Outlaw (Wolves of Royal Paynes #4) - Kiki Burrelli Page 0,87

I have more. Just give me the half-breed."

I wrapped my arms around Diesel's waist and held tight.

There was a loud crash, like Thalasso had landed on the roof of the school bus.

"Demonling, I leave for a few days…"

My head popped up while still keeping my arms around my alpha.

Claus stood on top of the school bus, his horns shining beneath the sun.

"Claus," Thalasso snarled. "You're standing on the wrong side."

"When has that stopped me?" He gestured his head at the mayhem surrounding us. "Devil know what you're doing?"

Thalasso's feet hovered hundreds of feet above the surface. "He will be pleased, when he finds out. The devil doesn't want anything to do with this world, only the souls that come from it. Imagine what he'll do when hell fills with souls. He'll let us rule earth together. Remade, a place where we will rule. Me, and every demon who has seen my vision. I'll give you only one chance—join me."

I wasn't worried for a second that Claus would switch sides, but he sure made it look like he was considering it. He shrugged and faced the floating demon. "Nah, I already joined a club. But how about this—to say I'm sorry, I'll give you a blowjob."

Thalasso's frown was likely shared by many on the lawn, but I didn't look from my half-brother to check.

He inhaled, his chest barreling outward, before he pursed his lips, and blew.

Thalasso shot back like a feather in front of an industrial fan. In seconds, he was no larger than a red dot, hovering over the horizon of the ocean before he disappeared completely.

"That just bought us time." Claus jumped from the school bus and looked around. "But it looks like time was what you needed. I'll put out the fire. Grab what you need, and then we should probably skedaddle."

18

Diesel

In hindsight, the school bus would've been the best vehicle for the pack to flee in, but we made it to the private airport outside of Portland in one piece.

Thank fuck for Jazz's shitty dad and the money he left behind. We loaded onto a private plane, walking by a smiling flight attendant. He was a professional, maintaining a friendly smile even while his eyes tightened. I supposed his regular passengers didn't normally look so battered or include six children and one angry dog.

The doc was certain Dog had broken at least a few ribs. With Storri acting as interpreter, she concluded that there was no internal bleeding, but had wrapped his chest to keep his bones from jostling.

Alejandro and his niece, Maria, climbed in last. He'd carried Hallie down the driveway and onto the highway by the time Knox caught up with him. We couldn't be positive Thalasso had gotten a good look at him, but it wasn't safe for Alejandro or us to leave loose ends.

We were bruised, but at least most of us had stopped bleeding. Escaping with our lives from a demon king had been nothing but luck. We knew that as surely as we knew we hadn't seen the last of Thalasso.

If Claus—the same demon king currently flirting the sense out of the flight attendant—hadn't come when he did, we'd be dead.

Once the pack was loaded on, Knox jerked Claus into the main cabin and faced the attendant. "We don't need any service. If you need to come back here for a flight check, please knock first."

If the flight attendant was angry at being bossed around, he was at least equally pleased at the idea of having to do very little during our nonstop flight to Chicago. As the newest owner to a chain of hotels that stretched across the country, Jazz had been able to get us the entire penthouse in one of his most secure buildings. Faust wouldn't have a problem tapping into the hotel's existing security system, and we'd fill in any gaps in their setup.

We clumped together with the children in the center. All but Belle was sleeping. No one had gotten over seeing them in danger, their loud screams after the explosion. There were more than enough seats for everyone, but I pulled Quinlan into my lap anyway.

"I don't see why we had to send that perfectly fine gentleman away," Claus pouted. "I won't talk about you-know-what in a place like this. That is just asking for trouble."

I figured he meant stuck in a plane over thirty thousand feet in the air.

"We aren't. We'll do that at the location. But we need to rest. Everyone. Try and