“Talk about what?”
“This new string of drugs…it’s making its way to my pack,” she says and a chill runs through me. “And I’ve heard the vampires are supplying them.”
Chapter
Fourteen
“Ican assure you, it’s not Xavier,” I tell the wolves. “Bringing drugs into the city isn’t something they’d do.” Because it wouldpoison the blood, but saying that probably won’t help my case.
“And you think you’d know if it was?” Larkin asks, raising her eyebrows.
“I do.”
“I’ve known the Malus family since I was just a girl. Granted, that time might not seem to add up to much when you’re immortal, but never have I witnessed a single member of that family do anything that wasn’t directly beneficial for themselves.”
She pauses, but I don’t argue. She’s not wrong; the Maluses are out for themselves and have a very high respect for their blood relatives, taking the meaning of family very seriously. Larkin leans forward, and I can sense what she’s about to say before she says it.
I’m not blood. I’m not a true part of the Malus family, and even if Xavier does turn me, even if his blood ends up running through my veins, my magic will die right along with me.
“So why me?” I ask before she has a chance to. “Why would Xavier trust me?”
“You took the words right out of my mouth.” She finishes her drink and signals for our waitress to bring her another. “Before we can trust you, I need to know why Xavier would.”
There’s no way I can explain any of this to her, because I don’t really know myself. What started out as a political move quickly turned into something more, and the wounded part of me who felt chosen and loved and then tossed aside like yesterday’s paper is terrified that maybe I see more of this relationship than Xavier does.
But I know what we have is real. There’s no explaining it; we just get each other in a way no one else ever has. He sees the darkest parts of me and doesn’t try to bring them into the light. He steps into the shadows and holds my hand, welcoming the night.
“There’s nothing I can say to make you see something that can only be felt,” I start. “But I can assure you, causing chaos in the city isn’t going to benefit the Malus family. Like you said, you’ve known them for years. While I’ll be the first to admit the way they do things can be a little unhinged, they like order and being in control.”
“She’s right,” Delphisays quietly.
Before we can delve deeper into it, a man walking by pauses at our table before continuing on. To anyone watching he looked like a guy debating to stop and flirt with us—then deciding against it. But I know better, and a chill runs through me as I sense the dark energy coming off of him.
“That man’s a demon,” I rush out and get to my feet. Seeing me stand, the man turns and bolts out of the bar, crashing into a table on his way. It overturns as patrons scream with shock.
“You’re going after him?” Delphi grabs my hand.
“I am. You want to know who’s bringing drugs into the city? He might have our answer.”
All the wolves look at me, confused, but I don’t waste time. We already know a lot of deaths from possession are being covered up as overdoses, and I suppose that’s the most logical thing a medical examiner can come up with when they don’t know demons exist. Tossing my hair back, I follow after the demon, heels and pink, satin dress not slowing me down.
“Hey!” I shout after him when he bursts through the automatic doors going from the hotel lobby to the street. I jump over a suitcase and dodge around the doorman, not giving up the chase. The demon turns, eyes inked over, and throws out his hand, like he’s trying to hit me with a ball of energy, but nothing happens.
Looking panicked, he changes course and zigzags around a woman pushing a dog in a stroller, going right toward the edge of the sidewalk so he can run into the street.
“Oh, not again,” I say to myself. Magic sizzles around my fingers, but this time a different kind of instinct comes over. Instead of conjuring a bright ball of energy that will burn like a taser, I push the energy from my hand and it hits him like an invisible wall, throwing him sideways telekinetically.
He stumbles and trips, crashing into a handicapped parking sign on the sidewalk. I catch up and grab his arm, twisting it behind his back. Demons don’t react to pain, but if the human they’re possessing is still alive, they will very much feel everything if we can get an exorcism done. I hook my foot behind his knee and sweep. He drops hard to the sidewalk.
Instead of fighting me, the demon goes limp and the man’s eyes lull back as his head flops to the side. He slumps quickly to the ground, and the sheer weight of his body pulls his arm out of my grip. Realizing he’s unresponsive, I step back, not trustingthat the demon won’t pop back into action and either try and get away or try to hurt me.
“Hey,” I repeat, going on the off chance the man took over pushing the demon to the back of his mind and regaining temporary control. Then his body shudders. Thick black sludge leaks from his eyes, sizzling in the air and evaporates into a dark vapor. The smell of sulfur surrounds us.
My mouth falls open in surprise. “What the fuck?” I mutter to myself and crouch down, shaking the man. His skin is warm to the touch and he looks otherwise healthy. While I don’t know the extent of the internal damage done by the demon, by the looks of it, I don’t think he’s been possessed for long.
“Are you okay?” I ask, giving the guy another shake. My purse is still inside where I left it in the booth so I’m going to have to ask someone else to call 911, which probably is a good idea. I’d rather not my name spoken within the police department twice in one day.
Delphi and James come rushing down the street, sliding to a stop just feet from us.
