"Mercenary?" my dad mutters my old nickname with a slow smile spreading over his face.

Without consciously making the decision, I'm out of my chair and moving toward him. Stopping just in front of him, I gaze into his eyes, and I feel tears prick at the corners of my eyes.

"It is you," I whisper, completely in shock. "But, how?"

"I was badly injured when we came to get you out. I was close to death, but not quite there. Payne took advantage of that," he rasps.

I step back, so the guard can lead him to a seat. My dad practically sags as soon as he sits.

"Payne was planning on using me as leverage to get you to do what he wanted. Whenever you managed to evade his demons, or your demons were killed, I was punished for it." He closes his eyes. "I'm so damn proud of you, Mercy," he murmurs so quietly, I almost don't hear him.

"Mom and Roderick will be thrilled," I say with a soft laugh.

Dad's lips curve into a smile, and he opens his eyes. "How is your mother and my little brother?"

"Mom's alright, most likely losing her damn mind right now, and Roderick probably isn't in much better of a state. He's also still a dick."

Satan and my dad both laugh. "That sounds like an accurate description of Roderick if I've ever heard one," Satan says between laughter. When he's calmed down, he finally looks at my father, and his eyes do a quick assessment before turning to the guard that practically carried him in here. "Get that healer in here for him. I don't think my son wants Mercy staying here too much longer."

I raise a brow at that and turn to face Hunter. He just shrugs, making me roll my eyes.

The healer comes in a moment later and heals my dad’s various cuts and bruises. Unfortunately, he says that his leg will take some time to fully heal since it had been brutalized so much over the past several years.

"Long time no see, Hunter," my dad says with a small smirk after the healer leaves.

Hunter chuckles, "It has been, Byrne. Good to see you again."

I look between them and groan. "Jesus. You guys know each other?"

"When your father lived here, before he met your mother, we were friends," Hunter explains.

I blink at him. He did not just say that he was friends with my father.

I clench my teeth and fists. Hunter notices, and his expression turns apologetic. "That's why you gave me that weird look when we first met, isn't it?" I ask, opting for a safe question that won't end with me getting pissed off at him for keeping more shit from me.

"Yes. As soon as you mentioned Roderick's name, I knew who you were. For the most part anyways," he adds.

"Thanks for letting me know," I say sharply. Hunter and Talon both wince.

My dad's eyes move back and forth between us, but he stays quiet. Satan, however, starts chuckling.

"Mercy, you should know that demons are secretive. This shouldn't be a shock to you," he chides.

I roll my eyes. "Whatever. I need to get back to mom and Vivian." I look at Hunter. "We'll talk later, but right now, I just need to check on them." I turn to my dad and pause for a moment. "Are you going to come with us?"

He slowly sits upright and nods his head. "Of course, I'm coming with you."

"Can you transport all of us?" I ask Hunter.

Satan snorts. "Don't worry about it, Dorothy. Close your eyes and say 'there's no place like home'," he says, sarcasm dripping from his words. God, he's such a dick.

The next time I blink, I'm standing in the living room of Hunter's cabin with Hunter, Talon, and my dad next to me.

Turning to Hunter I say, "I honestly don't know how to process your father, other than he's a fucking douche."

Hunter chuckles. "What else did you expect?"

I open my mouth, then close it. "Point taken," I grumble begrudgingly. I frown when I realize there isn't anyone in the living room. "Where is everybody?" I ask.

Talon checks the time on his watch. "It's the middle of the night, they’re either out or sleeping."

"Alright," I turn to my dad. "I'm going to wake mom and Roderick up, so they don't get a surprise in the morning. I don't want mom having a heart attack."

He chuckles. "Your mother's still a bit dramatic?"

I hold my thumb and forefinger up, a few centimeters apart. "Just a bit," I say with a small grin.

"Alright, go wake them. We'll wait out here," dad says as he limps to the couch to sit down.

Ignoring Talon and Hunter, I start walking through the cabin to the rooms that I know the guys hadn't claimed. Opening the first door, my lip quirks at the sight of my uncle with a ball of flames in his hand, prepared to throw it at me. The flames disintegrate when he realizes it's me.

"What?" he asks gruffly, his eyes doing a quick body scan. Most likely checking me for any injuries. Thank you, healer dude.

I roll my eyes again. If I keep this shit up, my eyes will get stuck at the top of my damn head. "Get up, I have a surprise for you."

His eyes narrow at me. "You're unharmed?"

I meet his eyes. "I'm unharmed. Promise."

"Were you hurt at all while you were gone?"

My eyes flick away from his. "Nope. Let's go. Get up."

"You're such a shit liar, Mercy," he snickers.

"Whatever. Chop chop. Let's go." I clap my hands at him.

"Impatient little shit."

"Damn straight. Which room is mom in?"

"Right next door with the girl. Why do you need your mom?"

"No reason. Just meet me in the hallway."

He grumbles a few choice words under his breath and gets out of bed. I leave his room and slowly open the door to the room he said mom and Vivian were in, careful not to wake up Vivian.

Walking inside the room, I gently touch my mom's shoulder. She jolts awake, and her eyes burst open. When her gaze lands on me, a relieved smile pulls at her lips and tears fill her eyes. I put my finger to my lips and gesture for her to get up. I don't know how well Vivian will sleep if there's noise.

Mom climbs out of bed and follows me out into the hallway where Roderick is standing with his arms crossed, looking incredibly grumpy. Looks like someone didn't get his beauty sleep.

"What's going on?" Mom asks, while closing the door behind her.

"She says she has a surprise for us. Though, what surprise she could possibly have for us in the middle of the fucking night; it’s also probably not good," my uncle growls.

My lips quirk up in a smirk. "Come on."

They follow me into the living room, Talon and Hunter are still standing in front of my dad, so he's blocked from their view for now. When they hear us enter the room, they both turn and reveal my dad, who is sitting on the couch, looking completely relaxed.

I hear my mom gasp from behind me, and Roderick mutters, "What the fuck?"

My dad's eyes dart to my mom, his expression softens when he sees her. "Lilly," he whispers. My mom practically shoves me out of the way as she runs to my dad, wrapping her arms around his neck and sobbing into his throat. Dad runs his hand up and down her back, whispering soothing words in my mother's ear, quiet enough that I can't hear.

"How are you here?" Roderick finally asks when my mom stops crying.

“I was injured and nearly dead. Payne took advantage of that and saw it as an opportunity to make Mercy bend to his will if he gets her again.” Dad looks at me. “I’m assuming that you were there tonight because he did get his hands on you again?”

I purse my lips. “Well–”

“Foolish girl gave herself up to save me and her mother. As well as a little human girl,” Roderick snaps before I have a chance to say anything.

I stiffen and glare at my uncle. “Oh, I’m sorry. Remind me the next time that your ass gets captured not to fucking come back and save you. Ungrateful jackass,” I mutter while I cross my arms over my chest. “Besides, it’s not like anything really happened. They fucking shut me in a damn room for hours. The only thing that happened to me was Jerome slapping me for being a smartass, or a bitch. Whichever. Then I got scolded for not referring to Payne as ‘Master Payne’ by some weird she-demon with a weird case of hero-worship on a demented fuck face.”

Roderick raises his brow. “Oh? Is that all that happened?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Yes.”

“No,” Talon and Hunter say together, and I fix my glare on them.

Talon shrugs. “They need to know, Mercy.”

“I don’t even want to fucking know,” I mutter. Shaking my head, I run my hand through my hair. “You guys fill them in if you’re so determined to tell them everything. I’m going to take a shower and pass the fuck out.”

“You’re still tired?” Hunter asks, concern written all over his face.

“Getting your ass kicked by a bunch of hellhounds will do that to you,” I point out as I walk out of the room.

“What?!” My mother’s shriek fills the air behind me, but I just leave the room, too tired to deal with it.