Their father was dead because of an incubus.
In a horrific chain of events, the demon had gone after their mother, and in turn, their father had gone after him. But he’d lost. The incubus had lulled their father into complacency with his mind tricks and killed him. Their mother had managed to escape in the end, but not without the help of the entire Vegas pack. Diesel and Luke had only been boys, but they’d witnessed enough. As teens, they’d made a pact to kill any sex demons who crossed their paths. But after several bloodied fights in their later years, they’d both realized that avenging their father by killing demons who were not directly responsible was not the answer. But it’d felt good at the time.
Diesel cracked his knuckles, settling back in Jake’s desk chair.
“So when do we start this…thing?” Luke asked, gesturing to the envelope on the desk.
“The info says tomorrow at midnight. I told Jake I was taking the next few nights off, and he’s cool with it.” Jake knew without having to be told that Diesel had agreed to do a job for Louie. They had a few backup bouncers to call on the scant few days Diesel didn’t work, like Father’s Day. He never worked on that particular Sunday. That day was sacred.
Luke nodded. “Gotcha. I’ll meet you here at eleven thirty tomorrow night, but I gotta run now. I have an early-morning appointment to get to.” Luke grinned as he stood, making his way toward the office door.
Diesel said, “I’d rather swing by and pick you up. I don’t want to take any chances we could be tailed.”
“Fine by me. I’ll see you then.”
Luke left, shutting the door behind him. Diesel picked up the large manila envelope once again, sliding the contents onto the desk so he could examine them more closely.
He held up the blurry picture of his target.
The incubus’s name was Damien Stamos. The picture appeared to have been taken quite a few years ago, but as supes took years to age, it wasn’t a big deal. The demon likely hadn’t changed much, and he was a handsome son of a bitch, with dark curls and thick, dark lashes. “I bet the ladies wet their pants when they see you coming, even without your dirty mind tricks,” Diesel muttered.
He put down the photo and picked up the report. Diesel scrubbed a hand over his face as he kept reading. There was little information on The Sumerians. As Louie had said, the incubi had kept their organization under wraps for centuries, staying just out of reach of any wrongdoing.
Diesel skimmed over the documents.
It seemed that each incubus had to pick a life partner when they came “of age.” It didn’t say how old. After picking their prospective mate, they stayed true. Diesel flipped the page over, but there were no other details about their marriages.
Damien was reportedly on his way to Vegas, his method of entering the city unclear. He was due at any moment and presumed to be heading to the address listed. Diesel noted the street number. It was unfamiliar to him, but he knew the area. The Lakes was a ritzy neighborhood about ten miles off the Strip.
He rifled through the rest of the info, but there wasn’t much there. One page outlined the incubi’s powers, but Diesel didn’t need a refresher. He knew they could manipulate the thoughts of even the strongest of their kind. They could seduce you without exerting much effort at all, and once you were down, you were theirs for the taking.
Diesel stacked the papers on the desk and leaned back. With his head angled up to the ceiling, he blew out a long breath. He wasn’t allowed to kill this incubus, and feeling vulnerable wasn’t an option either. The only way this was going to work was to take this asshole by surprise. If the demon didn’t see him coming, he couldn’t mind-fuck him.
That was the only way to do it.
Sofia woke with a start, panting.
Her brain felt hazy, but she chalked it up to lack of sleep. She hadn’t gotten a lot in the last few weeks. The move had consumed most of her time, and she was bone-tired. Her house was well warded, and no alarms had been triggered, so she turned and nestled deeper under the covers, pulling her soft duvet cover around her for warmth. She had to cocoon herself against the frigid air conditioning, which she’d have to turn down tomorrow.
It was much too cold in here.
As she drifted back to sleep, she smiled as sensual thoughts of Diesel began to run through her mind. Her nipples tightened as images of him naked and hard began to infiltrate her consciousness. He paced toward her bed, smiling his lopsided grin, his head angled down as he drank her in from head to toe. Somehow, her covers vanished, but now the cold temp felt delicious as it tickled over her bare breasts. She beamed at him, half-delirious in sleep. “You finally came.”
“Of course I did. I’ve always been yours. You can’t hide from me any longer, my sweet,” he whispered as he bent over the bed.
“Hide from you?” She giggled. “I’m not hiding at all. In fact, I don’t think I could be any more obvious. If you haven’t already guessed, I’m totally in to you.”
He slid into the bed beside her, taking her mouth aggressively, his tongue filling her, stroking against hers desperately. It was a rich, hot kiss, completely intoxicating in every way. She felt drunk as she reached up to run her hands through his hair. She could almost feel it beneath her fingers as she pulled him close.
She moaned against his lips.
“Open up for me,” he growled.
She obliged, spreading her legs for him. She wiggled back and forth, her breath catching as his fingers delved into her warm folds. “Oh…” she groaned, her chest heaving upward, her head tumbling back and forth against the pillow.
Her breaths came in shallow gasps as he wrapped his hands around her hips, titling her upward. Her eyes were closed, but she could see him outlined in her mind. Every detail. He was glorious and so real. His smooth, broad chest felt like heaven beneath her fingertips. His beautiful grin and his green eyes were finally hers for the taking.
The way he was looking down on her seared her to the core.
Lust pooled in his eyes.
She wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anyone in her entire life. “Yes, it has to be you,” she whispered. Her libido shot into overdrive and she allowed herself to become lost to the delicious current that beat through her. “I want this. Please…Diesel…please…”
For a single second, his eyes flickered above her, momentarily going from green to black.
Wait, that wasn’t right.
Sofia tried to wake, but she felt heavy, like her limbs were suddenly made of stone. Her brain was fuzzy again, but this time it wouldn’t clear on its own. She struggled to process what was happening. She was so turned on, it was hard for her to let go of those feelings. She wanted this so badly, needed this release more than anything.
“Yes, my sweet. That’s it, give in to me. Find the pleasure you seek. Only I can give it to you this way.”
This wasn’t a blissful dream.
It was a horrible nightmare.
Sofia leaped out of bed, tugging the massive comforter with her. “Think, think,” she murmured to herself as she turned in a circle, the duvet tangling in her feet. “What just happened?”
Her head still felt unclear, but things were starting to settle in. Her bedroom was pitch black, but it was coming into focus, light seeping into her vision. She glanced at her clock. It was a quarter to five in the morning. The sun would be breaking the horizon soon.
On her way to the bathroom, she passed her closet and plucked out a robe. She dropped the duvet in the hallway and shouldered the wrap on in one motion. Once in the bathroom, she shut the door and flipped on the lights. She rested her palms against the cool marble as she glanced in the mirror. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her hands to her head and whispered a spell. Tingles filtered through her fingertips and into her head.
Her mind cleared instantly.
“Damn it,” she said. That spell had been one she used to detect sexual persuasion. If it hadn’t worked, her brain would’ve remained fuzzy, and she could’ve chalked
up what just happened to a horny dream about a really hot guy.
Instead, she had to face the raw fact that an incubus had been in her mind.
She straightened and opened the bathroom door. She bypassed her bedroom and made her way downstairs. None of her wards had been triggered, so he hadn’t come within fifty feet of her home. Sofia had never questioned Ginger about exact proximity when it came to her powers, but she assumed that any sex demon had to get within a certain distance of its target to influence their behavior. Otherwise, the world would be full of horny people who couldn’t control their lustful thoughts.
There weren’t any spells that she knew of to keep sexual persuasion out of the mind—and she was fairly sure none existed. Sex demons had unique powers that surpassed most spells and wards. That’s what made them so strong.
If Ginger’s mysterious brother was really after her, things just got a little bit freaky.
Sofia paced to the sliding glass doors off her great room. The blinds were closed. She placed her hand on the edge of a panel and tugged it back, while muttering the words to a detection charm.
Nothing out of the ordinary registered.
That either meant he was more than two hundred yards away, or he had warded himself, which would be a rare feat, but not impossible.
Sofia tried a new spell, this one to detect any other witch’s spell. As far as she knew, demons couldn’t spell themselves. It came back empty. There were no other spells out there for miles.
She leaned back against the wall and blew out a frustrated breath. Having an incubus in her head had not been a welcome event. Sofia was certain that she shouldn’t have seen Diesel in her thoughts. Instead, the demon would’ve wanted her to know it was him.
She bit her lip.
Once she’d realized her brain had been compromised, she’d been able to toss him out. Ginger had taught her how. They had practiced for years, making a game out of it at Ginger’s insistence.
The hard part was detecting someone was in there in the first place.
She walked over to her purse and plucked out her phone. She’d left it in there, too tired to grab it out before bed. Then she paced over to the couch and curled up, tossing a throw over herself. She wasn’t going to get much sleep now, but there was nothing more to be done until morning. She was too tired to come up with a solid plan right now. She didn’t want to track the bastard, she just needed to find a way to keep him out of her head for good.
If Ginger didn’t show up soon to help, Sofia would be forced to find another place to stay. She knew she couldn’t keep him out of her mind while she slept, so she held up her phone and punched in Ginger’s number, but all it did was ring and ring.
She hung up and pulled up another contact.
Diesel Jones.
He’d insisted she put his info into her phone a few weeks ago, just in case she needed it. He’d told her he was good at fixing and installing things if she ever needed help with her new home. He’d also told her to use a level to make sure pictures on the wall were straight when she hung them. She smiled thinking of that.
But she didn’t dial his number. She had no real reason to involve Diesel in her business, and given his take on sex demons, he likely wouldn’t be too eager to help her out anyway.
She was going to have to figure this out on her own. After the sun came up. To put another precaution in place, she flicked her wrist and said the words. She chuckled as she set her phone down and tugged the blanket around her shoulders.
Any supe who came within a half mile of her house in the next two hours would start itching uncontrollably.
Let’s see a sex demon focus on seducing her when his body was covered in red welts.
Diesel honked again. It was already a quarter after twelve and Luke was taking his own sweet time.
Diesel’s old Ford pickup truck was in mint condition. It had been his father’s, and Diesel had put a lot of money into keeping it running well and looking sweet.
He gripped the wheel and thought about honking again when he finally saw Luke duck out the front door. His brother was dressed all in black, as was Diesel.
Luke hopped into the truck, slamming the door. “Sorry I’m late. Phone call ran late. How are you feeling? The full moon is getting higher in the sky as we speak.”
Diesel grunted as he pulled away from the curb. “So far, so good. If I don’t get worked up, I should be fine.” He took off down the street, headed for the highway. It was a casual understatement, but he was holding it together. So far, so good.
“Yeah, tell that to someone who doesn’t know you like I do,” Luke muttered. “You already look like you could beat the shit out of someone. I bet your fur is tingling under your skin right now. And while you’re at it, you might want to loosen your grip on the wheel, because if you hold it any tighter, you’re going to pull the damn thing straight out of the steering column.”
“I’m not pulling anything out of anything, except for this mission.” Diesel gritted his teeth.
Luke was right, of course.
Diesel had been fighting the moon effects since six that evening. The instinct to change pushed against him with every breath he took. “We go in, case the joint, find the target, and I bring him in. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, and I want you to hold back once we get close. The only reason I’ll need you is if I start to rage out of control.”
“Um,” Luke said, clearing his voice, “I’m thinking that’s not going to be an if but a when. Even if you don’t realize it, you’re riding on a hair trigger, bro. And since you’re not sharing any of the specific details with me, I’m sticking close by. I’ll hang back, but only if I can get to you in a reasonable amount of time. There’s no way I’m leaving you open, so don’t even ask. If a human gets in your way, you’ll find yourself up for a Collection, and that’s not going to happen on my watch.”
Luke was right again, and Diesel growled.
He detested not being in control of himself. It drove him crazy and usually made him angrier, which didn’t help his condition.
He took some much-needed air into his lungs and focused on the road.
Normally during the day of the full moon, Diesel was either at Hellhounds or at his place, but he was never out in public like this. Louie Fiore was a shrewd businessman. He knew Diesel would be at his most vulnerable tonight, and if Diesel couldn’t overcome his issues during this mission, when he was on the verge of losing it, he’d never make it as a Collector.
“Okay,” Diesel finally relented. Luke knew better than to push him, so his brother had waited patiently for his response. “But you follow my lead. I intend to grab this guy on my own. I’ll knock him out, bring him back, and we tie him up, end of story.” He hoped to hell it would be that simple. “We’re heading to The Lakes. What’s the address again?’
Luke picked up a piece of paper lying on the seat. “Camden Hills Avenue in the Badlands Golf Club.” Luke chuckled. “Going to find a criminal in the Badlands. It kind of has an ironic ring to it.”
“He’s not exactly a criminal—at least that I know of.” Diesel didn’t mention he was guilty—of being a sex demon. “I’m just bringing him in for questioning.”
Luke held up his hands. “Fine by me. The less I know, the better. But I do know this has something to do with the SCC. I saw who dropped the envelope at the bar. It was one of Louie Fiore’s gofers.”
“It’s complicated,” Diesel said. “This isn’t exactly a Collection. It’s more of a…practice run.”
Luke grinned. “I hear you. Gotta get your instincts under wraps first. I’ve heard Fiore is a smart man. You don’t get to the top by being stupid.”
Diesel glanced over at his brother. They’d been best friends since the day Luke was born. There wasn’t much they kept from each other. “You know as well as I do they aren’t instincts.” Fur prickled under his skin as his anger jumped. Damn, he had to be careful to keep his temper down. “Something happened to me that day, something that I
haven’t been able to shake since. It changed me.” He didn’t have to tell Luke which day he meant.
The day their father lost his life, Diesel had fought against the demon who’d killed him, even though he’d only been eight. He’d slashed the man in the face with his claws, until the demon had finally knocked him out. After that, Diesel had discovered his “affliction” to the moon.
What he wouldn’t give to have at that bastard one more time.
Luke nodded. “Likely, it had to do with that. But we’ve all done exhaustive research. Sex demons can’t cast spells. It’s impossible. No one knows what’s wrong with you. The Vegas pack has contacted packs all over the world on your behalf and nothing. Maybe it is instincts after all. Some kind of ancient thing none of us remembers?”
Diesel had spent many sleepless nights thinking the same things. “I guess it’s possible, but my gut says it has something to do with that night. If those demons can mind-fuck you, they might have the ability to change brain patterns somehow. Maybe this one was extra good at it. Who knows?” Diesel exited off the highway. It was a particularly dark night, the sky occluded by a thick layer of clouds. That helped.
The less direct exposure to the moon, the better.
“Man, I still remember that day like it was yesterday.” Luke had one elbow out the window of the truck. “That incubus had Dad down, and you were in mid-shift when you attacked. Your body was barely ready to handle it, you were so young.”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t enough to save him.” Diesel’s voice held sorrow. It still felt fresh even after all this time.
“No, it wasn’t,” Luke agreed, “but I know Dad was proud of you. He saw what you did before the demon got him. He knew, and it made him proud.”
Diesel grunted. This was the most the two of them had been down memory lane in years. It was time to change the subject. Emotions weren’t a good idea tonight. “Give me some coordinates off your phone for Camden Hills Avenue.”
Sin City Collectors Boxed Set: Aces Wild, Ante Up, All in Page 14
