Page 26 of Sleep With Us

The ex–bounty hunter cast their gaze out my window. “I understand. Disagreements between Lost Ones that have the potential to escalate are exactly why I’m here. But here is my problem. A missing protestor, a missing vintage human, an unreported disturbance at Cain Towers, multiple massacred demons in Runo potentially linked to your business partner⁠—”

“There’s no proof of that. Zee hasn’t done anything wrong.” I was getting pretty tired of people accusing Zee without any evidence.

“You misunderstand, Mr. Vex.” They reached inside their coat, withdrew a card, and handed it over. “Humans have a saying: there’s no smoke without fire. It is my job to discover what is burning. I merely seek the truth. If you help me do that, then you have nothing to worry about.”

The truth? That was rich, coming from a bounty-hunter fae who had never cared about the truth in their whole life—at least, prior to becoming trapped here.

Leomaris stood and buttoned up their coat. “Also, during my arrival, I noticed your wards have extended far beyond their legal boundaries. This is a breach of city code, and while not my department, I suggest you have someone take a look at it before it gets you into trouble. Trouble is not something you need more of.”

“I will do that, thank you. I’ll see you out.”

We walked back down to the reception desk, and Agent Leomaris said their farewells in their slow, melodic drawl, which seemed to take forever. Their visit had made it very clear, we were on the SSD radar. But now, so was Gideon Cain.

They turned toward the door, and almost walked straight into a sparking zip in the air. Zee burst through, spilling all of his larger-than-life self into Agent Leomaris’s path.

“Thank fuck that’s over,” Zee breathed, grinning. He gave himself a shake, like a wet dog, flinging out his tail, wings, and nails.

“Zee!” He was okay! His little waistcoat had been slung on in haste, his pants were creased too, but otherwise, he looked great.

“D’yah miss me?” He spotted the SSD agent peering at him. “Oh, hellooo Legolas. What tall side order of cool lemonade are you?” Zee purred, stepping close, charm level ramping up to eleven.

It was probably best not to flirt with the SSD agent who had the power to shut us down with a click of their fingers. “Zee, this is Special Agent Leomaris from the Supernatural Division.”

“Oh, fuck.” Zee sprang back. “You good, Mr. Agent? You look fucking great, very official and . . . important. I fucking love your coat. Wow, so vintage. And your hair? Gorgeous!” Zee winced, caught my gaze, and his eyes widened in alarm. Swaggering my way, he mouthed silently, “What the fuck?!”

I didn’t care. He was here. He was alright. He’d come back! I wanted to run at him, fling myself around him, and smother him in kisses.

“Good day, Adam,” Agent Leomaris finally said. “I’m sorry I missed the opportunity to speak with you Zodiac. Perhaps another time?”

Zee draped himself against Madame Matase’s desk and saluted. “For sure, Agent Fae.”

We all watched the agent leave, and gave it a few beats before breathing out. “Zee! You’re⁠—”

Zee thrust out a hand. “Nope. Don’t get close. Meet me in my room in fifteen minutes.” He poofed away, leaving me speechless, deflated, and adrift. He was alright, wasn’t he? What if he wasn’t? What did I do? “Madame Matase.” I dashed to her desk. “If you were a demon and you needed a little comfort, what gift would you like?”

“Hm, I don’t know. Some sage, perhaps? It’s very soothing and clears bad thoughts.”

Maybe she was the wrong person to ask. “I don’t think Zee is into herbs, at least not those ones.”

“Oh, a Squishmallow!” she suggested.

“A what now?”

“A squishy plushie, you know?” She squished her hands together in front of her. “They’re adorable. Big eyes. Soft.”

“I was thinking more of something I can find now, in the hotel?”

“Oh, well then, I’m not sure.”

The conference-room door opened and Pierce emerged, followed by Reynard. Pierce glared daggers at me all the way to the door, and once he was gone, I approached Reynard. “Zee’s back. He looks okay, I guess. But I’m not sure. What shall I give him to make him feel appreciated?”

“Well, this is good news, Adam, but we should discuss this contract⁠—”

“And we will. But I want to give him something, so he knows we missed him.”

Reynard thought for a moment. “I find a good cup of tea soothes almost any ailment.”

“Uh . . . he’s not really a cup of tea person.”