Her mouth went dry. She worked to swallow around the disbelief clawing up her throat. Wasn’t possible. Was it? She’d seen monsters, evil no one should have to witness, but people couldn’t come back from the dead. “Then how are you standing here without a single scar to show for it?”
The answer she searched for in his gaze never developed, but the guilt that’d etched itself across his expression worsened. Sharp pain erupted behind her sternum. The withdrawal in his eyes ignited her instincts to connect the dots. Of everything turned upside down in her life, he’d been the only welcome constant, the only thing that’d made sense the past two days. But she’d ignored a key element this entire time. The congested sounds of the forest faded as she swung her right hand to the base of her low back. Her fingers slid along her gun’s handle. Son of a bitch. It’d been in front of her the whole damn time. “Who hired you to find Rachel’s killer?”
“Are you going to shoot me if you don’t like the answer?” he asked.
Shock, followed by disappointment, kept her from responding immediately. Her hope of something more from him dissipated in a clean cut, but the pressure that built between her shoulder blades didn’t budge. Another minute of silence leveraged between them. She’d never run from a confrontation, but with Grayson, with a man she’d become illogically attracted to, her instincts urged her to retreat. The longer they stayed together, the higher chance her heart couldn’t take much more. Did she really need to know how he’d survived an attack by a serial killer? Could she walk away and forget?
She already knew the answer. The detective inside wouldn’t let her and sorrow constricted her throat. She didn’t want to lose him, but her gut said she wouldn’t like the truth. No matter how fast she’d started to fall for him. She wrapped her hand around the gun’s grip. God, she didn’t want to pull that trigger, but if it came down to it... “I need to know.”
“I don’t know his real name.” He slid his hand off the countertop back to his side. “But in the Afterlife, he’s known as the Deceiver.”
Her hold faltered on the gun as her mouth dropped open. Air evaporated from her lungs. Nothing in her imagination had produced that answer. Her lips moved to speak, but her throat refused to work. She leveraged her weight against the nearest wall as nausea rolled in her stomach. He worked for the Deceiver. Didn’t make sense. Why would he— How? “The devil hired you to find my sister’s killer?”
The crack of a falling tree snapped her attention to the west window. She pulled the gun from the back of her pants and aimed. Grayson closed the distance between them, a gun in each hand. Her pulse beat loud in her ears, their combined breathing the only sound within the cabin. He was so close she could touch him. Couldn’t happen. The second he pressed against her, she’d lose it. She’d forget he’d admitted the devil had brought him back from the grave to find her sister and fall into his hypnotic pull he had over her. Focus. Someone or something had followed them up the mountain. Maybe even the demon she and Grayson had been hunting all along. “You take the east side, I’ll take the west,” she said.
He nodded in her peripheral vision. “Meet back at the front door in two minutes. If you’re late—”
“I won’t be late, but don’t think for a second you and I are finished talking.” Nika approached the front door and swung it inward with one hand without giving him a second look. She couldn’t go there. She couldn’t let herself fall for his lies again. He didn’t give a shit about her. He’d been hired for a job. That was it. By the Deceiver of all…demons. No movement on the porch. A cool breeze brushed against the thin skin along her face and neck. The scent of pine and earth worked into her system. Just like Grayson. She cross-stepped down the length of the front porch, her bare feet scraping along the wood. The tree line didn’t move, but that didn’t mean no one was out there. Just meant there were a lot of good hiding spots.
Thick forest blacked out the moon like an eclipse, but the cabin remained a bright beacon at her back. Keeping to the edge of the trees, she surveyed the west perimeter. Soft, damp foliage crushed beneath her feet as she moved to the back of the house. Dozens of memories played across her mind as she waited in situations exactly like this back in New York. Run down warehouses, abandoned homes housing arsenals, even a few corporate offices drug dealers had turned into their headquarters. She’d waited for the perfect moment to strike with her team, studied the exits, kept an eye out for runners. Every single time, a tightness had clawed up her throat, like now, but the shadows that swayed in front of her wouldn’t disappear because she aimed a gun in their direction.
Twigs snapped to her left. Her instincts swung her arms up and aimed the barrel of her gun into at Grayson’s heart. Jade-green eyes locked with hers as relief washed through her and she dropped the gun to her side. She shouldn’t be so happy to see him. He’d lied. About everything. She couldn’t trust him. “It’s me.”
“Anything?” she asked.
“No. Nothing.” He stared up at the cabin’s roof. The tendons in his neck lengthened into strong cords. She swiped her tongue across her bottom lip to keep the urge to bite him right there at bay. “But someone’s out here.”
A shiver chased down her back with the possibility she’d come so close to the demon that’d killed Rachel. “Has to be Isabel. Unless there’s something else you’re not telling me?”
She searched for evidence he’d try to lie to her again. A damn bit of good it’d do her. He’d lied to her this entire time. He had his own agenda, but, although he hadn’t confided exactly what he intended to do with Isabel or why he’d taken a job for the Deceiver, she trusted him to keep her alive as he’d promised.
“It’s not the Deceiver if that’s what you’re getting at. He doesn’t play hide and seek.” He turned his attention from the roof to her and suspicion spread through her mind. “He’s more into mind games, likes to force his servants to do his bidding.”
The compulsion.
“So you mean instead of hunting us down as a snack, he’ll force you to destroy evidence and a victim’s body and attack the woman you’re supposedly helping?” She shook her head, the gun heavy in her hand. “I should’ve known. What else haven’t you told me—”
A low growl from the darkness reverberated down through skin and muscle, directly into her bones. Where shadow threatened to consume them, a set of blazing red eyes shifted a few feet away. The hairs on the back of her neck rose, her jaw tight. “What the hell is that?”
“The bitch brought hellhounds.” Grayson raised one Beretta at the shadowed animal and maneuvered himself in front of her. Thick, mountainous shoulders blocked her view as he backed them away from the beast emerging from the tree line. “I hate hellhounds. More than I hate bounty hunters.”
Nika planted her hands at the middle of his back, his skin warm, muscles strong, and swiveled her attention around his side. She couldn’t take her eyes off the dog-like demon. The sheer size of the animal sent a chill down her back. Teeth dripping with saliva, its gaze never wavered from its target. Them. The same growl vibrated up its black-furred throat. Its back bristled to attack. She’d never seen anything like it. Even her nightmares wouldn’t have been able to come up with something like this. She swallowed hard, mouth dry. “Do you have experience in this department? Can you throw it a bone or something?”
“Didn’t help the last time I tried.” He pressed into the palms of her hands and rerouted them toward the cabin’s front door.
Until her the back of her knees hit another bristled mound of flesh.
Nika clamped onto Grayson’s shoulders and wrenched him down. They hit the ground hard. Air knocked from her lungs as she collapsed on top of him. The thump of his gun hitting earth jolted through her, but the heavy weight that landed on her middle back nearly paralyzed her. Her tank top gave way to piercing talons as he fought to reach his weapon. A scream ripped up her throat as fire raged down her spine. The recognizable rip of her shirt dug her nails into the ground beside Grayson’s head. Sandwic
hed between the monster at her back and the man beneath her, she struggled to inhale when the edges of her vision darkened. Only the hellhound’s red eyes stayed in focus a few feet away as she fought to inhale.
She’d die here, never bringing Isabel to justice, never knowing if the stupidly addicting attraction between her and Grayson would catch fire. All because of one mistake. She’d never allowed a suspect to get the best of her, but demons weren’t like other suspects. They weren’t even human. She was way in over her head.
“Hold on! Stay with me.” Grayson’s plea lost meaning as the grasp on her back intensified. “I can almost reach it.”
A gasp escaped from between her lips. Adrenaline blocked out most of the pain, but even that was beginning to dwindle. Pinpricks of agony bled through. The explosive fire arched her spine and somehow disconnected her mind from her body. Flashes of his jade-green eyes and the memory of him pressed against her chased the living nightmares back where they belonged. Nothing compared to the pure bliss he’d brought into her life, the sense of right she felt each time he’d touched her. Not even Isabel’s death would give her the satisfaction she sought. But he did. Even with all those lies on the tip of his tongue.
Human beings had been designed for so many things.
Loneliness wasn’t one of them.
Air rasped up her throat as determination coursed down into her hands like an extra bolt of energy. Without her to pin him down, Grayson could reach his gun. She had to trust she’d live. She clenched her hands into fists and relaxed into the hellhound’s hold. The monster ripped her from Grayson’s back like rag doll, throwing her behind its massive form. She slammed into the ground and rolled across the dirt. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.
“Nika!” His voice sounded so far off. Had she gone partially deaf?
The smell of blood—her blood—wrinkled her nose, but pulled her out of the pain-induced fog that surrounded her brain. Sharp throbbing and panic rippled through her nerve endings as she set sight on Grayson almost ten feet away. Free, he’d wrapped his hand around his gun’s handle, swung behind him in one clean move, and pulled the trigger. Nothing. He squeezed his finger twice more. Three times. The gun had jammed.
Hellhounds advanced on either side of him, his body tense, attention alert. Moonlight reflected off his clear green irises. No. Not yet. She wasn’t done with him yet. She set sight on her own gun, discarded close to the front porch, and struggled to her feet. She stumbled toward the hellhound that’d nearly shredded her to pieces. Focused on Grayson, it didn’t have any warning as she wrapped her fingers around the 9mm and unloaded the magazine. Screams ripped through the forest and the beast’s legs buckled. Within seconds, the echo of its strained inhales died. She reached into her back pocket for the spare magazine and reloaded, aiming at the second animal frozen in fear.
The hellhound shrank back the way it’d come, into the forest. The rasp of her and Grayson’s sharp exhales filled the darkened, empty silence. He shot to his feet and clamped his hands onto her hips then pulled her close. His lips crashed against hers in a duel between skin and teeth. Her insides tingled from the rushed contact as though they’d been reunited after years apart, as though they’d been made for each other. Isabel was still out there, but this...this seemed so much more important. Magnets had an easier time separating than she did pulling away.
She wanted him. Craved him. Loved him? No. That wasn’t possible. How could she fall for a man she couldn’t trust in two days?
He broke their connection and spun her around, but didn’t respond as he grazed the sensitive skin around her wounds.
“How bad is it?” She swept her ponytail in front of her shoulder, out of the way. A rush of wind cooled the sweat that developed at the back of her neck. Droplets rolled under her tank top.
An electric zing of pleasure bolted down her spine at his touch. Of all the ways he brought her cells to life, his hands worked the most magic when she least expected. He pressed around four distinct locations along her back, but it wasn’t the pain that pulled a groan from her throat. “The wounds aren’t very deep, but they’ll need to be bandaged to prevent infection.”
“Are you sure she’ll live that long?” A feminine voice stretched out from the shadows. Something dark and deadly stirred the living energy drilling into Nika’s system. Instant recognition revived the strands of revenge wrapped around her heart. Isabel stepped from the black tree line. A smile curled her thin lips upward. Wavy blonde hair cascaded over leather and steel armor, her eyes black as pitch in the strained moonlight. “Sorry. Did I interrupt?”
Yes. They had her. Now they just had to keep her there.
“I was starting to worry you wouldn’t show up.” Nika strengthened her hold on the gun, teeth locked hard, her blood on fire. Fighting off two hellhounds had taken her mind off the pain in her shoulder, but now the wound and the lacerations down her back pounded in rhythm to her heart beat. Didn’t matter. She’d found the monster that’d killed her sister, killed her partner. Time to finish it. One way or another, Isabel would pay for her crimes. “But sending dogs to do your dirty work shows me how much a coward you really are.”
A quick flash of red engulfed Isabel’s eyes, cutting through the darkness.
“Nika, don’t.” Grayson’s hand wrapped around her forearm in restraint, but she wouldn’t let Isabel get away a second time. One of them was walking out of here alive and she’d be damned sure she was it.
“That’s right, bitch.” She hooked her finger over the gun’s trigger and aimed right for the demon’s heart. “It’s you and me.”
“I can tear you into a thousand pieces with my fingernails,” Isabel said. ”Listen to your pet beast and walk away while you still can.”
Beast?
“I would, but you see, I just have one problem with that.” She squeezed the trigger three times. Each bullet hit home in the center of Isabel’s chest. The demon slammed to her knees as growls ripped through the night. Isabel stared up at her, teeth bared. Her palms grew hot against the gun’s steel. Time to finish this. “I’ve never been good at following orders.”
Chapter Thirteen
The woman had to be out of her ever-loving mind. Three shots weren’t enough to bring down the strongest demon alive. Of all the mundane, predictable mortals he’d come into contact with, Nika never failed to surprise him.
Growls tore across the small distance between them and the Arch-demon. Isabel’s petite form grew, pale skin disappeared into blackness, and wings ripped from her sides. Black eyes flashed red through the darkness. Energy burned from behind his sternum and spread into his hands in anticipation. His talons pricked beneath the calloused skin on his nails. He could hold Isabel’s true nature off, but not with Nika’s safety on his mind and not with the chance she’d see what he’d become. “Nika, get out of here. I’ll handle her.”
“No. This ends right now.” She stood her ground, mouth thin, gun steady. Determination set her features in stone and nearly drowned the fear that widened her eyes. Nearly. She wasn’t prepared to take on a full-fledged Arch-demon. Then again, neither was he. Fire cleared the haze from her gaze. No matter how close she’d come to death, she’d never allow her weakness to bleed through. That made her the strongest mortal he’d ever known. Still, he wouldn’t lose her. Not like this.
“Nika—”
“This isn’t a negotiation, Grayson,” she said. Three more shots tore through the night. Each wrenched Isabel back mere inches as the monster advanced to its full height. She reloaded the magazine from an extra in her back pocket. The last one. Six more shots was all she had. Son of a bitch. Not enough. Not even close to enough. The Arch-demon’s piercing scream elongated his incisors and urged his talons to find his target’s flesh. Hunger rumbled deep in his chest. The beast was wide awake and ready to protect what belong to him. Nika’s right hand shook the longer she strained to hold the gun steady. Distraction. He needed to give her time to get clear of the fight he intended to pick.
“What now, Isabel?” He curled his hands into fists as he took a single step toward the massive, bat-like demon. That crimson gaze swiveled in his direction. Good. He had her attention. Now he just had to keep it. “Kill us?”
“Grayson, what are you doing?” Nika spun her attention in his direction then refocused on Isabel. “This has nothing to do with you.”
“Oh, but it has everything do with him. I know what you are, Grayson, and I know what you’ve done. Did you really think he’d let you get away with it? Forgiveness isn’t his strong suit.” Rocks formed in his stomach, cementing his feet in place as Isabel pulled her thick, black shoulders back. “Lucky for me, there’s a bounty on your head I intend to collect. She’s the cake topper. With the two of you in tow, he’ll welcome me back with open arms.”
Nika shifted on her feet, but held the gun steady. “What’s she talking about?”
“You’ll never lay another hand on her, demon.” His jaw clamped tight, every sense he owned focused on the advancing demon. The beast rumbled deep in his throat.
“Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black,” Isabel said.
“Enough of your games. You’re mine.” He charged at full speed and covered the mere distance in less than five strides. His shoulder dropped in preparation of knocking the Arch-demon off balance, but Isabel countered faster than he expected. She dodged his attack and his momentum carried him forward. She had him from behind. Talons slashed down his spine. He ground his teeth. The tendons along his neck strained as he fought the scream clawing up his throat. His knees planted hard in the ground, but he pushed through the pain. Had to. He didn’t have a choice.
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