Page 129 of The Succubi's Choice

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“Jesus Christ!” A voice, a loud voice, and all of a sudden they’re in Grant’s house, in the room designed for comfort, and the human man she saw ever so briefly before looms in the edge of her vision.

She struggles to sit up, but a brilliant pain in her shoulder leaves her gasping, before a soothing hand runs down her other arm, to the black marks.

“It’s okay,” her Archdemon murmurs to her, and he’s seated, like it’s been a while, like she fainted and was out for a long time, and —

She pushes past it, sitting up, and her shoulder is encased by a thick bandage, white and precise. She’s just in her bra, and her polo shirt lays in cut rags on the floor.

The Archdemon keeps a calm hand on her back, and she leans against him, blinking away the stars in her eyes. He’s warm, solid.

Across the room, Gabriel and Jacqueline sit, and Jacqueline’s eyes are clear and her chin is high. She holds an ice pack against her head, and Gabriel’s arms wrap around her, protective and coiled.

“While I know this is a lot of blood, it’s for a good cause.” Behind her, too far away for her to crane her neck to look, Grant speaks up, and Miri closes her eyes in relief as the human and Grant exit the room, speaking in low voices.

For a brief second, Miri contemplates getting up, standing, looking at Jacqueline, inspecting for injuries and for effects, but the arms tighten around her, keeping her down.

“You passed the fuck out,” Gabriel calls at her from where they sit, as if reading her mind. “It’s been like an hour.”

Miri leans her head against the Archdemon’s chest, looking up at him. “Did it work?” She asks, and her voice is slow, even to her.

He nods, a soft hand against her cheek. “The system is already in place, and they’re exploring it now.” His voice rumbles against her back, and it would cause pain, but she can’t quite give a damn. “Everyone is safe, everything's in its place, and your involvement is wiped away. Even the security cameras.”

It feels too good to be true, so she squeezes her eyes shut for a second, just leaning against him. “Is Katya okay?”

He doesn’t answer, but Gabriel makes a noise from across the room. “She texted?” He says, his voice making clear it’s a question. “She’ll be fine?”

“You need rest,” says Not-Thomas, and he’s not quite scowling at her. “You should get some actual sleep.”

Jacqueline hesitates, her dark eyes going between Miri and the Archdemon, before she unfolds herself from the couch and goes to Miri.

There’s a brief moment, one of silence in the nicely warm room, before Jacqueline grasps Miri’s hand, earnest. She doesn’t say anything, not at first, and Miri can read the anxious, quiet eagerness in what she’s trying to say.

“The good news is you didn’t lose too much blood,” Jacqueline says, finally, instead of anything emotional, and Miri almost sags in relief at that. “You’re going to have a nasty scar, we saw the other man stitch you up, but you’re not going to bleed to death or anything.”

Miri blinks at her, at that, at everything going on.

* * *

Later,tucked into a room in the giant mansion, her Archdemon wraps his arms around her in bed, burying his nose in her hair.

Her shoulder aches, but it’s the ache that comes through a lot of pain killers, so she rests her head against him. “They won’t be able to arrest me?” She asks, after a long moment of quiet, after a long time just in his embrace.

“Not unless you commit a crime that’s actually a crime,” he mumbles, muffled into her hair.

With her good hand, she idly traces a pattern against his skin, and he sighs.

“And any restriction has to be approved by people who would be under the restriction, and they can’t keep records on friends, and they can’t keep personal info on people like you,” he grumbles, before pressing a kiss into her curls. “He shot you, and I didn’t get to kill him.”

“I got recordings of him, that’ll be good, right?” She says, feeling him shift. “If he lives—"

“— He will—” he grumbles. “She didn’t hit anything vital.”

“Then he’ll live in disgrace.”

“Oh, he’ll be disgraced,” he says, before kissing her forehead, as if desperately wanting to shut her up.

She tilts her head up at him, and he kisses her lips, quick, deep, and she lets herself float away in his embrace.

THE END

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