Chapter 26
Shae leftDagan and headed back to the office, empty champagne glass in her hand. She really wished he’d stayed. But innocent lives could be lost, and she didn’t wantthat.
Ugh. She rubbed her temples, blinking at the sudden buzz in her head. She must have drunk the champagne too fast. Several people left the office, and Shae stepped aside to let them pass. It was probably time for the speech tostart.
As she walked into the room, she found two strange men inside. They flanked her uncle, who sat behind the table, staring blankly at her. And Harvey stood stony-faced near thewindow.
“Uncle Lem?” she said, a slight sense of unease sweeping through her as she set the glass down, but he didn’trespond.
Red tinged the eyes of the suited men beside him. Demons. What the hell was goingon?
“Harvey?” she called out, fear rising, but her friend stood rigid near the window, looking like he’d been drained of every drop of blood as he glared at something behindher.
“Finally.” The sleek voice caressed her nape, and the hairs on her armsrose.
Shae spun around and winced. Her head spun. She grabbed a chair for support, blinking at the stranger silhouetted in the entrance. Tall, blond, nothing was familiar about him. And she knew most of Lem’sassociates.
Sea-blue eyes met hers. Strangely, they were the only things about him that she felt a bizarre connection to. A hint of power radiated from him and slithered around her like a lasso, squeezing her chest. Anotherimmortal.
Her own abilities swirled in response, but hands grabbed her by the upper arms and hauled her backward. Harvey stepped protectively in front of her, only then she understood the stranger was testing the strength of her capabilities, and she clamped her shields down. Dammit, what was it with her today? The dizziness creeping over her made her reallyslow.
“You think you can protect her, demon?” With a wave of his hand, the immortal shut the door. “The only one who can is her annoying watchdog.” He laughed, the sound like crackling ice. “Now, isn’t it nice that he got called away to an emergency? Something that’s more important than you? By the way, your champagne? It was spelled. Just a precaution to keep out unwanted immortal interference, youunderstand.”
Fear coasting through her like a gale-force, she mind-linked with Dagan,Where are you? I need you!Except she hit a dead zone. Silence echoed in her mind. Dear,God!
“If you touchher—”
“You try my patience, demon.” The stranger’s strident voice cut Harvey off, his eyes flaming in anger. “I’m so close to taking out your kind. Filth that doesn’t belong here and mars mycity.”
“Why are you doing this?” Shae whispered, her gaze darting back to her still unmoving uncle. “What did you do tohim?”
“That is the least of your concerns.” Aza walked in like he owned the place and stood beside the stranger, a triumphant expression on his narrowfeatures.
Shae stared, her lungs flattening in fear. “You’re doing this because I didn’t want to dateyou?”
Aza said nothing. The blond stepped forward, his hard stare pinning her. “You shouldn’t have run or lied,Shae.”
Lied? She’d never met the man before. “Who areyou?”
“You wound me, my dear. For such a clever girl, you genuinely have no clue? And I had you and you mother under my care for so manyyears.”
What the hell was he talking about? She’d never seen him before. But thoseeyes…
“You really don’t know, do you?” He exhaled, his cool expression morphing to mock disappointment. Then his eyes began to glow with such lethal intent, Shae shuddered. Harvey held her arms as if lending her hiscourage.
“Come here, Lem,” he commanded in a voice that didn’t leave room for resistance. As her uncle rose and shuffled over like some wooden doll, the blond smiled. A dagger appeared in his hand, and without warning, he plunged it into Lem’schest.
“No!”she screamed. Breaking free of Harvey, she sprinted forward and reached for her uncle, but he dissipated into the air. She stood there, staring at the spot where he’d been, pain searing through every facet of her being.Dagan, she cried through their telepathic link. But just unending silence answeredher.
“Don’t grieve him, he served his purpose. Let me introduce myself, my dear,” the murdering bastard said, smiling. “I’mSamael.”
“You godsdamn, asshole!” Harvey forged past Shae. Samael flung him back with a flick of his hand, and he hit thewall.
At the small, secret smirk on Samael’s face, Shae snapped out of her shocked stupor, something cold materializing in her palm. With no idea how her obsidian dagger appeared in her hand, she flung it with every ounce of agony inside her. Samael shifted at the last minute, and the blade embedded in his sternum, missing his blackheart.
The demons in the room rushed forward, but Samael stopped them with a wave of his hand as if he didn’t need theirhelp.
Harvey grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled herback.
