Nico pulled away from the table. "Get up."

"Nico, we're done." Maria finally gave in and grabbed her chain as she couldn't hold out against the fear skittering around in her mind. Just because she wanted to see where this went didn't mean she'd let him run rip-shod over her, even while her brain was screaming at her to run. This is a demon, you dum-dum!

Nico grabbed her by the waist and tossed her on his shoulder to march into the bathroom. He dropped her in the tub before he started stripping. "I'm so glad I convinced your father to rent this apartment from me. The camera angles in here are perfect. Now, be a good girl and get naked for me like you always do."

The shock of his confession nearly caused her to freeze in fear. He was watching porn over the phone while talking to me? Was it porn? At that thought, she ripped off the necklace and threw Mark's ring at him. "Che due palle!, get out!"

"Maria Vitale, I will beat you senseless if you don't do as I say." The shirtless asshole sang this as he started undoing his buckle, readying himself to use it on her. He looked like he was hoping she'd fight him.

That answered some of what he was willing to do, to control her. Why didn't she see it before? Did he hide it the whole time or was she oblivious? What man beat a woman into consenting to sex?

"Oh, could you beat me first? I like a good spanking." The damn crow lay across her double-sink countertop, as suddenly as he ever appeared. Maria pulled on the edge of the tub to shift around comfortably before looking back at Nico. His pose looked much like hers the day she confronted Mark—arms up, pinned.

"Fucking Fey Half-breed!" Nico strained to get that much past the hold on his throat.

His curses were muffled after that, leaving the two of them to pretend like they were in their own world. A small, petty part of Maria felt pleased with that, as she couldn't prove anything that Nico had told her—who knows what other nasty surprises he had in store?

"Well, he's half-dressed, lady, you want to see what the sign of the cross does to a mostly human son of Mammon?"

"Should I?" That's really all it took to get her to willingly get out the tub and face her...well...ex. What a relief it was to call him that. "I thought it wouldn't work after sleeping with Lugh."

"Power from Other-beings doesn't work in a straightforward manner. The basics of their own faith remain true to the person, and sometimes the power comes back on its own. Think of Sampson with his strength."

"He was another who had a wife from the wrong people?"

"He had two of them, but protected neither. Other-beings have a lot more going on than merely being unequally yoked, as your people put it."

"You know a lot about my background."

"You met me at a library. Quit stalling."

Something about the mundane yet surreal nature of the whole setting was what made it easy to approach the spitting mad hottie ex—who ruined his 10 with a -30 personality he'd been hiding.

She tapped 3 fingers together on her forehead. "In the name of the Father," then moved down to the center of her cleavage, "and of the Son," then tapped her left then right shoulder "and of the Holy Spirit, Amen."

This was far more formal than what she did to the crow—that made it hit harder. Nico's chest indented like he had a CPR compression, then the same for shoving his shoulders back. A red plus welted up across his chest, then began blistering until he looked like a very selective sunburn victim.

Mark finally got up to inspect the wound, whistling. "Well, that's impressive, considering his ancestry is every bit as weak as yours. Just do this if someone is after you and call my name. If they be monsters, you have them, and if not, they're slow and I'll deal with it."

Maria felt the weight of the chain settle around her neck again. Amazing how a little bit of care could make her tear up—dangerous stuff, she could go from one bossy monster to the next, so easily. And this time? Attraction would make it harder to keep her independence. She shook her head to focus more than fuss. "You just changed how this works where he can hear it."

"Quit doubting my abilities, sweet morsel." Mark turned from Nico and quickly brushed his lips against her forehead. "I'm taking him with me to meet his ancestors, straightening this mess out, alright?"

Both men were gone in an instant, leaving her alone in a room where it now felt like eyes were on her. These cameras would show the Préachán—not merely the crow, the damned half-breed, or even Mark—had care for her. But to who? Was it just Nico's porn files?

But did he kiss her only to show she was his? They didn't have any reason for affection—she supposedly carried another man's child.

Now Maria needed to straighten her finances, keep demons away from her, and figure out how to do a sweep for cameras. Adding sex to her life came with too many complications...but that was the first component, something she couldn't escape, from what little she could remember of the stress. Thank God that memory already started to fade.

She cursed at herself as she realized she'd never bought a pregnancy test in her life.

As Maria wasn't changing in her apartment anymore, she was stuck going to the corner pharmacy a little high-end. Throwing a hoodie over it really screamed "walk of shame", too.

Hell, am I really worried what others think? This is no longer just the realm of human opinion.

That's when she threw her biggest and ugliest hoodie over her dress and walked to the store.

~~~

The drug store had the tests locked up—the only part that was embarrassing about her trip was having to ask someone to get them for her, almost making her feel like she must be held accountable for crimes against state and God. Perhaps a bit irrational, but damn, not a lot of logical things going on in her life at the moment.

Not wanting to deal with yet another locked door to pee on a stick, she called up a classmate she felt somewhat secure with seeing while in this state.

Reggie Maurya was much shorter than Maria, but she had such a strong personality that she seemed larger than life. This wasn't the first person that she would have thought to go to if she was still on good terms with Nico. The problem is a lot of her friends were too close to him, and with what he exposed about himself, she wasn't sure she could trust anyone she normally hung out with. That was doubly so for friends she earned through her father. Some 6th sense told her that this wouldn't be so clean cut.

"Hello?" Reggie answered brightly.

"Hey, Reg, it's Maria."

"Let me guess, boyfriend troubles and you don't trust your room right now?"

Maria couldn't answer. This was someone she barely knew. "How... How?"

"It's what I'm known for. Let me come pick you up, instead of you walking to the back end of campus. I rent out one of the old married apartments out by the soccer field. Where you at?"

" The pharmacy."

"I'm pretty close by. I'll be there in 5."