“Why the fuck would she go after Eva instead of coming here?”
“She wants to make more demons,” I said grimly, shoving my wings out of my back. “You coming?”
Phenex nodded and flared his feathery black wings. He jammed his phone against his ear while we shot through the sky, filling the others in on what had happened. Bael was only a few steps behind us. Valac and Stolas would stay behind to keep an eye on the club. We’d played around with this cult long enough to know this could be another one of their traps. If we leftInfernalcompletely unguarded, they’d have a chance to swarm the place and get to the hellgate.
Not that they would be able to get through it. Not as long as Lucifer lived.
Still, it was a risk none of us wanted to take.
Eva’s building loomed before us. I darted straight toward her bedroom window—I’d noted which one was hers when I’d dropped her off at home from the hospital. Just in case. Through the gauzy curtain, I could see two figures. Both held their chins high. Shoulders thrown back. Eva stood strong against a powerful demon, and a flicker of pride went through my gut.
I shot through the window, thankful it was open. My boots thundered against the hardwood floor as I crouched in front of Eva, shielding her body with mine.
The woman who stood before me was unfamiliar, but recognition still prickled the back of my neck. Like deja vu. An uncanny sensation of knowing someone you’d never met. My demon was calling out to hers, rearing up its head in curiosity. She was new. I could smell it on her. Desperation, unchecked power, and horrible, twisting rage.
My lip curled as I snarled into her face. Phenex thundered into the apartment just behind me. The demon barely gave him a glance as he edged around us, blocking her from escaping through the open bedroom door. She was trapped.
Her eyes widened, and she smiled. “Well. Looks like we have a party on our hands. How delightfully unexpected.”
“Get the fuck away from Eva,” I growled at her.
Eva’s soft hands pressed against my back, and I could feel the tremble in them. “Thank god you’re here.”
“Are you okay?”
I heard her suck in a soft breath. “Yeah. I’m fine. She doesn’t want to hurt me. At least not yet.”
I kept my eyes locked on the newborn demon’s face. She didn’t look at all alarmed that we’d surrounded her. Or that we’d put a wrench into her abduction plan. I didn’t like that. “Stay behind me. And stay away from that window.”
Eva kept her hands on my back, but she inched a little further away from the window. “She wants to make more demons. That’s why she’s here.”
“I don’t know why everyone seems so alarmed.” Andrea lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “You two are demons. You’ve even spent centuries of your lives in Hell. I’m just like you, and you’re just like me. We’re the same.”
“We are nothing like you,” I said through gritted teeth. “Where’s the rest of your cult?”
“Ah.” She nodded. “Smart question. The rest of the cult is suspiciously absent, don’t you think?”
Eva’s hand gripped my shirt, and I heard her breath catch. “What have you done?”
I wanted to comfort her, to rip that fear right out of her voice. Ever since Eva had tumbled throughInfernal’swindow, her life had been flipped upside down. She’d been in constant danger with every breath she took. No matter what we did, there was always another threat lurking around the corner. All because of us. Because ofme.
“I didn’t want to do this, you know. I gave you a choice, Eva.” Andrea tsked, flipping her gaze from my face to Phenex’s and then back again. “All you had to do is come with me willingly. I suppose I’ll give you some time to think it over, and then we’ll have this little chat again. Because if you don’t come around, I will follow through on what you’re about to hear.”
Narrowing my eyes, I shifted to the side to block Andrea’s view of Eva.
“Stop blabbering,” Phenex shot back. “Tell us what the—”
“Your little friend,” Andrea said, her glassy eyes sharpening on my face. “Anya, is it?”
Eva let out an angry hiss.
“My cult has their eyes on her as we speak. If they don’t hear from me within the hour, she’s dead.” Andrea stepped toward the window and gazed out at the sky where Bael hovered and waited to stop her if he must. “Let me leave here now, and no one gets hurt.”
I growled. “The fuck we’re letting you—”
“Caim.” Eva dug her nails into my back. Her voice wobbled. “Let her go.”
I whirled in my boots, and her ashen face clenched my gut. “Eva, if we let her go, she’s going to target you again. She won’t stop. She’ll never stop. None of them will. This is our chance to end this. Here and now. And then we’ll fly straight to Anya. The cult will never have the chance to get their hands on her. I can promise you that.”
