Along Came a Demon (Shadow Demons 1): A Bones MC Romance

The next couple of weeks passed in a whirlwind for Merrily. She’d only seen Alex twice and he hadn’t acknowledged her at all, furthering her belief that their kiss hadn’t meant anything to him. She still couldn’t figure out why he’d done it. He was a very closed-off man, his expression giving nothing away. She noticed, however, that he’d looked slightly confused after he’d kissed her. He was definitely judging her reactions very closely, but he didn’t seem to know what to do about her. The only thing she was sure of was that he’d enjoyed kissing her, for whatever reason. She didn’t think he intended on repeating the experience, but he’d enjoyed it.

Mrs. McDonald, surprisingly, treated Merrily as if she were part of Alex’s family, insisting on having breakfast sent to their room in the morning and inviting her and Bellarose to dinner in the great dining hall with Alex and the others, though Alex was never there. Every time Merrily asked about work, the older woman would tell her she’d get back to her “in a day or two.” She continued to send clothes and accessories and makeup and electronics and toys to Merrily and Rose. The little girl squealed in delight with everything sent to her, but, by far, her favorite things were the cats. The feeling seemed to be mutual. The three of them hardly separated.

As to Alex, Merrily didn’t know what to think. She was glad she hadn’t run into him because she had no idea how to act. Pretending nothing had happened would be the smart move, but she wasn’t sure she could do that. She’d never been a good actress, and her feelings would likely be known by everyone around to witness.

Besides, he probably thought she considered he was fair game after they’d kissed. That she’d try to use that to a financial advantage in some way. Hadn’t he told her not to make that kiss into something it wasn’t? He might have meant it one way, but Merrily was in danger of making it into feelings neither of them had. She wanted him to want to kiss her. She sure wanted to kiss him. Not to lay any claim to his money, but for the pleasure of it.

To take her mind off Alex, she’d finally hounded Mrs. McDonald until she’d agreed to let her help serve the gala the men were hosting the following week. To her shock, she’d found that not only did Alex, Azriel, and Giovanni live and work here, but each of them had several brothers and cousins as well. Everyone would be in attendance.

“You know, you could go as a guest instead of a server,” Mrs. McDonald had said as she supervised the tailoring of Merrily’s uniform for the evening event with a scowl on her face. A knee-length, form-fitting black skirt, white blouse with a black vest, a red bow tie, black stockings, and black, two-inch-heeled pumps was the uniform for a gala of this sort. White gloves were also a must. Apparently, the gala was a pretty big deal.

“A guest?” Merrily’s eyes widened. “Have you lost your mind?” She shook her head. “No way I’d fit in with this kind of crowd. Besides, I have to start earning my keep.”

The older woman’s face screwed up. “You should be going as a guest,” she muttered. “A beautiful young woman like you should dress up and go to the ball on the arm of a handsome suitor.”

“Well, instead of that, I’ll take serving drinks or hors d’oeuvres gladly. I wouldn’t know how to act or what to do. Can you imagine if I used the stupid salad fork to eat a crab or something?”

Mrs. McDonald laughed. “You could start a new trend. My boys are so rich, everyone would follow your lead.”

“They’re rich. Not me. As evidenced by my presence here. Why would you equate me with them, anyway?”

“Because you’re the woman for my Alexei.”

Merrily started, looking up sharply. “No. Mrs. McDonald –”

“How many times have I asked you to call me Ruth, young lady?”

“Fine. Ruth. Don’t say things like that. He’s way out of my league and I have no illusion he’s not.”

“He’s different, is all. He was raised and lives in a different environment than you, but he can make you happy. You can make him happy.”

“He’s barely spoken to me since he decreed my forced imprisonment.” She laughed. “I hardly think he’s happy with me at all. In fact, I bet if I make a big enough mess at this party, I could get him to kick me out.”

Now it was Ruth’s turn to laugh. “Not likely. I’ve never seen him so protective of anyone. He’s more a playboy than a fighter, but with you, I think he might just fight off Armageddon.” She rested her finger on her chin as she spoke, now looking Merrily up and down with a critical eye. “Lovely, my dear.” She beamed. “Now. I’ll show you what to do and you’ll be perfectly fine. Unless…” She looked hopeful. “You’ve changed your mind and want to go as a guest? I can have the most beautiful gown ready for you in a matter of days.”

“I think this will be fine, Ruth.”

She was soon to second-guess herself. Serving at an event of this caliber was no picnic. As Merrily found out, each server had their own pattern throughout the room so they covered the entire place without actually proceeding in a line. The patterns were designed to look random and Merrily could see it worked like magic, keeping the food and drinks distributed evenly. When a server was close to running out of whatever they had, they took a direct route back to the kitchen for another tray.

Merrily found all the staff to be kind and personable. Everyone helped her, teasing good-naturedly when she became frustrated, keeping her spirits up. They told funny stories about their first times at a gala event to make her smile. No one seemed to know about Ruth’s suspicion that Alex was interested in her, thank goodness. Merrily didn’t think she could handle it if they did.

Now, with the gala in full swing, she picked up her tray full of hors d’oeuvres and made her way around the room carefully. At first, she was so nervous she nearly forgot to stop when guests signaled or reached for her tray. About an hour into it, however, she had the hang of things. She smiled, kept her tray full, and rarely spoke.

One thing she learned quickly was that the hired help were pretty much treated as fixtures in the room. Like they were furniture. People said and did things she was fairly certain they would never want out in the open. One group of businessmen was discussing insider trading. Merrily might not have known what it all meant if not for an economics class she’d taken in high school for college credit. She’d done some research and knew the terms, if not how it was applied in reality. Another couple was discussing a court case they were part of. Specifically, how to bribe a witness into recanting his testimony so their client could go free. Two other men were busy touching and caressing a woman under the table. Merrily wasn’t sure either man was aware what the other was doing and wanted to linger to see what happened when they found out. The woman was carrying on a conversation as if nothing was happening, but she had her hand in the crotch of one of them while she covered the movement by angling her body as she talked. Merrily supposed, if she were a bad person, she could make a large sum of money with the information alone. Just one more aspect of Alex’s world she could never be a part of.

Merrily was so focused on everything going on around her, she almost missed the large group of people congregating together near the center of the room as she passed. They parted for a man coming in her direction. When he reached for her tray, she finally recognized that man as Alex. He was only a few feet from her for the first time in more than two weeks and she found she was starved for the sight of him.

What struck Merrily the most was the difference in his appearance. He was, of course, in an impeccable tuxedo that molded his large, muscular frame lovingly, obviously tailored to perfection. His broad shoulders tapered to his narrow hips. He’d been good looking before but now he was devastating. That was only part of it. His expression was completely closed off, giving away nothing of what he was thinking. It had been much the same way before, but his eyes had been at least somewhat expressive as he’d stared into hers. Now, they were cold. Calculating. As if he saw and heard as much as she had and was making a mental note on every single indiscretion and how to use it against the transgressor. He might look like he was there drinking and having a grand time without a care in the world, but Alex was working that room even harder than she was. The only difference was he intended to do something with the information he gleaned. Either that, or he was looking for something in particular.

Their eyes met and he held her gaze steadily. A tall, thin blonde draped herself over him, as if he was all hers. Merrily had no idea if they were together or not and that made her blush, turning away. What if she’d kissed another woman’s man? She was many things, but she’d never overstep like that.

She tried to keep moving, finding the pattern she was supposed to follow again away from Alex, but people kept snagging food from her tray. With any luck, she’d run out soon.

“I don’t understand why you don’t use this fundraiser for the local animal shelter, Alex,” the blonde pouted. She’d burrowed so close to his side she was practically fused there. “The city has enough homeless shelters. Besides, who wants that element in our city anyway?” She purred her stinging, insensitive comment, as if she were so much better than people like Rose and Merrily.

“There are always those in need, Victoria,” Alex said with a shrug. “People are more willing to take in a stray cat than a person.”

“Maybe so, but shouldn’t they be getting jobs or something? I mean, handouts only mean more handouts.” There were a few murmurs, but no one outright agreed or disagreed with her.

“Spoken like a person who paid more for her shoes than she did for her admission donation.” Merrily didn’t realize she’d said it out loud until all eyes settled on her.

Victoria looked down her nose at Merrily, giving her a disdainful, scornful look. “I’ll have you know, I’m on the board of directors for the Housing the Homeless committee. I guarantee you I know more about the city’s homeless shelters than you do, girl.”

Merrily knew she should just duck her head and leave. Keep her mouth shut. To her horror, her mouth had other plans. “I know every shelter in this city, and all but one is currently filled to capacity on one of the coldest nights of the year. The only one with any room is one of the scariest places I’ve ever been in.” Before she could get her wayward mouth under control, she added, “But I’m sure with your superior knowledge of homeless shelters, you know all about the drug dealers and pimps taking over during the night. Why, I bet your sleeping bag is down there right in the middle of the room where you can be available to anyone who wants to talk to you about it after you leave here.” She tilted her head. “Do you even know where all the homeless shelters are? Because I can name every one and tell you which street they sit on and the landmarks surrounding them.”

Again, no one seemed to know whether to outright disagree so they kept quiet, looking to Alex for guidance. Merrily wanted to sink into the floor and disappear. She was more foolish than her mother had ever thought she was.

Alex gave a slight smile. “Our little Mary over there has yet to learn her place in my home, but I’d say she was well on her way.” He didn’t say it with menace or even as a reprimand, but Victoria took it as such. The blonde woman sneered and looked down her nose at Merrily once again. “Once she does, her words will have greater meaning.”

“My name is not Mary,” Merrily said between clenched teeth.

Alex shrugged, but met her gaze directly. “No. It’s not.”

“I suggest you leave now, little girl,” Victoria snapped, cuddling even closer to Alex as if seeing Merrily as a threat instead of a servant. Merrily thought she might as well be trying to climb inside his jacket. “I assure you, you won’t be here long.” The carnivorous smile said she’d be the reason Merrily left. Apparently, they really were together. Alex gave Victoria the side eye, still not showing any discernible emotion. Maybe a little irritation, but Merrily had no idea if it was for her or Victoria.

“You could use a break,” he said, waving his hand toward the kitchen. “Take fifteen minutes to yourself.”

“Without pay,” Victoria called. Merrily wanted to throw the tray at her and had to concentrate on turning around. If her body ran away as horribly as her mouth had, she’d be in a world of hurt.

“Alex!” A deep voice boomed from behind her and a burly man pushed past her, nearly knocking her down to make his way to Alex. To her horror she recognized the man. Daniel J. Maddison… the second. Rose’s paternal grandfather.

Merrily felt the room closing in on her. She couldn’t breathe. Alex had gotten her to tell him about Rose’s father; now the very man who’d paid her mother for Merrily to get an abortion was in the same room with her. Talking to Alex!

Taking a couple of steps backward, Merrily turned, intending to flee back to the kitchens. Instead, she ran right into Rose’s father, who was hot on the heels of his father. Daniel glanced down at her. Did a double take. His gaze roamed over her outfit and the empty tray in her hand. He smirked in a how-do-you-like-me-now kind of way, then dismissed her without a word.

Merrily was going to be sick. She was going to throw up right here if she didn’t move. One of the other girls took her arm and guided her to the kitchen. Tears she hadn’t realized were falling obscuring her vision, Merrily went with her blindly.

Once through the doors, the girl took her tray and called frantically, “Mrs. McDonald! Mrs. McDonald!”

A couple seconds later, Ruth was at her side, guiding her farther into the kitchen and through the back entrance. She pushed Merrily down to sit on the stairs before kneeling in front of her. “Tell me what you need, sweetheart,” the older woman said, taking Merrily’s face between her hands. “I saw what happened. Do you know the men talking to Alex?”

“I — I need Rose. And to leave. Right now, before he comes for us.”

“Who, honey? Who’s coming after you?”

“Rose’s father,” she whispered. “Alex made me tell him about Daniel. Now he and his father are here. I have to get Rose out of here before something bad happens.”

Ruth gave a little impatient sigh before pulling Merrily into her arms. “I promise you, Merrily, no one will take Rose away from you. Not Alex. Not this Daniel.” She forced Merrily to look at her. “Do you understand me?”

She didn’t, but nodded anyway. “Now. Go upstairs and wash the tears from your beautiful face. I’ll take care of Alex.” In that moment, Merrily hoped the older woman had that kind of sway over Alex even as she knew that, if Alex decided to give Rose to Daniel, there would be nothing anyone — including Ruth — could do about it.

* * *

“I want her off the floor.” Alex was livid, but he managed to deliver the instructions in a mild tone. The explosion of anger that wanted outside his body was contained, if barely. He kept it together by sheer force of will. Victoria still clung to him like she had some kind of claim on him. So far, he’d let her because it benefited him, but that would change soon, and he would make sure she knew it, too.

“Girl needs to know her place,” Victoria hissed, repeating his words, obviously trying to curry favor and get her way at the same time.

Alex didn’t acknowledge her, wouldn’t unless it was to deliver a scathing put down, and the woman wasn’t worth breaking the bored facade he presented. Besides, he hadn’t been talking to the grasping woman.

“I’ll get Ruth to take care of her.” Giovanni’s voice came through Alex’s earpiece.

“She’ll run,” Alex said, ignoring wherever Victoria was saying.

“Ruth won’t let her. Now, head in the game, boss. He’s practically on you.”

Alex nearly winced at the reprimand, something that had never happened. It was enough that Alex knew the rest of the team would be debating even now whether or not to continue with this part of the mission and, if they decided to move forward, would be considering replacing Alex on point. It was the problem with leading a bunch of alphas. There was absolutely no room for mistakes.

“Alex!” Daniel J. Maddison II was a snake. He’d known that before Merrily had told him about her experiences with the family. His son, Danny, was even worse.

“Victoria told me it might be worth my while to show up tonight,” the elder Maddison commented. “Have you had a change of heart about my proposed merger?”

As if.

Alex smiled slightly at the other man. “I’m afraid not, Dan. I’ve been contacted by some associates of yours and warned off that project. Pity, too. It took me a while, but I saw merit to what you were proposing. Our robotics program could have used a little reboot.” Alex was fishing. They suspected Daniel Maddison’s company of laundering money for someone, but hadn’t figured it out yet. In fact, it wasn’t until Merrily had told him of her situation that they’d had a break in an investigation that had lasted many months and met with more brick walls than it should have.

To his credit, Maddison only tilted his head slightly. “Really. I can’t imagine –”

“No worries, Dan,” he interrupted before the man could deny anything. “Anyone worth his salt in business has more than one avenue open to him. You start with the best one and work your way down.” He extended his hand. “Enjoy your evening.”

Behind him, Victoria sputtered. She was the bridge to Daniel Maddison, had been planted in Alex’s circle to feed Dan information. Her job was to reel Alex in, gain his loyalty to her because of a sexual relationship. Alex had enjoyed his part in her game — the woman knew her way around a man’s body — but he was finished with her now. No matter what happened tonight.

“Wait!” Maddison grabbed his arm. “Perhaps we could discuss this later. Tell me when, and I’ll come to your office.” He smiled congenially, but there was an underlying tension in him.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Dad?” Danny, the younger Maddison, said in a bored tone. “We can get any number of companies to invest in us. I gave you proposals on three just this morning.”

“None of them have the clout of Argent Tech,” Maddison said absently before addressing Alex again. “I assure you, Alex, this is a deal we can make work.”

Alex smiled. “If it were only the two of us negotiating, I’m certain we could. But, like I said, someone in your circle doesn’t want Argent and Maddison merging their robotics divisions.” He shrugged. “I protect the larger company at all costs, Dan.”

“I told you, we don’t need him,” Danny hissed at his father’s shoulder. “I’ve got this, Dad.”

“Look, Alex. I’m going to level with you. Your research and development is off the charts. You have the backing of the most credible, most widely utilized tech company in the world. Maddison Robotics is smaller and less funded but we hold our own because of superior advertising and the connections my father built over a generation. If we merge our resources, we could take over the robotics industry worldwide. Contracts with every major government.”

Alex studied the man — and his son — as if considering what he was saying. In reality, he and his team were studying the other men. Just not for the reason they thought.

“Whatever is going on, either they’re both in on it or Danny is good and pissed because he’s trying to prove himself and his Daddy isn’t taking chances with someone else’s dirty money.” Giovanni’s voice was confident. “Infrared camera is lit up like a Christmas tree. Dan wants access to those books badly and is nervous as shit. Temperature spiking.”

“Say I look into this further. Ignore the warnings I’ve received. How do you envision this merger working?” This was the setup. It would never work with most people looking to launder money, but Maddison was desperate. This was what had taken so long to figure out. Maddison had a thief in his midst. And that thief had gone after the one thing Maddison couldn’t deal with legally — the money they were laundering.

“All you’d have to do is sit back and collect the profits. We’ll sign any necessary non-disclosure forms on the tech, and your staff becomes our staff. Maddison becomes part of Argent Technology, but operates under the Maddison Robotics name.”

“Hmm…” Alex mused, letting the man think he was considering it, working out the angles in his mind. “It would give you greater collateral to work with, but I’d want full access to the books. Like I said, I protect the larger company at any cost. Even if it means cutting loose part of it should the merger fail.”

“You can always have access to the books,” Dan said without hesitation.

“My team would need to look at your current financials. I can’t go into something like this blind. I admit, however, that you are very well connected, especially in the military world. We have our own contacts, of course, but we have been beaten out by you on several bids.”

“Of course,” Dan assured him.

Danny didn’t like it. “Are you saying our books aren’t what they should be? We’re the top robotics developer in the country. A company doesn’t get that way by making mistakes in bookkeeping.”

For the first time, Alex let his gaze slide to the younger man. He supposed he was handsome. A little prissy looking for Alex. Too soft. His skin was so smooth, Alex had to wonder if he’d had his facial hair lasered. He was convinced Merrily wouldn’t be enticed by his money — after all, she’d tried to refuse everything Alex had provided for her — so she’d apparently found the man appealing in some fashion. Just looking at him made Alex want to mess up his too-perfect face.

“Daniel, I suggest you explain to your son Business Merger 101: Always Know the Books.” He shifted his gaze back to the older man. “Call my office first thing tomorrow. We’ll set up an appointment. Shouldn’t take more than twenty-four hours to get through everything.” He reached out his hand and Dan Maddison took it.

“I look forward to it,” he said with a smile that looked as fake as Alex knew his was — the look of a man who smelled blood in the water. He thought Alex was buying into his proposal. In reality, Alex simply wanted a legal means to inspect the company’s financial records. Oh, there was no doubt they’d be doctored, but there was nothing anyone could hide from his numbers men. They’d find the discrepancies and do what they always did — follow the money.

“That’s a wrap,” Giovanni said. “If Danny Junior there doesn’t talk him out of it, we’ll be good to go.”

Alex strode off toward the kitchen, intending to find Merrily and explain what had just taken place. Well, as much as he could, anyway. “What about Steve Black?”

“He’s currently sweating and begging Azriel not to cut off his testicles with a butter knife. He’ll fold soon.” Giovanni predicted. “I give him… fifteen more minutes. Tops.”

“Good. I want these guys, Gio. Then I want the bastards paying them.”

There was a pause. “Is it personal?”

“Without a doubt,” he said, upholding his vow to be completely honest with his team. Their lives depended on it. It was the one thing where none of them ever compromised. “I’ll defer to you as team leader, Gio. I can’t be objective on this.”

“Understood.”

Alex pulled out the earpiece and removed the lapel pin that served as a microphone. As he walked, he handed both to one of the servers, who pocketed them without a word. They were used to intrigues at these events. Well, all of them except Merrily. He could only imagine what she was thinking.

“Where’s Ruth?” he snapped as he walked into the staging area outside the kitchen.

“She took Merrily upstairs.” The young woman who answered had been the one to help Merrily after she’d literally run into Danny Maddison. “I’m afraid she’ll try to leave us, sir,” she said, not having to specify who “she” was. Already the staff thought of Merrily as one of them. He had tried to keep tabs on her, but, truth was, he’d avoided her as much as possible. He was becoming obsessed with her and that wasn’t a good thing. Not with his life the way it was.

He skirted the edge of the law only because he and his “family” were all insanely rich independently. Deep pockets were essential to success. As was focus. Currently, he couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything other than Merrily and her young daughter. If ever there was someone who needed the Demon’s special talents, it was those two. More, Alex wanted Merrily for himself. Having given up command for this project, he could freely admit it now. It wasn’t going to go over well in the inner circle, but hopefully his gesture would be enough to convince everyone he still had their backs and was still in the game. If not…

He’d have to deal with that if it happened. Right now, he had to get to Merrily.