The faerie in question was Eadan Daly. He was probably tucked away in his home on the east coast, rocking the world of his new bride Inara. The two had come across Jinx’s radar recently and she’d found herself aiding them when she knew it would be in her best interest to remain neutral—as she always did. But there was something about young love that she couldn’t turn her back on.

The tides in the supernatural community were changing and she’d not liked a lot of what she was seeing. Helmuth had paired up with other sick bastards and had grander schemes on the horizon.

Plans that turned her stomach.

As conditioned as she’d been to simply see all but do nothing, she’d found that changing when she’d come face to face with a skinny, hungry Inara in need of help. Inara had ties to an old friend of Jinx’s—James Hagen. Jinx had feared the worst when James had gone missing and was still relieved he had been found alive.

She wouldn’t take back helping Inara. It was the right thing to do and Jinx had watched enough wrongs happen in her life to know it was time she stepped up. The help Jinx provided had cost her.

She now had Helmuth’s goons to contend with. Jasper put a hand on the bar top and continued to wave the broken bottle around in the air, making Jinx’s girls cry more. If Helmuth really wanted to make a point, it wouldn’t be with scare tactics. He’d have sent his men to do violence right out of the gate. She knew enough of Helmuth’s type to predict it. And she wouldn’t subject her girls to that. Not if letting the goons trash the place would get them out of her hair.

Jasper laughed. “You put your neck out for PSI and what do you have to show for it?”

She didn’t respond. There was no need. Nothing she said would end what was happening. She intended to let Jasper get his fill of trashing her place and then hope he’d leave. But if he dared to harm one of her girls, Jinx would take the gloves off.

“Nothing to say for yourself?” he demanded.

She shook her head.

Jasper glared at her. “How about I cut up some bitches?”

“You will do no such thing,” said Jinx, stepping forward. “I’ve allowed you to have your fun and games. You’ve scared my girls and caused a fair amount of damage here. You’re done. Leave or I will remove you.”

Jasper snorted. “As if.”

She leveled her gaze on the man, remaining calm in the process. She’d seen real violence in her long life. This was nothing compared to what she’d witnessed and lived through. She walked closer to him. He looked at the tops of her breasts, which she knew were pressed up like offerings. As a succubus she had zero issues with her sexuality. In fact, she embraced and used it as the weapon it was when called for.

“Jinx,” Aneta said from the back of the room.

“I’m fine,” said Jinx.

Jasper laughed. “Listen to the whore.”

Jinx huffed and then lifted a hand. “Do you really think you’re the first person to think to call us that? Oh, please. Tell me Helmuth has smarter men than you at his disposal.”

Jasper’s face reddened and he clutched the broken bottle so hard it shattered in his hand, cutting him and making blood flow. He growled, showing shifter teeth.

She didn’t so much as flinch. Shifters didn’t scare her. They never had. She remained in place. “Stop with the theatrics. Either shift so I can scold you like the bad dog you are or leave. You’ve made your point. Helmuth is displeased with me. Well, I’m none too thrilled with him at the moment either. Yet you don’t see me behaving this poorly.”

“Listen, whore,” snapped Jasper, through shifted teeth. “He’ll mail your head to PSI.”

Paranormal Security and Intelligence was probably one of the only things standing in the way of Helmuth’s total control of the upper west coast. Jinx considered sending them a basket of chocolate as a thank you.

“PSI will chew you up and spit you out. You know it and so do I. Do you want me aligned with them for good? That could be arranged. Oh, the things I know, Jasper, or have you forgotten how close Helmuth and I were?”

Jasper’s expression wavered and his teeth returned to normal.

One of her girls giggled. “Helmuth has it bad for Jinx. He’d never take her head. I’m guessing you were sent here to give her a message, not tear the joint apart. And I’m guessing when Helmuth finds out what you did, there will be hell to pay.”

“The boss doesn’t like being double-crossed,” returned Jasper quickly, sounding worried. “No peace of ass is worth that.”

The same woman responded, “Clearly you’ve never had the pleasure of Jinx.”

He looked to his other men and then to Jinx. “You’re awfully brave for a succubus. You should have stayed out of Helmuth’s business. Like I said, PSI left you hanging.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” a deep, familiar voice said from the entrance of her club.

Jinx gasped. It couldn’t be. They weren’t meeting until tomorrow. She turned in time to spot a man who was well over six feet tall, standing there, dressed to the nines in a designer suit, his close-cut black hair holding the smallest of dustings of white in the temples. White that never seemed to move further into his hairline.

Asher’s gaze raked over the club bar room and landed on her. “Are you harmed?”

Warmth spread over her body at the sound of concern in his voice.

“Who the fuck are you?” demanded Jasper.

Asher adjusted his tie, appearing very calm, cool and collected. Jinx knew it was a smokescreen. That the man kept a lethal side hidden away from view of others. “I was about to ask you the same question.”

Jasper nodded to his men. “Get him out of my sight.”

Jinx’s breath caught. She didn’t want Asher hurt on her account. She was about to signal her girls to turn on their succubus charms and put them in high gear to distract the shifters when Asher moved fast, twisting, striking one of the men, knocking him down with one blow.

Stunned, Jinx simply stood there as Asher turned, undoing his jacket with one hand as he punched a man in the throat with his other hand. The man fell away as if he were a fly being swatted.

Within seconds three other men poured in from behind him. She recognized Eadan instantly and knew the others must be some of the I-Ops. A tall man with long black hair smiled wide as he attacked a man near Asher. The more she looked at him, the more she realized he was one of the files she had in her office. Geoffroi “Roi” Majors.

“Hi, Colonel. Lukian said Eadan and I were behaving badly and he didn’t want to sit on a tarmac with us anymore. Miss us?” asked the man with a grin that said he was up to no good and proud of the fact.

“You listen worse than a toddler, Roi,” Asher said and flipped a man over his back. When the man landed in front of Eadan, Eadan kicked him in the head. “I’m considering putting you all in time-outs later.”

“In all fairness, Lukian thought of this,” said Eadan. “We just agreed and tagged along for the ride.”

Groaning, Asher continued to fight with the men who had trashed her club. Jinx backed up more, putting her arms out to her girls. They rushed to her and she tipped her head in the direction of the back exit. Without needing to be told twice, her girls all ran in that direction. The minute Aneta, the last of her girls, cleared the area, Jinx exhaled a long, shaky breath. She loved her girls and her workers. They were a family of sorts to her, and if anything had happened to them she’d have never forgiven herself.

Jinx didn’t leave, even though the opening was there for her to take it. She’d not walk out and allow the I-Ops to clean up her mess. She’d known that by helping Eadan she was borrowing trouble, and she owed Asher too much already to permit him to take this burden on alone.

She wasn’t a born fighter but she was hardly a shrinking violet. Bending, she looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon. She grabbed a discarded bottle and lifted it, holding it up, ready to do harm. Jinx spun as she sensed someone coming up near her and stopped just shy of hitting Asher with the bottle.