Wicked Fantasy by Nina Bangs Page A

with that.” Pulling out his cell phone, he called Brynn. And while he was at it, he mentioned the serial killer. When he finished talking, he guided Gerry toward a nearby bench. “Brynn, Kim, and Fo will be here in a few minutes.”
    â€œOkay, I know that Brynn is one of your fake brothers, so I assume Kim is his wife. Who’s Fo?”
    â€œSomeone who’ll be a big help while you’re here.” Conall rested his arm across the top of the bench behind her. He spent the next endless minutes controlling his need to slide his fingers through the silky length of her hair.
    Jeez, it was almost a week before Brynn and Kim showed up. His forehead was damp with his effort to keep from touching Gerry. “Took you guys long enough.”
    Brynn glanced at his watch. “Five minutes?”
    â€œSeemed like it was longer.” He didn’t meet Gerry’s gaze. “Brynn, Kim, this is Gerry Kavanagh. Gerry, these are my friends. Brynn is an ex-demon of sensual desire. Kim’s an architect.”
    Brynn and Kim nodded at Gerry, but there was no warmth in the greeting.
    Gerry met their coolness head-on. “Look, I can tell you guys don’t like me. I get that Conall’s told you about the Kavanaghs. But this Kavanagh doesn’t want someone to serve and protect her forever. None of this is my fault. I have no control over what a psycho goddess does. But since I can’t do anything about it right now, I’m trying to make the best of it.”
    Kim nodded. “Makes sense. Brynn freaked me out when he told me what he was.” The glance she sent Brynn said she’d grown to love what he was. “But it wasn’t his fault. Ganymede did the damage. I had to deal with it or cut and run.”
    â€œUh, who’s going to introduce me ?” The small voice came from Kim’s shirt pocket.
    Kim reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked like a camera phone. She flipped it open and turned it so Gerry could see the screen.
    Huge purple eyes outlined in neon pink blinked at Gerry. “Hi.” The eyes shifted to stare at Conall. “She’s not human.” The eyes returned to Gerry. “I’m Fo, short for First One. I was created as a demon detector and destroyer, but something happened, and now I’m a sentient being.”
    Gerry stared at those eyes. “Sentient being?”
    â€œI have a mate, Gabriel, who’s like me. We want to create a little one, so Gabriel gave me one of his microchips.” The purple eyes looked excited. “I’m pregnant.”
    â€œPregnant? You’re going to create baby cell phones?” Gerry shook her head. “No, that’s not what I meant to say.”
    The purple eyes narrowed before shifting to Kim. “I don’t know if I can work with a person so politically incorrect, Kimmie.”
    Gerry raked her fingers through her hair. “Sorry. I haven’t talked to many . . . demon destroyers.” Then she seemed to realize what Fo had said. “Work with me?”
    Conall gently massaged the back of her neck. Fine, so he had no self-control. He had to touch. “Fo can identify nonhuman entities. If it’s a demon, she can even destroy it. And she doesn’t have to sleep.” Unlike him.
    Fo might be able to watch over Gerry when he couldn’t stay awake anymore. At least until they found out who’d set the fire.
    Gerry nodded. “Handy skills. She could help me find the wife killer.”
    â€œWife killer?” Fo’s eyes widened until they filled the whole screen. “Will I be like a kick-ass bounty hunter? I’ll get a black case with a skull and crossbones on it. Oooh, I want spikes and piercings.” She rolled her eyes toward Kim. “Would there be room for a few scary tattoos?”
    Kim sighed. “I doubt it.”
    Conall looked at Kim. “I’ll make sure she’s safe.”
    Kim turned Fo to face her. Conall