“You had better be outside,” she whispered into the phone as she picked up her pace.
The new demon zeroed in on her. He frowned.
Darcy ran the last few steps to the revolving door and threw herself into it. She burst into the cold night air as the demon started after her.
A car pulled up with a screech and Cailin poked her head out the window. “Come on,” she called.
Darcy snapped her cell shut and jogged to the car. She slid into the passenger seat just as the demon stepped from the revolving doors.
Cailin looked back and narrowed her eyes. Lifting a hand, she waved to the demon before stomping on the gas.
“Who the hell was that?” Darcy asked as they sped away from the hotel.
“Liam Greyal. He has abilities similar to mine, though ramped up to eleven. If he is mixed into this, Darcy, we’re in trouble. That demon knows everything that happens in this city.”
“Then it’s a good thing I need to get out of town,” she commented darkly.
“What?”
“Take me to Blake’s. I’ll explain on the way.” Blake would know where to find Sarah Cohen, and when she had the location, she’d be racing against a demon to get there in time.
Chapter Eight
The heater was on full blast and still nothing seemed to warm her. Darcy glanced into the rearview mirror to make sure there was no one else on the road before gunning it. She needed to cross a lot of ground if she was going to make it to Sarah and back to the city in time.
Behind her in the backseat sat her bag of weapons, and beside it a backpack of clothes and necessities. It had taken one hell of an argument to talk Blake and Cailin out of coming along with her. Blake had even refused to give her Sarah’s address if she didn’t let him accompany her.
She smiled at the memory. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her, yet he found it strange that she felt the same about him. No way was she bringing along anyone she cared for on this trip. Unless she was the luckiest woman alive, Jaral would catch up with her at some point. When he did, she didn’t want anyone else bearing the brunt of his rage.
Blake had told her the potion should last a day on a normal demon. As Jaral was far from the standard, she figured she had twelve hours or so to get a head start. She’d been driving all day, barely taking any breaks. There was as much distance between them as she could possibly put. He’d have to start from scratch in his hunt for Sarah. Besides herself, the only person to know the location of Kerilyn’s last blood relative was Blake, but he and his database of hunter information were well hidden right now and would be until her return. Jaral wouldn’t find him. Which meant he couldn’t find her.
Her eyes felt heavy and she cranked the radio to help keep her awake. She’d watched the sun set hours ago. Soon she’d have to stop to sleep. Too much longer and she’d risk wrapping her car around a tree.
Sarah’s mother had apparently moved her across the country after Kerilyn’s disappearance. While Darcy could applaud a mother’s devotion to keeping her kid safe, she wished the woman hadn’t run quite so far. She was trying to condense a three-day drive into two. Far too long given the state of the spirit rift. Of course, with her bag of weapons there was no other option. Getting a sack of guns and knives through airport security was easier said than done.
A flashing motel sign up ahead caught her attention. She glanced at the GPS, wondering if she could make it to the next stop, then decided against it. Sleep had never sounded so attractive.
Darcy parked and went through the check-in process like a sleepwalker, barely hearing the friendly chatter of the elderly proprietor. She grabbed her keys and headed for her door.
The old, musty room had obviously seen a lot of use and not much care. She dropped her weapons bag on the floor and nudged the door shut with her foot. The room was small, boasting only a tiny bathroom with a leaky sink, and a creaky bed facing what appeared to be the world’s oldest TV. If it received more than three channels she’d be surprised.
Kicking off her shoes, she flopped onto the bed with a grateful sigh. It felt so good to stop moving. Darcy closed her eyes, expecting sleep to come instantly, but all she could think of was Jaral. How had he reacted when he woke? Demon on not, she’d used an underhanded trick on him. If their positions were reversed, she’d want his heart carved out with a dull knife.
She rolled onto her back and stared up at the cracked ceiling. If anyone had told her last week she’d be feeling bad about outsmarting a demon she’d have laughed them out of the room. Yet here she was.
“Sorry,” she whispered to her phantom partner. A word she’d never be able to say to his face.
She sighed. None of her hunter friends would be able to understand. They’d applaud her ruthlessness and leave it at that. None of them had ever weakened for an enemy.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind she knew it was a lie. One hunter had fallen for the wrong man, and her decision had landed them in this mess.
Had Kerilyn had these same misgivings? Had she been torn between duty and desire? The older hunter had never been a close part of Darcy’s circle but they had worked together more than once. Kerilyn was tough, moral. Yet she’d gone off to be with a spirit.
How had she done it?
A knock at the door interrupted her musings. Wearily she pushed herself from the bed, wondering if something had gone wrong with her check-in. She wasn’t too tried to grab one of her sharpest daggers from the bag before heading for the door.
The motel was too old to boast a peephole so she drew the chain in place the door and opened it a crack.
“Hello, hunter,” Jaral greeted.
“Crap,” she swore, slamming the door shut. Or rather, she tried to slam it. The demon held it open with one hand while he tapped the chain with the other.
Darcy watched the metal glow red-hot and melt before her eyes. Abandoning the door, she dived for her weapons bag. Jaral slipped into the room just as she rounded on him with gun in hand.
“Stay where you are,” she ordered.
The demon closed the door behind him, unconcerned with the weapon trained on his heart. “Couldn’t you have found somewhere nicer?” he asked, glancing around.
“How the hell are you here?”
He turned back to her. “You have a piece of my power inside you.”
“So?”
“So I can feel the loss. It calls out to me wherever I am. Which means, darling, that as long as a part of my magic resides in you, I can find you anywhere.”
“No.” She shook her head, wanting to deny his words. She couldn’t be a demon beacon. Surely at some point in her mission to save humanity the universe would give her a freaking break.
Jaral moved forward, his gaze locked on her. “What, no hello kiss?”
“Go to hell.”
He tsked. “And here I thought we were making such progress.” He took another step forward. “Or do you only like kissing me while planning underhanded, nefarious attacks?”
She flinched as his accusation hit home. “I won’t apologize for doing what I need to in order to protect my people.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
Darcy blinked. What game was he playing? She’d been ready for any number of attacks but instead he did nothing. “Your magic won’t work on me,” she reminded him, shifting from foot to foot. “Your fire can’t burn me.”
Jaral stilled. For the first time anger lit his eyes, banishing the easygoing humor. “You think I would hurt you?”
She opened her mouth to speak but found no words. He was a demon she’d tricked, one she’d bested.
Jaral stepped forward and she clicked the safety off the gun, not willing to take chances. He sighed and reached out to tap the gun. The weapon turned to molten metal in her hand. Startled, she dropped the mess to the ground and stared at her perfect skin. Not so much as a singed finger.
“No weapon,” he murmured, stepping up before her. “What’s your plan now, hunter?”
Darcy lifted her chin. He might be able to trump her in magic and strength but she didn’t back down for anyone. “Tell me what game we’re playing this time,” she demanded. “I dumped a sleeping potion on you. You should be livid.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “And I was at first. But then a curious thing happened.”
“What?”
“I realized I was…” He paused, as if searching for the right words. “Proud. I was proud of you.”
Again she found herself at a loss for words.
“Where I am from,” he told her, “no one challenges me. No one would fight this hard for what they believe in if it meant crossing me. And now here you are. One small human woman with no sense of self-preservation and an inability to make sane choices.” He reached out to touch her cheek. “You know who I am and yet you still tried to best me.”
“What’s the worst you could do?” she tried to joke.
The hand dropped from her face. “You don’t ever want to find out.”
She didn’t doubt him. Darcy cleared her throat. “So we are…even? You try to force me into this partnership and I dump a sleeping potion on you?”
“Oh no,” he said with a grin. “You owe me.” He started to turn away before pausing to add, “Once I can forgive, Snow. Do not try this trick again.”
She nodded quickly, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. A demon prowled through her room, making no move to do more than investigate his surroundings. He was slowly unraveling everything she thought she knew about his kind. Jaral should have attacked her. He should have treated her as an expendable tool and tried to dispose of her when she proved too stubborn. Instead he had protected her, teased her, worked with her. Worst of all, he’d kissed her as if she mattered to him. Every one of his actions was messing with her head. How could she draw the line between hunter and demon when he did his damnedest to blur everything?
“You are thinking too hard,” Jaral said, staring out the little window.
“How would you know?” she scoffed.
He turned back to her with a slight smile on his face. “Because, hunter, I think I am beginning to know you.”
* * *
Her eyes widened at his words just as he’d known they would. No, his hunter would not like the idea of her enemy knowing her.
When he’d woken alone on the floor he’d been ready to rend her limb from limb. Liam had tried to talk him down but the glib demon was like gas on a fire. When he realized he could sense his powers like a homing device he’d been ready to race after her. No one tricked him and lived to tell the tale.
And that was the thought that had stopped him. Because life without her in it would go back to the boring, endless days he’d known before she crashed into his world. Liam had simply watched him with that annoying, all-knowing grin of his, and then had asked what Jaral was going to do with his mate.
Jaral looked at her now with the title burning in his mind. She stood awkwardly, as if not quite sure what she should be doing. Her hands were fisted at her sides and her body tense. Still she met his gaze without flinching, daring him to do his worst. His hunter was far too strong for her own good.
Violence was the furthest thing from his mind as he stared at Darcy. Instead, he wanted to touch her and feel that instant connection. The one that would wash away the past, the realities of their situation, and leave them as they were meant to be. Lovers.
His lips twitched as he acknowledged getting her to that realization might take significantly more work.
The entire journey to her side he’d struggled with Liam’s taunt. A mortal mate was a liability. Still, if there was anyone in either of their worlds capable of standing by his side, his money was on Darcy. She would fight to her last breath for those she loved.
If only he could be counted among them.
“So,” she said, shifting from foot to foot in a nervous movement he found oddly endearing. “What do we do now?”
He glanced around the small motel room, which boasted little more than the queen bed in the center. Perfect.
“Now we get some rest and continue on our way in the morning. I’m assuming you know where we are going?”
She bit her lip. “You want to team up again.”
Jaral crossed to the bed and sat. He leaned back against the headboard, kicking off his shoes. “I want that blood.” Sarah’s blood was the key. It was leverage. Once he had it, he’d be on far better footing to deal with his father.
“To close the rift.”
“Yes.” The lie rolled so easily from his tongue. He was not about to sacrifice his future, not even for his mate. No matter what, he would claim his throne.
She hesitated for a moment before exhaling. “Okay. Partners—until we reach Sarah.”
“Which I recall offering before,” he said smoothly. “Only to be doused with a sleeping potion.”
Darcy looked away, a blush staining her cheeks.
“You need to start trusting me, hunter. Even if only a little bit.”
“I can’t.”
Jaral spread his hands. It wasn’t often he tried to look helpless but to put her at ease he’d make an exception. “We are stuck here for the night. Try.”
She glanced around the room, obviously searching for somewhere to go, but other than the bed and a rickety-looking dresser there was no other furniture in the room. With a sigh she dropped onto the far corner of the bed. Jaral hid a smile. Obviously she was trying to get as far from him as possible.
“I’m not going to be able to sleep with you here,” she grumbled.
“Come now, darling. Surely I’m not that frightening.”
That got her attention. She swung her legs onto the bed and sat cross-legged.
“I think I’ll call in your debt,” he mused.
She snorted. “I don’t owe you a damn thing.”
Ignoring her, he continued. “I want some truthful answers. You’ve dodged my questions long enough.”
“Says the prince of secrets,” she muttered.
“Tell me about the sister with the drug problem.”
She stilled for a moment before looking up at him with anger. “I don’t have a sister, I told you that.”
Jaral watched her closely. He believed her. Not a sister, then, but someone with a large influence on her life. Who was it?
“Going to tell me about your life in the demon courts?” she asked.
“It’s your debt we are evening.”
“You share, I share,” she said with a wicked grin that said she knew damn well he wasn’t about to open up.
“How did you end up with Blake?” he asked instead.
“What’s your relationship like with Abaddon?”
He nearly grinned. There was so much he wanted to know about her, but she was going to make it as hard as possible. Perhaps he should focus on the basics.
He grabbed the duvet and pulled before she realized what he was about. She slid over the bed, riding the cover straight into his waiting arms.
“What the—” she said, struggling against him.
Jaral rolled her backward onto the bed, rising over her. “Okay,” he told her. “Then answer me this, hunter, and we’ll be even. Did you mean what you said back in my hotel room before I kissed you?”
He felt her pulse leap as the memory of admitting she wanted him returned to her. Despite his anger at her when he’d woken, he would never forget the way she’d looked up at him with beautiful, conflicted eyes and confessed how she wanted him and hated him. A sentiment he could relate to without any difficulty. He remembered thinking her words were probably the first truthful ones they’d ever shared.
And then she’d doused him with her potion.
“Tell me,” he whispered, wanting to get them back to that moment before their loyalties had pulled them apart again. “Tell me the truth.”
* * *
She swallowed hard. Never before had she wanted to run away from a conversation as much as this one.
Jaral leaned o
ver her, a knowing look in his eyes. His body pressed against hers, their legs entwined. She was on a slippery slope here.
As her silence dragged on, the demon smiled. He leaned down and drew his lips lightly over her cheek. “Is it so hard to admit?” he whispered in her ear.
“Yes,” she murmured as he pulled back. “It is. What good does it do, demon, to hear your enemy has some scandalous thoughts? It changes nothing.”
“It changes everything.”
“Why?”
“Because then perhaps you would see we are more than our backgrounds. Perhaps you’d see me as a man, one who wants you more than he has ever wanted another. You are messing with all my plans, human. Since I met you, nothing has made sense.”
She knew the feeling all too well.
“Tell me we’re in this together.”
Darcy shook her head. There were some things that should never be spoken aloud. Lusting after a demon was one of them.
“Hunter,” he said, running his lips along her jaw. “Darcy.”
She stiffened at the sound of her name. He used it so sparingly. Usually she was just hunter or Snow. Looking up at him, she admitted she liked the sound of her name on his lips.
He paused for a moment, meeting her gaze. “Please.”
Twice now Jaral had used that word with her. Demons were supposed to be incapable of yielding to others, of bending, but he had proven more than once that he’d bend for her.
Couldn’t she bend a little in return?
“I want you,” she breathed before she could think it through and call back the words. “And I shouldn’t.”
His grin was so beautiful it took her breath away. For a second she wasn’t staring up at an ancient demon but at a man, content in the arms of his lover. She blinked, knowing this was an image she never wanted to forget.
“Thank you.”
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears as she looked up at a side of Jaral she’d never seen before. This one was gentle and charming. The type of man she’d have no defense against.
“That’s as far as this goes. We can’t do anything about it.”
Demon by My Side Page 9