I jerked toward him. “He said you’ve never gone after him before.”
“Usually, we are much more discrete. We don’t want him to know what we’re doing in here. Tonight was the first time we came face-to-face.”
Valac edged closer, his hollow, silver-white eyes staring at the map. “We cannot be as bold as we’d like, most of the time. Lucifer would not want us stopping this killer.”
I nodded. There was still so much I didn’t understand, but it felt like I’d been invited into a secret club. One that hunted killers. If this whole thing wasn’t seriously dangerous, it might be a little exciting. Of course, it was also probably illegal. I had no doubt what these demons would do with the murderer once they caught him. Would they give him up to the human cops for a fair and honest trial? Not a chance in hell.
Could I really risk getting caught up in this? Would these demons throw me to the proverbial wolves after I’d helped them? What if we got caught?
I closed my eyes. “So, this extra thing you need help with. It’s catching a supernatural serial killer. Isn’t it?”
“That’s right.” Stolas rested his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “He’ll try coming after you again. Why don’t we let him?”
My stomach dropped to my toes. Slowly, I peeled open my eyes and whirled on all four of them. Caim jumped back with a laugh, holding up his hands in surrender while Valac continued to watch me with that really intense stare of his. Stolas kept one hand latched on my shoulder as if trying to anchor me in place. A calmness settled over me even as my heart yearned to break free of my ribcage. I shot him a glare. Was he using demon voodoo on me?
“You want me to be bait for you,” I said to Az, who still remained seated, drumming his fingers on the table.”Twice.”
“Yes,” three of them said in unison. Az remained silent, watching me.
“And you aren’t at all worried the killer will succeed in his little quest? You said he’s smoke. What if he just teleports in, stabs me, and then teleports out?”
“I don’t think his power works that way,” Valac said quietly. “Or he would have already used that technique to kill. He only shadows away to avoid being caught, which makes us believe that his abilities are limited in some way. Most powers are.”
“Right. Uh huh. Of course.” I glanced at each of them in turn before throwing up my hands. “You really want me to do this, don’t you?”
“You’re welcome to say no,” Az murmured.
His voice slithered along my skin like a caress, and I fought the urge to shudder. Even with the others in the room, it felt like it was just me and him. The overhead lights seemed to dim. My breath stilled in my lungs. Heat pulsed between us as our gazes locked. We were on a date, I suddenly remembered. We’d danced. We’d had wine. And now here we were. A demon asking a girl to help him bait a supernatural serial killer.
“Fine,” I breathed. “I’ll be your stupid bait.”
16
We took a car back to his building when the meeting was over. It was late, the club would soon shut, and there was little else we could do tonight. The Legion had been tasked with detailing a plan of attack. We’d go over it tomorrow before I had my second shift at the club.
When we stepped into his penthouse, tension punctuated the silence, so thick it was impossible not to notice.Ifelt it, anyway. I wasn’t sure about Az. For the past several hours, after finding out therealtruth about who he was and what he was doing in Manhattan, I couldn’t help but see him in a new light.
A demon, trying to make his mark on the world. In a good way. It boggled the mind. It also made him a tiny bit less of an asshole than I’d originally thought. Not that I wouldeverin a million years admit that to him.
Yeah, I’d keep that thought to myself.
Despite all his attempted good, he’d still trapped me in a demon deal without telling me what it was. For that, I would never forgive him.
“Today has been a long-ass day.” I sighed as I trailed through the darkened penthouse. This was the first time we’d been truly alone since I’d discovered Az was a Prince of Hell—and some kind of vigilante demon revolting against Lucifer himself. Logically, I should be pretty freaked out about the whole thing. Instead, my bones wanted to crawl into bed and sleep.
“Yes, and we need to have a serious talk.” He slid a key into his room’s lock and twisted it to the side. Before he whispered inside, he cast me a quick glance. “Did you bring a swimsuit?”
I blinked at him. “Excuse me?”
“A swimsuit. I need to wind down after what happened tonight.” A darkness churned in his eyes. “We lost someone, and the killer is still out there. I’m going to take a dip in the hot tub, and I need you to join me so we can discuss a few things. Did you bring a swimsuit?”
“The hot tu—” I flushed. “No. I didn’t pack a swimsuit for my stay in a million-dollar penthouse as a demon’s fake girlfriend.”
He didn’t even quirk a lip at that. Tonight really had gotten to him.
“Fine. Give me ten minutes. You can perch on the edge in your clothes if you want, but you’re welcome to join me. A bra and panties is close enough to a swimsuit anyway.” He vanished into his room and shut the door.
I swallowed hard as I stared after him. “No, it’s not.”
