Miss Nobody Ch. 45

Chapter 45

BLOOM

Morning Day 25

Jonny caught my chin in his hand and turned me so I would make eye contact with him. He stepped closer. "I love you." He searched my eyes quickly.

I was taken aback. I reached my hand up to his chest and felt his heart thud quickly underneath my palm. "I...I love you too, Jonny." My heart pounded to match his.

He kissed me passionately before pulling back and smiling at me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, careful not to catch my hair. He kissed my temple as we walked to the Lodge.

Jonny and I reached the parking lot and I noticed more people around than before. "More...family?" I asked him.

He grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers, and grinned.

Groups of people talked and laughed. They nodded or signaled to Jonny as we walked by. Several of the BBQ's were loaded with steaks and foil-wrapped balls. The smells made my stomach rumble.

"More will be here in a few hours," Jonny said.

I nodded and let him guide me in the direction of the hotel restaurant.

The couches in the lobby were filled with people. More wandered about the halls. Many of the men seemed busy, doing what, I couldn't be sure. Several women were behind the circular bar, serving drinks with the alcohol left and pulling new bottles from grocery bags. People were in and out of the swinging kitchen door. Fragrant aromas followed them and others ate at the tables in the restaurant area.

I didn't think this many men with tattoos could exist in one place. I was surprised it didn't drain their powers. They seemed to co-exist peacefully though so I stifled my laugh. "I've never seen the Lodge so busy," I said to Jonny instead, as he pulled out a chair for me at an empty table. "It's kind of nice."

His smile was bright as he looked around. He sat next to me, resting his arm on the back of my chair. Our backs were against a wall and we could see the entire restaurant from this table. The lobby beyond was visible through the potted plant wall, men rushed around.

Jonny absentmindedly twisted a piece of my hair between his fingers.

The jovial people made the hotel seem alive and full of a lightness. It was hard to imagine the evil hidden underneath. The Portal somewhere under the Lodge. Most likely why Magic was so...extra around here.

Two plates of food were placed on the table in front of us. The man serving the food put his hands flat on the table and looked at Jonny. He spun a toothpick around in his mouth and stared. "Brooke made it special for you," he said finally and sat in the chair across from Jonny.

"It's not my fault that your wife is nicer to me." Jonny smiled and squeezed a wedged lime all over the food on his plate.

I ate and pretended I wasn't curious about who this wife was.

The man stared at Jonny.

I chewed slowly, hoping the man wasn't going to start a fight. The look he was giving Jonny made me wonder.

"Jane, this is my brother Victor," Jonny said between bites of food.

I covered my mouth with my hand. "Hi."

He nodded at me, still quiet.

"Whatever you need to say, just say it. She's involved in this." Jonny looked at his brother. "Whether she wants to be or not."

"This is some fucking next-level dangerous bullshit that you've gotten us into, Brother," his voice was loud but he wasn't shouting. "Not only are there fucking-" he leaned in closer and said a bit quieter, "-fucking Demons. Actual fucking Demons-"

Chairs pushed back from tables as people quietly left the restaurant area.

Victor said a prayer in Spanish and kissed the matching Virgen De Guadalupe pendant around his neck. "There's blood all over that fucking room, you have people-" he stopped talking as a woman sat across his lap. The restaurant was clear of people except for us. "-Locked in the basement"

I continued eating and listening and cringing inside as I imagined Maracella down there. I felt sorry for the woman even though she had me kidnapped to do her dirty spellwork. Maybe I should send her a get-well card? She would hate that. No, I wasn't bitter about her being Jonny's ex-fiance.

"It took everything we had to get the videos off the dark web but I don't know how we're going to keep all this on the dl." Victor adjusted his cap. "When I linked you up with James, it was to help keep you out of trouble. You-" Victor pointed a fork at Jonny, "-wanted a break. And now...now." He flung his hands out and looked at an invisible audience. "This fucker wants to take over?" He sighed and leaned his head against the woman's neck, taking a deep breath. "We always have your back, Brother." Victor continued and looked at Jonny, "Always. I will only ask you this one time, Carnal. Are you sure?"

Jonny looked at his brother and took a moment to swallow his food. His hand squeezed my thigh under the table. A small head nod from him and he put his hand out to Victor.

Victor grabbed it with a loud clap. He rubbed his hands together. "LESSSS GO!" He shouted.

The woman in his lap rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Diego sauntered into the restaurant area.

Victor stood up and the woman slid off his lap to her feet.

She sat in his empty chair and put her hand out to me. "I'm Brooke." She introduced herself.

"Jane." I smiled and shook her hand. "Thank you for the food," I said, motioning to my empty plate.

"Vicki did most of the work." She shrugged and watched as Jonny stood and followed Victor.

Victor hugged Diego, even though he was the shortest of the trio he lifted Diego easily off the ground. "Death looks good on you, Brother." Victor patted Diego's shoulders as he set him back down.

Diego smiled and put his arm around Victor, leading him back to the table. The two men carried over a second table and a few more chairs. "I thought it best to keep Benedicto out of this. He's dealt with too much already." Diego and Jonny shook hands before sitting.

"You're too soft on that boy." Victor sat on his wife's lap. She pushed him off and stood up. He smiled and kissed her, sat in his chair, and reached for her hips but she interjected and headed for the door.

"I'll be right back." She left the restaurant area.

"Aren't you the one that just gave him your truck? As if you haven't given him cars before that. You know all he does is wreck them." Diego accused Victor. "And Jonny-Boy gives him money all the time." Diego looked at Jonny.

Jonny laughed, and Diego and Victor followed. Their laughter made the anxiousness lift a little from my stomach.

Brooke came back carrying a tray with drink glasses on it. She placed it in the middle of the table and sat on the chair next to Victor.

Victor stood and passed out the drinks to everyone around the table. Each of us received a tall glass filled with bubbly liquid and a shot glass.

"Soda and whiskey." Brooke informed me. "Romans favorite."

They lifted their shot glasses. Jonny reached over to me under the table. His hand slid under my skirt onto my bare skin, his warm fingers resting between my thighs.

I tried not to blush.

He looked over at Diego as Diego continued, "We lost one of ours. Let's not lose anymore." He clenched his jaw and everyone drank down their shots.

I thought about the blood that pooled around Roman after Keiran shot him. I drank the whiskey quickly as the anger bubbled up again. I tried not to make a face and sipped on the soda.

"Martin is looking for Maracella." Victor put his shot glass upside down on the tray. "My only question is...can we feed him to a Demon?"

I almost choked on my soda. My mind spun with the possibilities. Feeding Demons made them stronger but maybe it was worth it to get Martin and his men crossed off our list. Could I banish a Demon after it ate an army of men? I didn't even want to summon the damn things in the first place. My stomach twisted.

"She's thinking about it...that's a good sign." Victor leaned back in his chair proud of his suggestion.

"Maybe Martin needs a spell done, could play bait and get him to steal me. Maybe do some tradesies?" I suggested.

"That's gettin' real old." Jonny raised his eyebrow at me and squeezed my thigh. "Maracella is safe, for now, in the basement." Jonny drank another shot. "We will be using no one as bait, least of all you."

"We still need to track down Jess," Diego said quietly.

I rolled my eyes and scoffed, sitting back in my chair.

Diego looked at me annoyed. "You have something to say?"

I sat up and looked at him. "Did you lose a Succubus, Diego?" I drank a shot and chased it with a sip of soda. He was always blaming me for shit now it was his turn to take it.

He took a shot himself, looking unusually uncomfortable. "At least I don't share my brain...and body with a psychopath."

Jonny shot him a 'yeah, right' look.

"The trackers will find her, then what?" Victor grabbed another shot.

"We can't kill her." Diego looked pointedly at Victor. "Yet."

Victor shook his head. "Fine. Let's talk about this orgy thing." Victor sat up and removed his baseball cap.

Brooke elbowed him in the side.

Victor shrugged. "Better than talking about things we can't do nothin' about. Yet."

"I'm not sure an orgy is going to do much either." I shrugged.

"I thought you said it would fix all this, close the Portal, get rid of the Demons." Diego, again with the attitude.

"We don't know what this Portal does or what Jess wants to do with it." I shrugged. "The orgy, if we even have enough people willing, might be enough to distract Jess but I need to know what she's up to first. We don't have enough information and time is running out." I spun the empty shot glass between my hands.

Diego shrugged but something in his eyes shifted.

And then it hit me. I had been so blind. "You've been having sex with her." My eyebrows shot up with my realization.

Everyone around the table looked at Diego. He denied it, "Be for real."

No one was convinced.

I stood to pace. "This isn't good. What are the lasting effects of sleeping with a Succubus? Are you tied together forever? If Jess was able to get to you? Did she..." I looked at Jonny. "Did Jess get to you?"

He looked slightly embarrassed and my heart thudded too fast in my chest. "No." Jonny looked at his brother.

Diego smiled. "She thought you were weird." He shrugged and drank a shot.

"She thought I was the weird twin?" Jonny shook his head.

I glared at Jonny. Was he offended that a Sex Demon didn't feed off of him?

"What?" He looked at me with feigned innocence.

I rolled my eyes. "The Licorice Root will help us keep away from Jess's powers. Are you still under her...domination?" I sat back down and looked at Diego. My word choice was meant to get under his skin.

He shook his head. "Jonny freed me from her," he said cryptically, with a glare.

A large man walked up to the table. "They're ready for you, Mr. Zantana." He left the table as quickly as he showed up.

Jonny's jaw tightened and he looked at his watch. "Diego and I will go over the security plans with the men for the night of the ritual." He nodded and Diego, Victor, and Brooke left the table. He turned to me. "How many couples do you need?"

"Twelve would be best. But they have to be really willing. Not coerced or threatened." I hadn't decided if it would be Bishop or Jonny joining me as the thirteenth couple. Bishop was familiar with Magic but Jonny and my energy played well with each other. The excess energy we created could be useful when going up against a Sex Demon's Magic.

He nodded. "You have plans with Bishop today?"

I nodded.

Jonny seemed distracted and glanced at his watch again.

I put my hand on his cheek and turned him to face me. I kissed him on the lips. "Be safe, Jonny." I stood and left him at the table before he could tell me he had to go.