Page 22 of Monsters of Midlife

Chapter 15

RYDER

“Rmh mgl oep denjv?” Ratchet said softly in his native demon tongue. I glanced at him sharply.

“Nothing,” I responded in English to his query about what I was doing. He knew better than to address me in the demonic language. It was not meant for humans to hear. it was against the DGC rules for New Attica. Clearly, he felt some level of urgency. Caroline’s eyes narrowed as she looked from Ratchet to me. She knew I was foreign to America and had lived in many places. I told her my family was of Armenian descent, which was true of my mother, but she had never heard me speak it. I was hoping Ratchet’s words might sound Armenian to her, but she didn’t buy it.

She knew something was up.

I didn’t like where this was headed. She had already been asking a ton of questions I couldn’t answer or didn’t want to. The last thing I needed was for her to have more clues of the supernatural world. She was brilliant, practically a genius. Undoubtedly, she could repeat every word we just said.

Instead, she looked out the window. “Where the hell are we?” She asked as the dark metal gates in front of us opened and the limousine pulled into the airfield.

“An airfield,” Ratchet offered unhelpfully.

“Why the fuck are we at an airfield?” Caroline asked. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

The limo pulled up next to a reasonably sized private jet. Ava Sharp, the captain, crew and a witch to boot, stepped out of the jet as the limo pulled up.

I didn’t wait for Danny to open my door; that wasn’t really our deal. I stepped out of the limo and went over and shook Ava’s hand. She was a tall, slender brunette with lavender eyes and a crisp set to her jaw. Ava was a survivor.

“Special cargo?” Ava looked over my shoulder toward the limo.

“Highly fragile,” I said. “Human.”

“Since when do you hang out with humans?” Ava put her hands on her hips.

“You’d be the last one I would expect to ask that question.” I pointed out.

Ava was well known for fraternizing with humans. She was pretty famous in the supernatural world, but I knew she was the one person I could trust, the one person who had kept secrets much longer and much darker than I ever had. She was famous in the supernatural world, or infamous, for being the illegitimate child of a murdered priestess and a Warlock. Priestesses were meant to remain vestal virgins, the fact one had birthed a child was unheard of. Ava had left the supernatural world after years of ridicule and ostracism. I had always kept tabs on her. I knew she’d be a talented witch, but as it turned out she was an even more talented pilot. Sometimes I had her do errands for me. Even though she tried to steer completely clear of the supernatural world every time. She was the only pilot I would trust in a case like this.

“We just need to get to the airfield in Alameda,” I said. “Undercover with no one knowing where we left from or where we’re going.”

“You want to land in the airfield in Alameda?” she asked. “It’s a little hard to get in there unnoticed, but it’s where I grew up, so I’ll get it done.”

“I’ll leave it in your capable hands, captain,” I said, turning toward the limo. “Get out of the car.”

I saw Ava raise her eyebrows abruptly at me. I realized my tone was a little bit harsh, but there was nothing to be done about it. I wasn’t here to play Mr. Nice Guy. I needed to get Caroline out of here as quickly as possible.

She didn’t come out of the limo. Ratchet was standing on the other side of it. He and I exchanged a look.

“Do you want me to get her, boss?” Ratchet moved toward the door.

“I’m not your boss,” I grunted.

Ratchet rolled his eyes, but I leaned my head into the limo and glared at Caroline, who was huddled in the corner on the far side. “Get your ass out of the limo right now and get it on that plane before I take it out forcibly.”

“You can’t just kidnap me,” she said.

“I’m not kidnapping you. I’m telling you to get out of here and get your ass into that plane.” I pointed at the plane for emphasis as if she couldn’t understand.

Caroline turned away from me and opened the door, slamming into Ratchet’s gut; he doubled over in shock and what looked like a bit of pain.

She stood on the far side of the limo, her hands on her hips, glaring at me. She looked over to Ava, her gaze narrowing, and I could only figure she was assuming the worst. But that was hardly the point.

“I need you to get on a plane now.” My voice was low and sounded like danger even to my ears.

“You having problems with your cargo?” Ava asked as she checked her fingernails.

---