Logan parked the car, turned the engine off, then shifted in his seat to look at me. “So what’s your plan?”
I don’t really like being in charge, but it was up to me. I unhooked my seat belt, squared my shoulders and gave myself a mental pep talk. I could do this. I had Duster strength. I had a bunch of demons with me. And Devlin, Logan and Jasmine. How hard could it be? I wasn’t alone this time, and Brady was counting on me. Go, team! Kill the queen!
“You okay?” Logan asked, grabbing my shoulder to give me a shake. “You sort of look like you’re having a conversation with invisible people.”
“I was talking to myself.”
“Do any good?”
“Not really.” I swiveled around and looked into the backseat, and then beyond, through the window at the demons piling out of their cars like clowns in the circus. Ooh. Not a good analogy. Never liked clowns. “Okay, half of us in the front, half of us in the back. We find Brady and we get the hell out.”
Devlin reached out to touch my shoulder briefly, and I could feel Logan bristling beside me. “Good. Don’t stick around trying to take Vanessa on, Cass. Complete the mission and leave.”
The mission. Aren’t we just covert operatives?
“I will go in the front with Logan,” Jasmine said, and opened her car door. “It’s better if you stay with Devlin, in case his ‘supporters’ forget that you are not the target.”
Hmm. Good point.
“The queen,” Jasmine said, “is probably holding Brady in her bedroom. My sources say it’s the corner room on the second floor.”
“Right.” I got out too, and the cold ocean wind pushed at me, like somebody somewhere was trying to tell me to get back into the car and forget this whole thing. While I appreciated the sentiment, there was no way out. We had to do this. Now.
Devlin looked down at me, and in the pale wash of moonlight his familiar features looked hard and sharp. “My men won’t turn on you,” he said.
“I’ll hold you to that,” Logan told him as he came around the front of the car to stand right behind me.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Devlin said.
“Okay, enough!” I slapped one hand on each man’s chest and pushed them back a little. “We’re on the clock here, okay? A little less with the growling and snarling and more with the queen kicking—what do you say?”
The men were still doing the big-dog glare. Each of them willing to go for the throat of the other. Oh, this should work well.
“Another time then,” Devlin said.
“Anytime,” Logan told him.
Aaarrrggghhh…
All around us demons were gathering. My Spidey sense was tingling like you wouldn’t believe. This was just wrong in so many ways. Trusting my hereditary enemies to watch my back? Oh, yeah. Good plan. I hadn’t seen so many demons in one place in, well…ever.
Not something I’d really like to see again, either.
I didn’t have a clue how Logan was explaining all of this to himself. I mean, you could only carry the Halloween thing so far. These guys defied description, and there wasn’t a costume maker alive who could come up with these looks. Not even the monster makers on Buffy came close.
There were red demons, green demons, horned and winged demons. There were scaly demons and some dripping with some kind of icky fluid that made me want to take a bath just from standing this close to them. There were demons with cloven hooves, and one with a tail like you’d expect to see on the devil.
Hmm.
I worried about that for a second, then let it go. Hey, if it really was the devil, then the queen would have her hands full. And if it wasn’t…whatever.
While the United Brotherhood of Demons were all meandering around, I looked at Logan and said, “Just be careful.”
He pulled me in tight and laid a hard, brief kiss on my mouth that made my toes curl. My head was spinning, and other parts of me were doing a wahoo dance. When he finally let me go he said, “You too.”
Not to be outdone, Devlin spun me around before I even had time to recover, bent me back over his arm and kissed me like he was dying of thirst and I was a cold jug of Kool-Aid. When he set me upright again my head was spinning even faster, and I was pretty sure I heard Jasmine mutter, “Oh, for chrissakes, somebody dust me.”
I snapped the old crab a look that said, Don’t tempt me. She lifted one eyebrow and made her point.
Right, I thought. Priorities. Demon fight.
Bitch queen of the universe.
Brady in danger.
“Okay,” I said, tamping down the sparks in my body, “let’s just do this and get it over with.”
Then I forgot about everything else but the mission, because let’s face it—if I didn’t have my mind on what was about to happen, I wouldn’t survive long enough to experience any more hoo-hah parties.
The demons were quiet; I’ll give ’em that. They melted into the shadows as we moved up the long drive toward the house. The night was quiet too. Foreboding? Oh, yeah. All I heard beyond the slamming of my own heart was the relentless pounding of the ocean waves on the rocks at the bottom of the cliff.
As we slipped through the darkness, though, I looked up and realized something. Hello? Four corners on the damn house. Why hadn’t Jasmine been just a touch more specific? Crap. This meant that we were going to waste some extra time searching the upper floors for the room where Brady was probably stashed. Where the hell else would the queen keep her sex slave?
Devlin was right beside me, and I glanced to my left to watch Logan, Jasmine and a handful of demons break off from the main group and slink up to the front door.
There hadn’t been any outcries. So, good—Vanessa didn’t have lookouts or security posted. But then, who needed security when you could mow down any intruders by your damn self?
The outside of the house was dark. No cheery little lantern lights lining the wide walk to the front porch. No motion-sensor lights on the driveway. In fact, the place looked pretty much exactly the way it had the night before, when the queen had used my battered body to rake up her leaves.
The scent of sulfur rose up around me, and I gagged. Demons? Not exactly smelling pine fresh.
I tightened my grip on the demon spray bottle in my left hand and bent over double to hurry past the windows overlooking the drive. We came around the edge of the house and I looked ahead at the wooden deck spilling out from the back of the mansion.
A few details I’d missed the other night. Pretty lawn furniture gathered in conversation spots, lamplight spilling through the French doors onto a deck that spread all the way out to the edge of the cliff. The wind was sharper here. Colder. I shivered a little and felt Devlin’s arm come around me.
He leaned in close to whisper, “Vanessa’s bedroom’s at the back of the house, overlooking the ocean.”
I turned my head and just looked at him. Big surprise. Three Boob–lovin’ Devlin knew which bedroom was hers.
Hmm.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said, but I didn’t think so. If he’d known what I was thinking at that moment, he’d have moved farther away from me. “But I’ve got a guy on the inside. He told me where her room is.”
Uh-huh. If you’ll buy that, I’ve got some oceanfront property in Phoenix I’d like to sell you.
He blew out a breath. “Do we really have time to do this right now?”
I scowled at him. No, we didn’t have time. But, boy, I wanted to. Fighting with Devlin sounded like a lot more fun than fighting with the queen again.
“Fine,” I said, but I didn’t sound happy, and I think he picked up on that, because he dropped his arm from around my shoulders.
“We don’t know how many demons are in there,” he said, “so we go in fast and hard.”
I nodded. I couldn’t talk. Weird sensation for me. But my throat was closed up tight. I wasn’t even sure I was breathing.
Come on, Cassidy. Get in. Get Brady. Get out. “How hard could it be?” I whispered i
n my best cheer-myself-up voice.
“Very,” Devlin said.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” I told him.
A demon came up too close behind me, and my instinct was to turn around and rip out his heart. I remembered in time that for tonight, anyway, these demons were on my side.
Swallowing hard, I started forward, Devlin practically glued to my side. And right about then I was glad to have him. He was big and strong and probably didn’t want to kill me most of the time.
I took the four narrow steps at a quick run, crossed the wooden deck, and my sneakered feet squeaked so loud it sounded like a scream. Well, the element of surprise was most likely gone, so I grabbed the handle on the French door and threw it open.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it. Somehow I figured queen equaled elegant. Nope. This was more like demon queen had collectible addiction.
She had more knickknacks, doilies, china dogs, porcelain dolls, afghans, pillows, end tables, chairs, coffee tables and candy dishes than I’d ever seen in one place before. It was like an auction house had exploded inside.
And it smelled funny.
But, then, demons.
Speaking of which, a greenish demon with red spots on its cheeks leaped up off one of the couches when I stepped into the room. It tried to rush me, but it tripped on an umbrella stand. It sort of fell into me then, but I just swung out one arm and threw it behind me. Devlin and his boys took care of that one, and I kept going. I raced though the family room, ripped out the heart of a demon that jumped out at me from a corner (scared me big-time) and headed down a long hall toward the stairs that would take me to the second floor.
There were grunts and groans and shouts all around me. Someone shouted out what I guessed was a warning but sounded more to me like, “Alley boatem floss ares.” Demon languages are pretty ugly, really. All guttural. Sort of like German but without the poetry.
The front door flew open when I rounded the corner and grabbed the banister. Logan and Jasmine were right there, side by side, with a handful of demons backing them up in their fight. Logan took a punch to the face and came up swinging. The demon he hit went down and stayed down, and I caught a glimpse of Jasmine leaping up to plant her orthopedic shoe in another demon’s face.
They were holding their own.
Good. One less thing to worry about.
“Go, Cass, go!” Devlin’s voice from right behind me. He gave me a shove to start me running up the stairs, but it didn’t take much. Get in. Get Brady. Get out. My plan. Brilliant in its simplicity.
I hit the head of the stairs and turned left. The landing was wide and carpeted with a blood red rug. Appropriate? God, I hoped not.
Devlin kept pace with me, and from down below the sounds of the fighting just rose up and up, like cheers at a football game.
My squad of hit demons was getting it done, and I hadn’t run into the queen yet, so I called that a win.
The last door on the left was locked when I tried it. Was Vanessa inside? Please let her be gone, I thought, wildly making deals with whatever God might be listening. I’ll say the rosary. Go to Mass. I thought about that for a second and figured it probably wasn’t wise to lie to God. Especially in an emergency situation. Okay, I probably won’t go to Mass. But I’ll feel worse about missing it.
“I just suck at making deals,” I muttered, and kicked the door just above the brass knob. Duster strength smashed though the lock as though it weren’t there, and the door crashed open, slamming into the wall behind it.
“Brady?” I shouted for him, because who knew how much time I had left? For all I knew Vanessa was hiding behind the big-ass bed, waiting to spring at me and finish what she’d started the other night.
Devlin waited in the doorway and called out, “Hurry up, Cass. We gotta go….”
Well, duh. I bolted into the room, tying not to notice that, at least in her bedroom, Vanessa had some style. Silk duvet, a million pillows piled against a gleaming carved wood headboard. There was even a fireplace with a couple of cozy chairs pulled up to it. Bitch.
She had the bedroom I’d always wanted.
And she had Brady.
I looked in the closet—big-ass walk-in, bigger than Thea’s bedroom. Then checked the bathroom. Can we say day-at-the-spa? She had a damn Jacuzzi tub. What the hell did she need a sex slave for?
“Damn it, Brady,” I shouted, frustrated now and getting more scared by the minute. Plus I wasn’t breathing real steady, either. I’d done a lot of running in the last few minutes, and my body wasn’t used to that. “If you’re here say something!”
“Duster?”
I knew that voice. It was muffled, but familiar. I sprinted across the room, threw open the only door I hadn’t opened yet and stumbled into a connecting bedroom. Not quite as plush as Vanessa’s, but pretty damn impressive. There was a fire in the hearth, an acre of gleaming wood floor unsoftened by rugs, and a four-poster bed that looked big enough to sleep a family of ten.
And on that bed was Brady.
Six feet, five inches of toned, tanned naked flesh. Brady’s dark blond hair hung over his shoulders. His arms were splayed wide, his wrists tied to the twin posts of the gigantic bed’s headboard. The silk sheets beneath him were a twisted-up mess, and he looked exhausted.
Even his Mr. Happy was in a coma—still damn impressive, if you know what I mean, but lying there limply, as though it had had quite the workout over the last twenty-four hours.
Apparently Vanessa hadn’t wasted any time.
I couldn’t stop staring at him.
(And here in these oh-so-private pages, I’ll admit that I got a real rush just looking at him. Sure, yes, I know. Big trouble. Big danger. Poor Brady, captive and bound to a bed. But I don’t think there’s a woman alive who wouldn’t have thought, at least initially, Hoo, baby, lemme at him. There was seriously something very intriguing about seeing a gorgeous naked guy tied up and waiting for you. Or maybe that was just me.)
Anyway…
His pale blue eyes—absolutely stunned—locked on me, and a tired smile curved his mouth. “You came for me.”
Him speaking was enough to break whatever spell I was under and get me moving again.
“Why didn’t you answer me?” I demanded, rushing to the head of the bed and going to work on the thick ropes holding him in place.
“I heard a voice. Thought it was Vanessa toying with me. I never believed you would come.” His eyes shone with gratitude and worry as he looked up at me. “Cassidy, you shouldn’t be here. It’s too dangerous.”
“I’m here now. No talking. Stealthy escape.” Someone downstairs screamed. “Well, not stealthy. But escape, anyway.”
The damn rope was as strong as it looked. I was never going to get it untied. “Devlin! A little help here!”
He burst into the room an instant later, took in the scene in a single glance, and went to the other side of the bed across from me. He grabbed hold of the top of the bedpost and said, “We don’t have time to cut him loose. You’re strong enough to snap that post. Grab hold and pull.”
“Right.” I hadn’t even thought of it. You try keeping your thoughts focused with a naked Faery in front of you and demons out for blood just a floor below you. Devlin and I took hold of the posts, gave them mighty yanks, and they snapped like toothpicks. The ropes slid off, and as soon as they were loose Brady was able to shake off the ropes coiled on his wrist.
“Let’s roll,” I said, reaching for Brady’s arm and dragging him to his feet.
His legs went rubbery, which told me he’d spent the last twenty-four hours or so flat on his back. But a second later he managed to straighten up. He grabbed the black silk top sheet, wrapped it around himself, and this time, when I got hold of him, he moved with me.
The three of us left Brady’s little love-slave shack, bolted through Vanessa’s room and headed into the hall. Brady was having a hard time keeping up with us, but Devlin just kept dragging him along.
&n
bsp; “Cassie,” Logan shouted from below, “gotta jet!”
“Right there with you.” And I was. We hit the bottom of the stairs and ran for the front door. The demon assault on the queen was almost over. I looked at Logan on the way out.
He had a split lip and a cut on his forehead, but his blue eyes were clear and he was royally pissed. Jasmine, naturally, looked exactly as she had when we first got there: not a single hair out of place. She wasn’t even winded, for chrissakes, and she had to be two hundred years old. I was so out of shape, I could hardly breathe at all, and I had a stitch in my side that stabbed at me every time I tried to breathe.
My troops and I were out of the house and racing across the darkened yard when lights blazed into the night, bright enough to blind us all.
Well, that couldn’t be good news. We just kept running. I heard a very female scream of fury and knew the queen had shown up from wherever the hell she’d been and had just found her sex Faery missing.
Well, and a few of her pet demons dead. I was guessing her furniture was all knocked over too, though in a house that cluttered, I didn’t know how she could tell.
Anyway, so not my problem.
None of us stopped running till we hit the cars. Then I pushed Brady into the backseat with Devlin and Jasmine and jumped into the front.
“Hurry, Logan,” I urged, my foot tapping on the floor, my fingers drumming on the dashboard.
“I’m hurrying,” he muttered fiercely, and fired up the engine. He slammed the gearshift into drive and peeled out just as some hideous Hell beast threw itself against the car.
“Fuck!” Logan didn’t even look back. My kind of guy, he just kept driving
It felt like we’d been hit by a boulder, and frankly I’d just as soon not know what it was that hit us. It was enough for me that we’d all gotten out of there.
Even if I wasn’t sure exactly how it had happened.
“Demons,” Logan said, reaching across to grab my arm. “Those were real demons, weren’t they? And the guys with us. Those weren’t costumes, right? Actual demons. There are demons. They exist. And they hit pretty hard. Demons. Demons.”
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