Sibby grumbles but ultimately switches with her. Addie slides on the hot pink
puffer and zips it up, the coat not fitting her any better. The grin that slides on
my face is nearly slapped off the second Addie spots it.
She points a finger at me, the material swishing from the movement. “I will
fuck you up.”
“It’s cute, baby,” I say, grinning wider when she narrows her eyes, giving me
a look that promises death and destruction.
I’d love to see her try.
I grab a black beanie and slide it over Sibby’s head and then wrap a thick, black scarf around her neck to help conceal the bottom half of her face, feeling every bit like a father dressing their child.
Despite her wanted status, she’s the least recognizable, aside from Daya. And
as much as I would prefer Addie’s best friend instead, Sibby was very excited about being helpful. She’s been cooped up in the manor for the past month, going even more insane than she already is.
It was vital we get her out of the house before she says fuck it and openly fucks her imaginary henchmen on the dining room table. She’s already come close to it, and Addie and I were both deeply traumatized by that event.
I hand her a Bluetooth and instruct her on how to use it, sighing when she asks if her henchmen can have one, too. She claims they’ll get worried if they can’t hear what’s happening.
“You know they can’t all come, right?” I remind her. She twists her lips and
nods.
“Mortis and Jackal are gonna come this time. So only they need one.”
I indulge her and hand over two more, which she promptly passes to empty air, the devices dropping to the ground. I’ll have to pick those up when she’s not looking.
When she smiles, satisfied, I move on to the body cam, hooking it to her coat
and adjusting it to make sure it’s at a good angle.
“Don’t touch this. I need to see everything you’re doing. I’ll be in your ear guiding you, so listen to everything I say,” I tell her sternly.
She waves a hand, and giggles. “I know. You don’t have to worry, Zade. I promise I’m not going to run off.”
“Or murder someone,” Addie grumbles from beside me.
Sibby looks to Addie. “If a demon is around, I’ll let that one go. I can sacrifice one or two if it means taking out the biggest one of them all.”
Good enough for me. As long as she listens.
After she’s set to go, Addie stuffs herself into the passenger seat next to me,
and we drive to Jimmy’s office, forced to park a couple of blocks away. Sibby will have to walk the rest of the way, and this is the part I’m the most worried about. She’s bundled up and hardly recognizable beneath all the material, but Sibby has a definite… uniqueness to her.
Which she instantly proves when she hops out of the backseat, slams the
door, and starts skipping down the sidewalk like a goddamn buffoon.
I groan, swiveling my laptop towards me and pulling up the live feed from her body cam. Addie leans into me to get a better view of the screen, enveloping me in her sweet jasmine scent. I inhale deeply, tempted to take a bite out of her
just because she smells divine.
Soon. I’ll do that soon.
Her face is twisted into a mixture of amusement and concern.
Concern for the mission or concern for Sibby’s mental state, it’s hard to tell.
Addie has softened to Sibby, though. While still wary of her—which is the smartest thing to be—I think she sees Sibby for who she is. A lost girl looking for love and friendship. Even when she’s talking to her henchmen or irrationally
angry because I ate the last Pop Tart—Pop Tarts I bought, by the way—she’s sweet, incredibly loyal, and pretty funny.
I still don’t know what the hell we’re going to do with her yet, but I’ll figure
it out after Claire is taken care of.
Sibby is still skipping down 5th Avenue, earning looks ranging from I see this
shit every day to I’m so tired of seeing this shit every day. She’s not the slightest bit perturbed by the negative attention.
I suppose she’s used to it.
Finally, she makes it to the block Jimmy’s office is on. Instead of continuing
straight, she turns right and heads down a side street so she can get to his office
from the rear entrance.
There’s not a lot of foot traffic on that side, making it a little less likely for her to be caught.
When she makes it to the door, she pauses, waiting for my signal. Jimmy has
great alarm systems for an unruly teenager, but for me, it’s like breaking past a
saltine cracker. His defense system crumbles beneath my fingers and within ten
seconds, I’m giving Sibby the go-ahead.
She bends and starts picking the lock, making quick work of it, and opening
the door moments later.
The office building isn’t very big, and I have the blueprints already pulled up on my computer.
“Turn left,” I direct when she comes up to a dead end. She does as I ask, making her way down a short hallway before it opens up to the receptionist area.
The obnoxiously large wooden desk smack-dab in the middle of the room is
empty, Jimmy’s name displayed across the front. In case anyone was lost and wasn’t sure where they were, I guess.
The area is extravagant. Shiny white tile floors, gray walls, and plants placed
around the room to bring life to it.
“Go past the desk. You see that door with Jimmy’s name on the plaque?
That’s his office.”
“Isn’t his name all over the entire building?” she gripes. Addie snorts from beside me, listening in on the call with her own Bluetooth earpiece.
Sibby jiggles the door but finds that it’s locked, and no keyhole in the handle.
“Give me a second,” I say, opening my program to check the security system
within the building. He has an automated lock on his door that can only be opened through the app on his phone.
I roll my eyes. Shit like this is so tacky and such a waste of money. Fancy security systems like these appear advanced, but really, it’s incredibly easy to hack into the app and unlock the door.
Pathetic, but it benefits me nicely.
“It’s open,” I confirm.
Quickly, she creeps into the room and shuts the door behind her.