“I do say. Come on, I’ll prove I don’t have any ill will toward you. You can call on me for assistance, and I’ll fight by your side.”
“Fight?” Onyx cut a sidelong look at Dante. “Fight who? Lucifer? Or is there more we should know about what’s going on in the Realm of the Damned?”
“And who says we need you to fight with us? If you’re lacking power, you don’t exactly sound like an asset.” Ash really could put his foot in it sometimes.
Ren’s jaw muscle ticked. “Four is better than three, no matter how you cut it.”
“Okay,” Dante said before things got out of hand. “Ren, you need to prove what you’re saying beyond offering help in a hypothetical fight that may never come. Someone killed my birds. If it wasn’t you, help us find the demon who did it.”
“Have you considered Lucifer?” Ren asked as if the three of them were dense.
“Yes.” Dante called on his patience. “He’s been here and gone back to Hell. We had a little scuffle, but him attacking my flock doesn’t fit.”
Her eyes widened momentarily. “Then I’ll be on the lookout.”
Dante forced a smile. “Would you be willing to do a little more? Maybe reach out and see if you can find any other demons who supposedly escaped? If we know who’s here, we can take care of the rest.”
A flicker of fear passed over Ren’s face. “I don’t know. If I tried, would you protect me?”
“That depends.”
It wasn’t good that she assumed other demons would harm her. What had been going on in the Realm of the Damned? If Ren wasn’t allied with Luc, others who escaped him shouldn’t wish her ill. Unless they didn’t escape and were Luc’s minions, deliberately placed here.
“Did anyone come here with Lucifer? At his side?” Dante asked.
“Not as far as I know, but I’m not exactly in his confidence.” Ren rubbed her brow, looking tired. “You can keep tabs on me if that makes you feel better. I won’t try to block your tracking. Eventually, you’ll realize I’m not the problem. But I’ll see what I can do about finding any others who escaped. Not that I’m known for tracking.” She shot a pointed look at Ash.
Ash ignored it. “If you give away to these supposed other demons that you’ve spoken to us—or that all three of us are in the city—consider any potential alliance void.”
Ren bowed her head. “Fine. You have a deal.”
Dante, Ash, and Onyx left Ren to her ruined dinner.
“What do we think?” Ash asked as Dante shut the door to the street.
Onyx threw a narrow-eyed look toward the apartment. “We aren’t trusting anyone who crawls out of that damned place.”
“No,” Dante agreed, freeing his wings. “But little as I like to admit, she could be telling the truth about not hurting my birds.Whoever killed them covered their tracks expertly, like they didn’t want to be found. She was sitting here waiting for me to show up. Why cover up her kills and then change her mind and give herself away?”
“I don’t know.” Ash’s brow creased. “But how many others could’ve escaped?”
There was no way to know, but having more demons in this realm was bound to be trouble.
8
OLLIE
Ollie’slast client of the day rescheduled. A slight disappointment, but she’d still be coming in that week, so no biggie. After cleaning his station and checking no one else needed a hand, he said goodbye to his coworkers and headed home.
It had been almost a week since the art show. He hadn’t heard from Dante and had to admit he’d hoped they’d have caught up by now.
Not that he’d initiated anything.
As friends, there was no rule about texting too soon, but it wasn’t good to come off too eager. Ollie let his life go on as normal. Meeting Dante didn’t change anything. He was still the same person and wasn’t rearranging everything for a new friend.
Harper wasn’t at the apartment when Ollie got home. Which…damn.
Ollie opened the windows as far as they would go—not more than a few inches—to try and get some air into the place, and plopped on the couch.
