than necessary as he panted. They were red as an apple as well from all the attention. “My employer would love you.”

She smiled. “Oh yeah? Who is that?”

He chuckled while putting himself back in his pants. “Ezra, the king Alpha.”

My heart stopped. The Alpha knew this guy? No way. He was too much of a slime ball. I hoped he didn’t. I could smell the darkness in his soul from here. If Ezra employed a guy like him, what kind of person did that make Ezra?

The girl put her hand over her mouth. Her eyes lighting up. “Wow. You think he’d like me? I heard he ate his last human lover, from the grief of losing his wife.”

He nodded. “He’s crazy, but the women love him. He’s got a woman every day of the week.” His hands kept squeezing her breast. “I know the big bad Blood Widow too. He’s even crazier. Almost killed me last week, but he decided I was better as a worker.”

My head cocked back. No, he didn’t… He was trying to give fake secrets as payment. It was the equivalent of fraudulent money.

The prostitute gasped for real this time. “I thought the Widow was a woman?”

He shook his head. Triumph in his beady eyes. “Nope. He just wants you to think that.”

The necklace between the woman’s cleavage flashed red. Her outrage came out in a squawk that made her sound like a bird. “You lying piece of shit. Pay up right now, or I call Rome, and you don’t want him to come. He’ll make you his bitch for the night.”

The jerk put up his hands, gulped, and stepped away from her. “Okay, okay. I was just having a little fun.”

She smacked his cheek. The sound cracked through the alley like a whip. “You know this shit isn’t funny. Start talking, and it better be good.”

His hands stayed up as he spoke, “The demon prince is missing. His parents are searching for him, they think the vampires have something to do with it, but they can’t start a war without proof. If they get even the tiniest bit of an opportunity, they’ll start a war.”

She crossed her arms. “Not good enough. You lied to me.”

He sighed. The defeat in his shoulders was comical. Served him right, but the glint in his gaze said whatever he was going to tell her would be good. He knew he fucked up. Most workers that were backed by powerful people had a lie detector crystal. It was stupid of him to try.

“The Sinisters and the New Age Organization have teamed up. They’re working together on something big.”

Everything inside of me turned to ice.

Holy shit. No, no, no. The two groups were powerful enough that together they’d be as powerful as one of the families. If the Sinisters got the demons on their side as well, that would be disastrous. We’d fucking lose the war. Every war.

The woman watched her necklace to see if he was telling the truth. When it didn’t turn red her face blanched. Yeah, a war in the city would destroy this place and everyone in it. Her employers were demons, so she’d be one of the first to go. Demons didn’t care about the lower people.

After payment, the pair separated and left. Since one of the Sinisters was here, no one else was taking jobs. He had called a few other members to join him and closed down the corner to use the products. So, it was time for me to go. Maybe, I’d go torture the sleazeball and see where he got his information to work off my restlessness.

I jumped from the building onto an old streetlight that no longer worked. I shimmied down the pole in front of a strip club and snickered at the irony. Hopping down, I landed in a silent crouch on the ground.

My mind whirled with all the possible shit storms about to hit the city. If the gang that was as powerful as one of the leading families and the silent assassin guild haunting my nightmares banded together, we were screwed. The Blood Widow wouldn’t be enough. Nothing would be enough. Not unless all three of the families worked together, which would never happen.

Pain and destruction played out in my mind as I numbingly speed-walked away. I was almost gone when a small cry caught my attention. For the second time that night, I froze. When it happened again, I took off toward the sound at a run, back at the corner. The cries got louder, more terrified and pained. The trepidation leaking out of the child’s vocal cords made my mouth dry, and my insides shred as if in a blender.

If the Sinisters had a kid, what the fuck was I going to do? The corner was too heavily populated for me to attack. That wasn’t how I worked.

---