I gave him a flat look and deadpanned, “Oh, right, let me just get on that.”
He sighed. “Damn, you know how to put a dent in a man’s ego.”
“You’re no man, Kris, and I’m pretty sure you have an ego of steel.”
“True, true.” He smirked.
I returned his smile. “So, what’s the plan?”
“We go straight to my plan B, the plan I was hoping not to have to use.”
“Kris, I’m beginning to feel like I’m in a bad soap opera where the punchline is dragged out for the whole damn episode. Just spill it already.”
“You need to speak to Max, he’s the bouncer at Cryptic Gods and an old frenemy of mine.”
“The big scary guy at the door?”
“Yeah, him. Tell him Kris sent you. Tell him I asked to cash in my favor. He’ll know what you mean, and he will help you.”
“Right, now I really do feel like I’m in a soap opera.”
He grinned. “You have no idea.”
A shiver of apprehension skated up my spine. “He’s a daemon too? I knew he was a supe. But I didn’t see any cuffs.”
Kris’s grin dropped. “Max is … was a lot of things, and he is completely off the radar, and trust me, you want it to stay that way. Just tell him I sent you. Tell him I’m cashing in my favor. He’ll help you find the crossroads daemon.”
“Okay. I’ll get on it. But before I go.” I walked over to the chest of drawers by the window and picked up a hairbrush. “We need to do something with your hair.”
* * *
Leaving Kris asleep after a thorough grooming, which, from the sounds he made while I brushed out his locks, he enjoyed a little too much, I headed toward Henri’s room. We’d agreed to start etiquette training tomorrow. And I needed to check to see if the talisman Karishma had promised to send had arrived. Urgh, my to-do list was growing faster than the hair on my legs. Which reminded me, I needed to wax soon.
Henri stepped out of his room before I could get there. He’d put on the blond, blue-eyed glamour. My pulse fluttered at the sight of him, but I kept my expression neutral. We needed to get back to our usual, easy rhythm of working together. The stupid tension needed to take a hike.
I lifted my chin in greeting. “Hey, I was about to knock for you.”
“From which I assume I’m with you tonight?” he asked. “Mai will be disappointed.”
“Why, has she become addicted to your cologne?”
His mouth twitched. “You noticed.”
Shit. “Hard not to. It’s practically a chemical weapon.”
He grinned, and it was only when his shoulders dropped a little that I realized he’d been as tense as me.
Yeah, this was us. This was the Henri and Kat dynamic of before the weirdness.
“So, what’s on the agenda for tonight?” he asked.
“We need to speak to the bouncer, Max, at Cryptic Gods. Kris said he can help us find the crossroads daemon.”
Jay knew about the interrogation and had already sent a memo to headquarters. But Henri hadn’t been about when I’d finished my chess match with Bres. I’d almost beat him. Fine, so he’d kicked my arse, but there was definitely a rematch on the cards.
“I’ll fill you in on the rest on the way. Where’s Tris?”
“Kitchens,” Henri said. “Getting Emmet to make sandwiches.”
My stomach growled.
Henri’s smile was knowing. “She said you’d be hungry after not sleeping. She wants a drop-off at Luther’s again.”
“Yeah, we can do that before we head into town.” I ducked into my room and grabbed my jacket. “Let’s grab her and go.”
The tension between us was background noise now, back to the way it had been. I should have been happy about that, so then why was there a hollow feeling in my chest?
* * *
We parked on the other side of the street to the club. It was early, and the club wouldn’t be opening for another hour. The world was in transition from late afternoon to nightlife, and the bars were only just coming to life.
“I’d feel better if I could come with you,” Henri said for the third time.
“Trust me, I’d feel better with you there too.”
Demonica had been the topic of discussion on the whole journey. The fact that we’d be separated had an anxious knot forming in my stomach. Henri had been my partner for the last two years. My go-to guy, the one I ripped the piss out of and argued with. The one who saved my ass when I took on too much, or who chewed me out for being a risk-taker. Kris might know Demonica, but he didn’t know me, not like Henri. And yeah, it was unnatural to be so dependent on a golem. But Henri could never be just a golem to me. He had his own spot in the hierarchy of relationships in my head. A spot that transcended friendship, a spot that couldn’t be acknowledged without the risk of losing him.
“I’ll be fine. I can handle myself.” I injected a little swagger into my walk to lighten the mood.
“I know you can.” Henri’s tone was sincere. “It doesn’t change the fact that I should be with you. That I want to be with you.”
Want to be. Not have to be. My throat pinched. If I looked at his face, into his fucking bluer-than-blue eyes, I might do something dumb like kiss his stupidly perfect lips. But then I’d be just as bad as the fucking Nightbloods who used their golems for sex. Because what could he do? Tell me no? Turn me down? If I wanted him, then he’d have to comply, and every line between us would be blurred and distorted. I’d almost made that mistake when he’d woken up. I’d pushed my emotions on him, confused him. But inevitably, he’d turned away. There was my answer.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and picked up the pace to the club.
I pressed the intercom button a couple of times. The buzzing sound was grating, but it was answered promptly by a nasal female voice.
“We’re not open for another hour.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m here to speak to Max. It’s urgent.”
There was a sigh. “Listen, love, you need to move on. If Max hasn’t called you yet, then he probably won’t. He ain’t the chocolates-and-flowers type. In fact, he ain’t the call-‘em-back type at all.”
“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience,” Henri said into the com.
I choked back a laugh.
“Wait, who did you say you were?”
I took over the com. “I didn’t. Tell him Kris sent me. Trust me, he’ll want to see me.”
“Hold up.”
The com went dead. Long minutes passed, and then the side door to the club opened, and Max appeared. He was dressed casually in jeans and a cream shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to expose tanned forearms, and the top two buttons were undone to give a peek of his smooth chest.
His mouth behind his designer stubble turned down. “Should have known you worked with him.” He jerked his head in a come-on gesture and then disappeared back into the club.
The place looked almost naked without the lights and the music. Smaller somehow without all the bodies, which was weird because surely it should be the opposite.
“What do you want?” Max snapped. His dark eyes were wary. “I don’t have much time before opening.”
“I need your help, and Kris has asked me to cash in the favor you owe him to get it.”
His jaw flexed. “Fucking bastard, ’course he did.” He ran a hand over his head, his expression disgusted. “What’s the favor?”
I peered up at him. “I need you to help me find a crossroads daemon.”
He blinked as if surprised. “That’s the favor? Find a crossroads daemon?” He let out a short laugh and then raked me with his dark eyes. “Kris always did have a weakness for the ladies. But to hand over his favor … for this.” His nostrils flared in disgust.
I bit back my annoyance. “Can you help us or not?”
He sobered, and then his eyes narrowed. “There are no crossroads daemons. As Nightwatch, you should know that. It’s against the law your council put into pla
ce.”
I gave him a close-lipped smile. “Oh, I know all about the law.” I looked down at his wrists pointedly. “But not everyone is a law-abiding citizen, now are they?” He didn’t take the bait. Okay, maybe he wasn’t a daemon. “If they were, then there’d be little need for the Watch.”
His smile was grim. “What do you want with a crossroads daemon?”
“What do you think I want?”
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t have time for guessing games. You’re a Nightblood. You can’t strike a bargain with a crossroads daemon because your soul is useless. So, I ask again, what do you want with a crossroads daemon?”
I canted my head slightly. “Who said anything about striking a bargain?”
He stared at me as if I were a moron. “Striking bargains is what crossroads daemons do, and human souls are the only currency they recognize.”
My smile was wicked. “Yes, well, I can be very persuasive.”
He rubbed his index finger across his chin, and then his eyes flared. “Motherfucker. He’s planning on going back, isn’t he?” He looked shaken, and then his gaze snapped to me. “You. He’s going back because of you.” His expression hardened. “Why?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“You want the favor, then you answer my questions.”
I glared up at him. “Doesn’t work that way, muscles. You owe a favor, you pay up. Simple.”
His jaw ticked. “You’re no daemon. You won’t survive the trip.”
“You let me worry about that. All you need to do is pay up.”
He crossed his arms. “You’re out of luck. There are no active crossroads daemons in Scorchwood.”
Henri cursed softly, but I latched onto what he’d just said. “No active ones, but there is an inactive one, isn’t there?”
The corner of Max’s mouth curled up. “Damn Nightwatch and their listening skills.”
“Why, thank you. Now, spill it.”
“He goes by the name Murray, and he keeps himself to himself.”
“And where can we find this Murray?”
“He doesn’t take kindly to intruders on his property,” Max warned.
I smiled sweetly. “Very few people are able to resist my charm.”
He glared at me. “I guess I fall into that category then.”
“An address will do fine,” Henri said curtly.
Max transferred his attention to my golem. “That I can’t give you. I’d have to take you there. His property is booby-trapped.” He glanced at me. “You won’t get close enough to use your charisma.” He sighed. “But Murray knows me. He’ll speak to you if I ask him to.”
And what hold did this Max have over Murray? “Fine, but we need to go today.”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course we do. Meet me at the old lighthouse on the coast in two hours.”
I glanced at Henri, who nodded. He’d find it.
Max strode back to the main door and yanked it open. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get ready to open my club.”
“Your club?”
He bared his teeth. “Yes. Mine.”
I stepped out into the night air with Henri close behind, and the door closed with a click of finality.
“Do you think he’ll turn up?” Henri asked.
“He owes Kris. I don’t understand why, but I think he kind of has to.”
With a final look back at the club, I followed Henri to the car. Who even knew this town had a lighthouse?
* * *
The air was brisk and fresh, and the coastline was a mass of rocks leading down to a pebble beach.
“There is literally nothing here but the lighthouse.” I stared up at the dead-looking structure. How long had it been since a lantern had shone at the top of that tower?
We stood on the side of the narrow road that wound down until it was swallowed by the rocky terrain. Henri leaned against the driver’s side of the van, arms crossed, his eyes on the road we’d just navigated. It was the only way down to this beach, so Max would have to come down it soon. He’d said two hours, and it was two hours on the nose.
“I don’t like that we don’t know what he is,” Henri said.
I kicked a pebble. “Who? Max? He’s a daemon, of course.”
“Did Kris actually say that?”
“Sure, he … wait …” What had he said? I’d asked if Max was a daemon and mentioned the fact that he hadn’t been wearing cuffs, and Kris had … Neither denied nor confirmed. “Shit, you know, I’m not sure.”
“Exactly. I don’t like it. We need to know who we’re dealing with.”
“From what Kris said, it’s better if we don’t.”
Henri shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m worried about you going to Demonica with him. Did you see Max’s reaction earlier? We have no idea what Kris is mixed up in, what he’s running from. You could get caught up in it.”
“And if I go alone, I could get myself killed by saying or doing the wrong thing. Kris knows the terrain. I doubt he’d be going back if he didn’t think he could make it out safely.”
Henri tucked in his chin. “I should be with you.”
“Because it’s what you’re meant to do.” I failed to keep the bitterness out of my tone.
He looked up and met my gaze. Was that my longing reflected in his eyes?
“Henri?”
His expression shuttered, and he pushed off the van. “Someone’s coming.”
My senses tingled a moment later, warning me that we weren’t alone, and I turned to find Max standing behind us, holding up a lantern.
Where was his ride?
“How did you get there?” I pointed to the road and then back at him. “This is the only way to the beach.”
His chest rose and fell as if I was boring him with my questions. “Come on. I have to get back to the club. Let’s get this meeting over with.”
He turned away and headed off over the rocks. There was nothing to do but follow. Thank God for my Nightblood agility and excellent night vision because the damn rocks were lethal. I hopped from crop to crop with Henri cursing and mumbling behind me. He was a tank, a machine when up against a hellion or a rogue moonkissed, but his agility and balance weren’t heightened like mine. He did have the super eyesight, though, which was probably the only reason he hadn’t fallen on his ass yet.
Max moved with practiced ease as if he’d made this trek countless times, and then we were climbing down onto the pebbled beach. A jetty came into view with a single boat moored at the end of it. The boat bobbed on the waves as if saying, hey, how you doing? We approached, boots clipping against wooden planks.
“Max, hey.” I jogged to catch up with the monolith of a man. “We’re taking a boat?”
“You want to see Murray, you need to get to his island.” He jerked his head across the water. “He lives on the rock a mile out to sea.”
He climbed into the boat and hung the lantern on a hook. “Are you coming?”
I didn’t do boats. In fact, I didn’t do bodies of water. Fuck this shit. I rubbed a hand over my face. Do not wimp out, Justice. You’re a Nightblood, and it’s just a boat. No biggie. Then why was my heart hammering against my ribs?
Henri’s hand fell on my shoulder. “You’re okay.”
The contact was like a diffuser, pushing into me and calming my heart rate. It was just a boat, and this was the only way to get to Murray.
Henri climbed in first and held out his arms for me. I leaned forward and placed my palms on his broad shoulders. His hands cupped my waist, and he lifted me easily into the vehicle.
He locked gazes with me. “It’s all right. Just hold on to me.”
Max snorted. “Since when do Nightbloods have an aversion to seafaring?” He started the engine on the boat.
“They don’t.” I grabbed hold of Henri’s arm as the boat lurched. “It’s just me.”
“Well, hold on, Betty moves fast through the water.”
Betty?
But the bo
at roared, and then wind was cutting at my cheeks as we sliced through the sea at goodness knew how many miles per hour, and shit, my eyes were stinging from the cold, and my pulse was racing because what if I fell in? What if—
Henri pulled me close and wrapped his arm around me. He stood feet planted shoulder-width apart, a solid anchor on the tiny vessel, and damned if I didn’t need it.
Max steered expertly across the waves as the dark dot in the distance grew larger and larger until the landmass was looming over us. A small jetty appeared to our left, and Max steered the boat toward it. The engine cut out, and Max threw a rope around the post to hold us in place.
“Wait here,” he said before climbing out and striding off into the darkness.
“Are you all right?” Henri asked.
Irritation at being reduced to jelly by a boat ride put a snap in my voice. “I’m fine.”
“Then why am I still wearing you?”
Shit. I extricated myself from him and backed up a step. “Fucking hate boats.”
“I know, you’ve said. But you never explained why.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just do. Always have.”
He was watching me carefully, his face kissed by moonlight. “When’s the last time you went on a boat?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.” His question needled me. I must have been on a boat before, surely. I had to have been to know I hated boats and the sea and bodies of water …
“Kat?”
“I can’t recall.” The back of my mind tickled as a memory struggled to emerge. I held my breath as it bloomed because this was big, this was huge.
“Come on, then.” Max appeared on the jetty. “He’s agreed to speak with you.”
The memory slipped quickly away, leaving an itch in my mind, and that horrible feeling that I was forgetting something vitally important. Irritation toward the hulking bouncer surged through me.
“Kat, you okay?” Henri asked, concerned.
“Maybe she needs help getting out of the boat too,” Max said sarcastically.
I smiled up at him and batted my lashes. “Oh, yes, please.”
He blinked down at me in surprise, then held out his hand. I grabbed it, yanked hard, and let go. He hit the water just as I leaped up onto the jetty.
Give Up the Ghost: The Nightwatch Series Book 2 Page 10