Free jinn 02 - inferno by Liz Schulte

she realized what I was doing. She dropped the doll and attacked, clawing wildly at my arms and face with tiny sharp fingernails. Growls and screams ripped from her throat, and she managed to bite my arm in her frenzied attack before her feet touched the bottom of the tub. Her shoulders heaved and tears created muddy streaks down her cheeks. She tried to climb out, but Baker kept a firm hand planted on her shoulder. My chest tightened again from the raw fear and anxiety she released into the room.
    “Whenever you’re ready, boss.”
    Pushing away the trance of emotion, I blinked. “For what?”
    Baker glanced at the kid. “She’s still wearing rags. Can’t really clean her up like that.”
    “Go ahead,” I told him.
    “You’re the one who brought her home with us.”
    “Oh, for crying out loud. Get out both of you.” Femi pushed me out of the way. “I can handle this. Bring me a trash can and a cup.”
    I found what she needed and brought it back. The kid was still standing in the storage bin, waist deep in water, but she was eating a chicken nugget and looked much happier. Femi took the cup and placed it next to the washcloth at her feet. She peeled the layers of soiled rags from the girl and tossed them into the trash one at a time until there was only dirt left.
    “You can go, Chuckles. We have this under control.”
    I didn’t need to be told twice. I headed to my own cell and changed my clothes then threw the old ones out with the girl’s rags. That smell was never coming out. When I returned to our makeshift living room, Baker was sitting in a chair beside the couch, which looked new again.
    “The angel did it.” He gestured to the furniture. “Haven’t seen her do anything like that in a while.”
    “I have to empty this.” I held up the can and nodded toward the door. Baker followed me out. “She asked me why I rescued the kid.” I glanced at Baker. “She left her there. I can’t believe once all the demons were dead that she didn’t know there was another person there, especially a human. Fixing the couch doesn’t really make up for that. We don’t have Olivia back.”
    “But it’s a start.”
    I stared at the windowless square building. “No—more like she knows she’s losing us and she’s trying to pacify us until she gets what she wants.”
    “And what does she want with us? Let’s face it, she’s an angel. Not one of us is gonna compete with that. Why bother?”
    “I don’t know.” It was true. The angel wanted, at the very least, me to stay. Was it because Olivia would fight back more if I left? Was it because of the jinn? “I’m willing to bet she doesn’t do anything without a reason. She has a plan.”
    “Back at the house, Femi figured the demons had the kid to block something that was there. What was it and where did it go? There were only ten demons there at any one time max, so it definitely wasn’t a stronghold. The kid had to have been there for a long time too.”
    “You think Olivia took whatever it was?”
    “Possibly. She went in without you. We’ve established she knew the kid was there. Unless a demon escaped with it before she attacked, then yeah, I think she has it.”
    “If she doesn’t want to talk, I don’t think we can make her.”
    Baker cracked his knuckles. “I don’t know a damn thing about angels, boss, but don’t forget we have Uriel.”
    “That might make the problem worse. He already said if she steps out of line they’ll kill her.” And killing the angel meant killing my Olivia, which wasn’t an option. There had to be another way.
    Baker scratched his head. “Okay, so what about Olivia?”
    Irritation spiked through me. “What do you mean, what about her ? Who do you think we’re talking about?”
    “We were talking about the angel,” he said pointedly. “Now I’m talking about one who has you wrapped around her little finger. Olivia has front row seats on the inside. Maybe she could tell us something.”
    “The