Need curled in my belly, sharp and almost painful. And the spicy smell of him curled around me, filling my throat and lungs. God, he smelled good.
His tongue slipped between my lips, and he tasted like coffee, only better. I hated coffee, but I liked the bitter sharpness on his mouth.
A small moan escaped me and he pulled me closer. Every inch of me was swollen, achy. I wanted him to touch me. Needed to get closer.
“Fuck, Ava,” he murmured against my mouth. He moved his hand up from my neck to cradle my face. I could feel his erection, hard against my stomach, and his body seemed to struggle to get closer to mine. I wanted to crawl onto him. Get as close as I could. I’d never wanted anything so badly as I wanted to get closer to him.
His hands slipped down, sliding over my butt. Then his fingers dug into my flesh when he pulled me close. As close as we could get with clothing still between us.
Not close enough.
In the back of my mind, warnings were going off. This was a bad idea for so many reasons. Karson hunted demons—no matter how he softened around me during rare moments, he was still the hardest man I’d ever met. He was obviously experienced, in more things than hunting. His life was dangerous.
He was ridiculously out of my league.
And what if I did get a vision from him? Sure, I might be safe for the moment, but later… Who knew? A vision from a demon hunter was practically guaranteed to be bloody and horrible.
But with him so close—his scent swirling around me, his strong body cradling mine—the warnings faded. Ignored.
He urged me back against the door. When he lifted me, I wrapped my legs around his waist. The hardness of his erection pressed against my core and he devoured my mouth, frantic. I dug my fingernails into his shoulders. It was all I could do to hang on.
A loud couple of knocks sounded on the door, vibrating the wood against my back, and we froze. Karson blinked, his dark eyes suddenly more like a warm cocoa than something dark and impenetrable. Then, as if it pained him as much as it did me, he set me down carefully and stepped back.
“That’s the pizza,” I murmured.
His gaze ran down my body and he curled his hands in fists at his sides, over and over. His hair was mussed from my hands, and his lips were slightly swollen. It looked like he was making a real effort not to reach for me again, and my body warmed in response.
God, he was sexy.
Another knock sounded, and a man’s voice called, “Pizza.”
Karson yanked open the door and glared at the delivery man with suspicion, as if a demon hid under the uniform. But the teenager was just a typical Pizza Hut delivery boy, and I handed him a twenty. He took off, and Karson slammed the door behind him with a foot. The pizza was piping hot, and I set it on the coffee table along with a couple of plates.
“So, about you helping out,” Karson said, voice gruff. “I don’t like the idea, but I get it. I understand about accepting responsibility. Making right what went wrong. So long as you do shit like make coffee—scratch that, your coffee-making skills suck. You can file or something. If you promise to do what I say, I’ll bring you in with me to my cell’s headquarters tomorrow. But you will remember who’s in charge.”
I smoothed my hands over my hair and gave him a half smile, hoping to see a glimmer of the good humor I’d glimpsed before he’d kissed me. But his expression hardened as I watched, and he sat in the far corner of the couch from me, face revealing nothing.
Whatever connection we’d started to forge was gone.
…
The next day, hours after Karson had left me alone with Caleb, the Venator-slash- bartender, in what I could only describe as the dirtiest hole-in-the-ground dump of an apartment in the Chicagoland area, I leaned back and stretched, trying to rid myself of the tension in my neck. I figured I’d spent half the day pouring over a stack of printouts Karson had dropped on the table before he’d taken off on official demon hunter business.
Karson had stayed on my couch the night before, but we hadn’t talked much after the pizza man interrupted us. Karson had closed off entirely, refusing to talk more about demons. I hadn’t even considered broaching the topic of our kiss, but I’d half hoped that he might do it again, or give some indication about how he’d felt about kissing me in the first place.
No such luck.
At basement level, the small space didn’t let in much natural light, which was super weird for people who fought things that sent shadows after their prey—shadows that were destroyed by sunlight. And a distinctive smell lingered in the air. Some sort of terrible mix of unwashed man and musty basement odor.
The world of demon hunters wasn’t exactly glamorous.
“I’m surprised you guys work out of a shared building like this,” I told Caleb, who had been grumpily ignoring me all day. Instead of answering my questions about where the bathroom was at, and if they had something to drink, he’d grunted and pointed. The grunting must be a demon hunter thing.
Still, I could hardly blame him. The last time I’d seen him, I’d sent my best friend to seduce him so I could get past him to accidentally free a demon. Not the best way to get on the man’s good side.
Caleb turned to glare at me. “We work out of this specific apartment, but the others in this complex are ours, too. Some offices and temporary housing.”
That made sense. It was a small building, two apartments per floor, and three floors counting the near-basement I was in now. “So do you have a laptop I can use or something?”
The pile of paperwork that Karson had dumped in front of me before he left provided a lot of information on Thomas and his holdings. My eyes had glazed over through a lot of it, especially the financial and property information. By the time I’d waded through most of the files, I was convinced that Karson had simply dropped me off here to keep me busy and out of the way. Or possibly get his revenge for my freeing Thomas by killing me via boredom.
Caleb tossed a laptop onto the table in front of me, then pointed at the wall. “Cords are over there. They’ll reach.”
“No Wi-Fi?”
“Not secure enough. It’d probably be fine, but we don’t like to take unnecessary risks.”
“But we’re safe searching terms related to Thomas through a hard line?” My memories of the shadowman attacking in the clinic made me doubtful.
“It’s safe. We’ve got electronic security in place. And wards. They won’t find us.”
I snorted. “There are wards to keep people from tracking Internet searches? How modern.”
His scowl deepened. “There are wards to prevent tracking, and to make a place and things invisible to demon senses. How else do you think we could walk among them with our bodies tattooed in demon wards and shit?”
Another thing I hadn’t thought of. Taking a play out of friendly Caleb’s playbook, I grunted and then went to gather the cords for the computer.
I input search criteria into Google and started scrolling through the results, doing my best to keep my attention on the work at hand, and not where it wanted to drift. But despite my best efforts, my mind wandered back to the night before.
Karson kissing me. His lips pressed against mine in what had to be the most perfect kiss that had ever happened. My first instinct had been to pull away, but when no vision overtook me, I’d let go and was swept away in the moment.
My skin tingled at the memory. Every inch of me ached to kiss him again. To do a lot more than kiss him. But I couldn’t risk it. Sure, I hadn’t gotten a vision this time, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t the next time. I didn’t know enough about how my own power worked to be certain.
Plus, he’d made it pretty darn clear that he wasn’t interested in kissing me again.
A surge of annoyance rushed through me, but I wasn’t sure if I was more annoyed at Karson or myself. Not for wanting him—who wouldn’t? But for expecting him to want me back with the same fire. And for thinking that starting something up with him would do anything except make t
hings between us more complicated and uncomfortable.
I needed to keep things friendly between us, but not that friendly. And I had to grow a pair and talk to Karson about my curse. I wasn’t keen to talk to anyone about my power if I could help it, but I had to once he got back. If he’d known something directly, he would have already told me, I was pretty sure about that. But maybe he knew of some Venator resources for information. Would he look into it for me?
I touched my lips softly, eyes still scanning the screen.
A mention of Miriam’s hospital caught my eye, and I clicked the link. As I scanned the article, my breath caught.
Thomas was hosting a big fund-raising gala for the hospital Saturday night. Not only that, he was doing so in his home. And the guest list was staggering. Lead hospital personnel. The mayor and a state senator. The other names blended together, vaguely familiar even though I couldn’t place them all.
The sound of a click behind me made me jump to my feet, but no shadowman appeared from the darkening day beyond. Instead, Karson popped in, a McDonald’s bag in hand.
“Hi,” I said, unable to stymie the excitement in my voice at seeing him.
“Hey.” His carefully controlled tone revealed nothing, and disappointment stole some of my enthusiasm.
He tossed the bag at Caleb, who caught it single-handedly from his perch on the couch.
Business. Focus on keeping things professional. “What do you know about this gala on Saturday?” I asked.
“One of Thomas’s parties. He likes to throw them occasionally so he can easily pick off victims.”
“Doesn’t that get suspicious when people are constantly disappearing from his parties?”
“Most are found—eventually. After a terrible one-car accident that destroyed the body beyond recognition. Or a house fire. Or—”
“I get it.”
“Do you?” He quirked an eyebrow at me.
“Look at the people attending.” I turned back to the computer. “The mayor, at least one senator. I think this guy owns half the real estate in Chicago—”
“Let me see that.” Without waiting for my reply, he grabbed the laptop and swiveled it to face the chair across from mine. He sat and scrolled through the article.
“Looks like some of the hospital’s board of directors, too. What’s the point of that? I mean, sure, it might be helpful for him to get people like that in his corner, but does he usually gather a bunch of important people like that together in one place?”
“No,” Karson said, lips tight.
Movement behind me caught my eye, and I flinched when Caleb got too close. He leaned over the table to get a look at the article.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
Karson just shook his head, but worry creased his forehead. “I knew this was a big deal, but I didn’t realize how big.”
“It’s not like he can force them to do anything, can he? I mean, you have to agree to possession, right? Except for rare cases, like you said before,” I said, wishing I was as certain as I sounded. Something about this gala didn’t feel right. And Karson looked worried.
“You don’t think…” Caleb trailed off.
Karson whirled to look at him. “What?”
Caleb shrugged, and glanced at me meaningfully. A look I returned with the blandest expression I could manage under the circumstances.
“You can speak freely in front of her,” Karson said.
“Oh yeah? Would Franklin agree to that?”
“Franklin isn’t here.”
“Fine,” Caleb said, voice full of ice. “Your fucking funeral. What if they’ve found the necklace?”
Karson laughed. Not the giant burst of energy that real laughter released, but a deep sound that barely came across as amusement. “That’s just a legend. A fairy tale used to keep baby Venators in their beds. There’s no such thing.”
“Oh yeah? World’s pretty low on baby Venators. And if you really don’t think there’s a chance the necklace exists, then why are you sweating?”
All trace of amusement faded from Karson’s expression, and perspiration beaded on his brow. Tension filled the room, so thick it coiled in my throat.
“Stop it.” God, it was as if their anger was a real thing, palpable and thick. “Seriously. We’re all in this together, right? Working for the good of humanity or whatever.”
My forced levity struck a chord, and Karson’s hands unclenched. But Caleb sneered at me, anger still coating his frame. “There’s no ‘we,’ girl. There’s ‘us’ and what I can only assume is Karson’s latest piece of ass.”
Karson lunged and hit the other man, moving so fast that I barely comprehended what had happened. One swift punch and Caleb dropped to the ground, but he popped back up again quickly—too quickly for a normal man. He glared daggers at Karson, but didn’t touch his jaw where it had to ache. “Never show weakness” must be in the Venator handbook. Rule number one.
“She’s already ruined one mission. Don’t let her hang around long enough to ruin another.” His words hanging in the air, Caleb turned and left, the apartment door clicking shut behind him. Hit in the face and he hadn’t even slammed the door. Were fights so commonplace among the Venators that they didn’t even call for an angry door slam?
“Don’t listen to him. He’s just an asshole,” Karson said, still facing away from me to keep a careful eye on the door that Caleb had disappeared through. “It’s himself he’s mad at, not me. Not even you.”
I snorted. “Seemed like he was pretty mad at me—and you.” Humor that I only half felt laced my tone. More violence, this time involving humans, men who were working together. How much violence had I seen this week? More than I’d ever seen in my life so far, I was pretty sure. Then again, I’d seen more craziness in the last few days than I’d even imagined existed. What was a lone punch compared to evil creatures who disappeared in sunlight?
“Nah.” Karson turned and gave me a tight smile. “If he’d been mad at either of us, he wouldn’t have hesitated to hit me back. He’s just pissed that he fell prey to your friend’s charms. Losing Thomas was his fault—partially, at least. He was supposed to be guarding the damn room.”
“What was he talking about? What fairy-tale thing does he think they might have found?”
“Remember when I told you about objects in this world, ones with their own innate magic?”
“Vaguely,” I admitted. In my defense I’d learned a heck of a lot of new things about his hidden world the last few days.
“There’s a necklace—or a rumor of one. It’s been around for as long as Venators have. Legend has it that the necklace was crafted ages ago by a demon sorcerer. That it can be used to force possession on a healthy, unwilling host.” He flexed his hand, over and over. “There are lots of myths surrounding objects that have power in their own right. The necklace that opens victims to possession is just the most common one.”
I shivered. The idea of losing yourself to something like a demon—it was unbearable. Could the victims still see what happened around them while they were trapped in the most stifling prison imaginable? What their bodies did while they weren’t in control? I didn’t think I wanted to know. “That sounds horrible.”
He reached out, probably to touch my shoulder, to offer comfort, but I flinched automatically.
“I can’t—I mean, I don’t think you can get visions from me. In case you couldn’t tell,” he said, voice gentle.
“What?”
“The tattoos. They block a lot of magic from working on Venators. No reason it wouldn’t apply to your visions, too.”
Shock hit me like a shot to the gut. He said the words as if they didn’t change everything. As if it was a small thing. But it wasn’t. I’d never even considered the idea that my visions could be blocked.
If I got the tattoo, could it stop the visions?
My mind whirred with the possibilities, but Karson continued talking as if he hadn’t just changed my whole world. As if he though
t the idea of a demon necklace was what had thrown me.
“Don’t worry about the necklace. It’s just a myth. No one has seen it in ages. Supposedly, a powerful Venator—one of the first—was able to kill the demon who created it and then hide the necklace.” Karson grimaced. “Hell, they say he killed himself to prevent anyone from ever finding the damn thing again. But no one’s seen the real thing, not that I’ve ever heard. It’s a bogeyman story. Not real.” But doubt crept into his tone.
I pushed my new knowledge about the tattoos from my mind. That was an issue for another time, another day. Ass or no, Caleb was right. I had ruined one of their missions. I’d allowed a demon to go free—a demon who could kill who knew how many people before a Venator got into a position to take him out again.
And what if Karson was wrong and the necklace was real? Well, that would certainly be a reason to get a bunch of people in power together. Necklace them all up and take over the city. Or whatever horrible thing they had in mind.
If that happened, it would be my fault. I had to do something about it. I had to help them get rid of Thomas. I had to make things right.
Or I’d never be able to live with myself.
“You say that my power is rare, right?” The word power tasted wrong. Didn’t sound nearly negative enough.
“Yes. I’ve certainly never come across it before. If you want to try to use it to help, then we need to talk to Franklin—”
“No!” Panic surged through me at the very idea. “No. I don’t mean that. My power—such as it is—doesn’t help. But if Thomas knew about my visions, then he might let me get close. I might be able to get him somewhere you guys can take him again. If I called him—”
“Absolutely not.” He glared at me. “What the hell are you trying to do? I’m working my ass off to keep you safe. Taking risks that I—” He stopped and shook his head. “And you want to hand yourself over to him with a fucking bow?”
“Of course not. But I’ll be safe. I can arrange a meet in a place where your men can be close at hand.”
“My men include me and Caleb and Franklin—hardly a fucking army, Ava. Our sister cell could be called in, but that gets complicated. Mateo and Franklin don’t exactly get along—and the rest of Mateo’s cell…” He inhaled deeply and let it out in a long breath, filling the silence with his frustration. “Hell, we don’t work well together in the best of circumstances. I don’t want your life to rely on people I don’t work with often.”
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