by Jenna Black
“Why, Morgan!” he said when I’d identified myself. “What a pleasant surprise.”
“I’ll bet,” I muttered. “You and I need to have a conversation.”
“I’m always delighted to talk to you. You’re like a sister to me, you know.”
“Why don’t you shove it up your—” I shut myself up at the last moment. Like Adam, Raphael really got a kick out of getting a rise out of me. The last thing I wanted to do was give him what he wanted.
He chuckled. “You and Lugh are well suited. I can usually get him cursing me within a couple of sentences, too.”
“And that’s your goal in life?”
“Let’s just say I’m much more successful that way than if I try to win his approval.”
I felt an unaccustomed tug of pity. I knew what it was like to abandon all hope of winning approval from your family. Was he such a bastard because he couldn’t win approval, or was it the other way around?
I shook the pity off. Yeah, my whole dysfunctional family thing made me bitchy; it didn’t make me into the kind of person who tortured innocent bystanders. “Do you feel even slightly bad for what you did to Andy and Brian?”
I expected a glib answer, but instead he seemed to think the question over. “Not really,” he said finally. “If I were human, I probably would, but I’m a demon. I did what I had to do under the circumstances. I may not be as noble as my sainted brother, but I’m not a monster, either. It was never anything personal.”
“Just like your desire to kill Andy now isn’t personal?”
“Don’t tell him this, but I have no desire to kill him. I’m under orders to do it, but there are advantages to being the king’s brother. No one’s going to ride me too hard if I don’t get around to it. I have nothing to gain by killing him, and I’m quite secure in the knowledge that he won’t tell you anything I don’t want you to know.”
Only because he didn’t know I’d sic Adam on my own brother. Perhaps I should examine my own moral compass a little more closely before I started taking potshots at Raphael’s.
“So what is it you’d like to talk about?” Raphael asked.
“It’s not something we can do on the phone.”
“All right. I’ll come to your apartment later.”
“No. It doesn’t matter what you say—I don’t trust you around Andy.”
“You cut me to the quick.”
“I wish.” We definitely needed privacy for this conversation. And I knew the perfect place, even though I wasn’t overly anxious to set foot in it again myself. “Adam White is kind of acting like my bodyguard while Der Jäger is after me.”
“That’s hardly a permanent solution. You and Lugh are going to have to do something about him. I can’t help you without blowing my cover.”
I knew exactly what he meant, but it wasn’t something I wanted to think about right now. If I could lure Der Jäger into some kind of a trap and then let Lugh take over, we probably stood a chance against him if only because of the element of surprise. But there were too many holes in the plan.
“Let me worry about Der Jäger for the moment. That’s not what I want to talk to you about.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Meet me at Adam’s house at”—I looked at my watch—“nine tonight.”
“And speaking of blowing my cover…Adam and I are on different sides of this little conflict, in case you’ve forgotten. I can’t just go drop in on him for a chat.”
“You’ll find an excuse.”
“I’d have an excuse if Andy were there. In all honesty, I can’t take a legitimate shot at him in your apartment. I’d have to get by the security guard, and I believe there are security cameras in the elevator. Not to mention killing him might be noisy and attract a lot of attention. If I attacked him at Adam’s place, the only significant witness would be Adam himself, and I can handle him. It would make a damn good excuse.”
Yeah, and it would give him a damn good chance of getting to Andy if that’s what he really wanted. “I guess you didn’t get my subtle hint—I don’t want you anywhere near Andy. That’s why I didn’t want you to come to the apartment.”
“Yes, I got the hint. I’m just ignoring it. I give you my word I will not harm your brother. We’ll figure out a good way to make my fake plan fail.”
Did I trust Raphael’s word? Hell no! But as long as we were prepared for him, we should be able to keep Andy safe. I hoped. I wasn’t looking forward to hearing what Andy thought of me for volunteering him as bait.
“All right, then,” I said. “I’ll see you at Adam’s at nine.”
“I look forward to it.”
“That makes one of us.”
I wasn’t about to leave Brian alone in my apartment, so that meant we had to drag him with us despite my desire to keep him as far from Raphael as possible. I told him we were going to interview what Adam would call a “person of interest.” I also told him he would not be privy to said interview, even though we were bringing him along. I watched him debate internally whether to start pushing for answers. And I saw him decide to bide his time just a little longer. His eyes told me that the day of reckoning would soon be upon me.
Getting to Adam’s house was harrowing, not because of anything that happened, but because of all the bad things that could have happened. All it would take was the most casual of touches of skin on skin for Der Jäger to transfer from his current host into Brian, Andy, or Dominic. Which meant Adam and I had to make sure no one got within touching distance.
Adam left the apartment first, retrieving his unmarked and parking right in front of the elevators in the garage to wait for us. We gave him a five-minute head start, then the boys and I piled into the elevator. I made them all stand behind me, and I clutched an armed Taser in one hand, keeping it concealed by tucking my hand into my jacket. The grip was still damned awkward with my fingers taped together, but I figured I could fire if my life depended on it. Dominic had the other Taser, and he made only the most halfhearted attempt to hide it behind his back. The tension in that elevator was palpable, and I thanked God we didn’t have to stop for anyone else on the way down.
When the elevator doors opened in the garage, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. As promised, Adam was waiting for us, the car idling with its doors open.
“Coast is clear,” he said, barely looking at us as he kept his eyes peeled for any suspicious pedestrians.
I ended up in the backseat, sandwiched between Andy and Brian. It was a good-sized car, but none of us was exactly petite. Andy was still giving me the cold shoulder, but Brian slipped his arm around me. Pretending that he was just making more room, but I don’t think he expected me to believe it. Just like I don’t think he believed me when I pretended not to notice.
It occurred to me that Andy and Brian might be in for something of a shock when they got a look at Adam’s house. Even if they were completely dense, they had to know by now that Adam and Dom were a couple. What they couldn’t know about was the evil black room that loomed at the top of the steps on the second floor of Adam’s house. The black room that held Adam’s impressive collection of whips. The black room that would have had a starring role in my nightmares, if I didn’t have Lugh to keep said nightmares at bay.
I would have liked to have warned them in advance, but it wasn’t exactly something I could bring up in casual conversation. I would just have to hope the door to that damn room was closed or that we would all stay on the first floor.
We got to the house without incident, parking in the tiny private lot across the street. Adam and I shepherded the others inside, covering them like soldiers in a war zone. I’d have laughed at us for being so melodramatic if I weren’t wound so tight myself.
Once we got there, we still had more than a half hour to wait before Raphael was due to arrive. So we talked strategy. Adam showed a rare hint of sensitivity and suggested that both Dominic and Brian hang out upstairs for the duration. I think if we’d tried to single Brian out, we’d have had a
fight on our hands.
Of course, it might not have been sensitivity. It might have been that Adam expected his lover to keep Brian from eavesdropping. But for once in my life, I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
We couldn’t be sure that Raphael wouldn’t show up early, so Adam sent them upstairs as soon as we had our roles figured out. I wanted to ask about the black room, but I still couldn’t imagine bringing it up in front of so many people. I prayed the door was closed.
I must have been wearing my thoughts on my face, because Adam took one look at me and started laughing. My face went red.
“What?” Andy asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Nothing,” I mumbled.
But of course Adam couldn’t resist the temptation to make me miserable.
“Morgan’s worried what her boyfriend will think when he sees my collection of BDSM paraphernalia at the top of the stairs.”
“Oh,” Andy said, and looked almost as uncomfortable as I felt.
“There’s no such thing as TMI with you, is there?” I asked Adam.
He laughed again. “I’d be happy to provide more details if you’d like.”
I was saved from having to come up with a good retort by a knock on the door. Adam went to let our guest in, and I moved to stand beside Andy. His cell phone rang, startling us both, and he frowned.
“Who could that be?” he mused.
As far as I could tell, he hadn’t talked to a single soul outside my apartment since he’d gotten out of the hospital. He pulled out the phone and stared at it. After looking at the number, he shrugged and stuck the phone back in his pocket.
I double-checked my Taser and pointed it as Adam guided Raphael inside.
“Stay behind me, Andy,” I said.
Raphael smiled and put his hands up. Behind him, I saw that Adam had drawn his gun. Not the optimal weapon to use against a demon, but I supposed a gunshot wound to the leg might slow Raphael down if necessary.
“It’s so nice to feel welcome,” Raphael said, stopping when Adam ordered him to.
Andy’s cell phone rang again. I was tempted to tell him to turn it off, but then I had a disturbing thought—what if it was Mom and Dad, calling from wherever they’d disappeared to? Without looking away from Raphael, I said, “Answer it, just in case it’s important.”
“May I put my hands down now?” Raphael asked.
“No,” Adam and I said in concert.
Behind me, I heard Andy answer the phone. A voice buzzed on the other end of the line, but it was too faint for me to recognize or make out words. Andy said “yeah” and “uh-huh” a couple of times, then hung up.
“Who was it?” I asked.
“Just The Healing Circle, checking up on me. They must not realize Dr. Neely is paying me a house call.”
I thought I heard a little something off about his voice, but I figured this wasn’t a good time to pry.
“What was it you wanted to talk to me about?” Raphael asked.
“I told them everything I know,” Andy said, shocking the hell out of me. That so was not part of the script.
I turned my head partway. “Andy? What are you doing?”
“I’m tired of being scared,” he said, sounding scared shitless. “I want everything out in the open.”
Raphael shrugged, which looked kind of funny with his hands still up. He didn’t look particularly surprised by Andy’s admission. Considering how certain he’d sounded that Andy would keep his mouth shut, that kind of surprised me.
“Water under the bridge now,” Raphael said with a bland smile.
“Morgan,” Andy said, and his voice was shaking. “Shoot him. That’s not Raphael.”
CHAPTER 18
I was too slow on the uptake. Andy’s words hadn’t even begun to sink in yet when Dr. Neely lunged at me. I tried to fire my Taser, but Andy tackled me.
It was a heroic gesture, trying to get me out of the way of Neely’s charge, but I could have done without it. I cursed him as we both fell down and the Taser was knocked out of my hand.
“Get off!” I screamed at Andy, and jabbed him with my elbow to punctuate the point.
Neely grabbed my arm in a brutal, crushing grip, dragging me up to my feet.
A gunshot nearly deafened me, and something hot and sticky splashed my face. Neely grunted in pain, but he didn’t let go of me. He spun around, putting me between him and Adam and wrapping an arm around my neck.
“Shoot, and I’ll take her head off before I die,” Neely said.
I reached up to grab the forearm he had pressed against my neck, prying at it uselessly. It wasn’t that I expected to be able to make him let go, especially with my taped fingers. I was just playing the helpless human female in hopes he’d underestimate me.
Adam’s gun was still pointed straight at us, but he didn’t fire. Footsteps pounded down the stairs.
“Stay away!” Adam bellowed, but Brian and Dom both ignored him and came charging into the room.
I felt Neely turn to look at them, and in that moment of distraction, I stomped down on his instep as hard as I could.
I already knew pain didn’t bother this particular demon much, but it did startle him. I let myself become a dead weight in his arms, and he had to readjust his grip to keep me from falling.
Everything else seemed to happen pretty much in a split second, and it wasn’t until afterward that I was able to piece together the sequence of events. At the time, all I noticed were the sounds.
Gunshot.
Scream of pain, but it wasn’t from Neely.
Another gunshot.
Utter silence.
Time resumed moving normally, and my other senses caught up with me, when I collapsed to the floor with a limp body on top of me. I shoved Neely away and got to my knees.
Brian and Andy were standing around in shock. Adam was on the floor on his knees, bent over. A trickle of blood obscured my vision, and I had to wipe it away before my mind could finish figuring out what I saw.
Adam was bent over on the floor, clutching someone to his chest. Andy and Brian were still standing, and Neely was dead as a doornail. That left…
“No!” I choked, stumbling to my feet and crossing the short distance between me and Adam.
Dominic lay in Adam’s arms, a huge bloodstain spreading across his chest.
“No!” I said again, eyes filming with tears as I dropped to my knees beside them.
Dom’s eyes were squinched shut with pain, and his face was way too pale. Blood continued to pour from the wound.
“Do something!” I shouted at Adam.
He was a policeman. He had to know some rudimentary first aid! But when I took another look at the wound, I knew that rudimentary first aid wasn’t going to cut it.
“Adam!” Dom gasped, terror and pain in his voice.
“Shh,” Adam said, wrapping one of his hands around Dom’s fingers. His face looked strangely serene, no sign of grief or horror or fear. I wanted to scream at him, curse him, hit him. Make him look like he was supposed to look when his lover lay dying in his arms.
“I’ll take good care of you,” Adam said, his voice a low croon, and the bastard had the nerve to smile.
Dom’s eyes widened, as if he, too, were shocked by that smile. Then he made a pained sound. His back arched briefly; then he went limp and his eyes closed. Adam released the hand he’d been holding.
I put both my hands over my mouth to stifle the sob that was rising in my throat. Adam sighed, then turned to me and held out his hand.
“Nice to meet you,” he said, with a little grin, “though I’d have preferred to do it under better circumstances.”
I just sat there and gaped, not understanding. He lowered his hand.
“I’m Adam,” he said, and I wondered if it was possible for demons to go into shock. I’d never heard of it before, but then his lover had just died in his arms. He blinked. “I mean I’m Adam,” he said more forcefully. “My demon’s taking care of Dom at the m
oment.”
I shook my head, wondering if that would rattle the pieces of my brain back into place. Then I figured out what he meant and my eyes went saucer-wide.
“You mean he transferred to Dominic?” I cried, and I heard the shrillness of my own voice.
Adam nodded. “It’s only temporary. He’ll probably need about twenty-four hours to get Dominic fully healed, then he’ll come back to me.”
I stared at him, so full of questions I couldn’t even figure out which one to spit out first. “Eighty percent of demon hosts are nonfunctional when their demons leave. And you and Dom are both in the lucky twenty percent?”
“It’s not luck,” Adam said. His voice sounded the same, and obviously he looked exactly the same, but though it might have been my imagination, I could have sworn there was something visibly different about him. Maybe it was just body language.
“Most of the time when you see a host without its demon, it’s because the demon was illegal and was exorcized. Illegal demons generally don’t give a damn about their hosts, so they don’t take good care of them. That’s why the hosts are such a wreck when they’re gone.”
I remembered that we weren’t alone in the room, and I looked around. Brian had sagged down into a chair, his face green. Andy was still standing, hugging himself as if he were cold. I looked more closely at my brother while I continued to talk to Adam.
“So Andy was catatonic because Raphael abused him?”
“That would be my guess.” He smiled. “And Adam’s going to be extremely pissed off at me for telling you this. Humans aren’t supposed to know this deep, dark secret, because then they’d know that even the legal demons aren’t always so pure. He only told me so I wouldn’t worry about Dom.”
I shook my head in confusion. “Adam’s going to be pissed? Don’t you mean your demon?”
“Adam is my demon. As he informed me when he first possessed me, Adam is a very common name among male demons.”
Dominic moaned softly, but his eyes were still closed. I bit my lip. “Is he going to be okay?”
Adam brushed a stray lock of hair off Dominic’s face, an undeniably tender gesture. I wondered whether he intended it for Adam, or for Dominic.
