Chapter 2 #4
He arched a brow.
Narrowing her gaze, she gave him a fake angry glare. “You told me you weren’t reading my thoughts.”
Luke sighed heavily. “No matter how hard I try to ignore others, random things pop in against my will. You have an obsession with your mouth hygiene. So loud, it broke through my best protection.”
“Uh-huh…” She didn’t believe him for one second. He’d been spying in her head. She knew it. Even so, it didn’t change the fact that this was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for her. It was thoughtful and kind. Two things she’d never have attributed to the son of the devil.
Until she’d met Luke.
“You do know I can protect myself, right?” she asked, ignoring the fact that she’d almost been kidnapped by the Necos—she had Hellfire ammo now. She’d be fine.
“I can too, and yet I still have an imp just in case something comes at me that’s more than I can handle. Trust me, it happens to the best of us.”
She’d never thought about that before. And he was right. At six and a half feet tall, with muscles that didn’t quit, he would be formidable without his infernal powers.
And yet she’d personally seen him go down. As he noted, it wasn’t easy to overtake him.
But it wasn’t impossible either.
Everyone needed a hand from time to time.
“You win.” Playfully grumbling, she took the Glock from the cushions in one hand, the overnight bag in the other, and headed for his bedroom.
The moment she closed the door, she froze. She’d never been in here before. Never even seen it. He always kept his bedroom door closed. The only reason she knew the bathroom was small was from the times he’d complained about it not quite fitting his gargantuan size.
But the minute she closed the door, she could smell the leather and sweet smokiness of him. It surrounded her.
All of a sudden, this seemed really intimate. That was where Luke slept…
Most likely naked. A flush crawled up her neck and she glanced away, banishing images of him in that bed from her mind.
For some reason, she’d expected his bed to be as elaborate as his office. Something with heavy carved wood and gothic arches. Dark and, honestly, a little scary.
There was none of that. In fact, it seemed oddly normal.
Unlike his office, it was very modern. A California king bed in a minimalist frame that was pushed up against the red brick wall, covered by two exceptionally thick gray comforters and a heated blanket.
Over his bed was a large picture of his car in black and white, parked beneath a Spanish moss-covered oak tree. Very Savannah.
Why was she even surprised?
“You really do love that car,” she said to herself.
Delilah should be ashamed, ruining it for him. It was a bitchy thing to do, and it said a lot about Luke that he took Delilah’s intrusion and attitude in stride.
The wall on her right was covered with a large-screen TV. On her left was an industrial rack that held his clothes.
All black except for a couple of white tees.
And next to the door was an electric fireplace which made her laugh. He really hated being cold. She didn’t know why she found that so adorable.
Trying not to think about it, or how sexy he would look naked in that bed, and failing miserably, she headed for the bathroom to start her nightly routine.
Sorcha let out an exasperated sigh. This was going to be a long night.
Luke paced his living room as thoughts whirled in his mind.
Bounty hunters were after Sorcha.
Why?
He glanced to Helly as she rolled to her side on his sofa. “Can I bother you, Imp?”
“Always.” She sat up instantly. “What do you need?”
That was what he loved most about her. She never denied him and it wasn’t because he was her master.
They were family. In all the universe, Helly was the only one who’d never harmed him. Never yelled or insulted.
How he wished he’d realized that sooner and treated her better over the centuries.
But he wasn’t the same spoiled ass he’d been in Hell. His time in the human world had changed him.
No. Sorcha had changed him and made him aware of others. A part of him was grateful for her influence.
Another part of him hated her for it.
Empathy sucked. And being aware of others and their emotions was hard.
Not as much as loneliness.
True. Even with Helly, Delilah, and his demons, he’d been very lonely here until Sorcha had shown up. She was actually fun to be around. Challenged him in a way no one else ever had.
She was spectacular.
Stop! Focus!
He hated whenever his mind wandered. Right now, he needed to keep his thoughts on the demons and the Necos. “Can you go to Hell and find out from Sorath if he knows of anyone who hired the Necos?”
“Of course. Anything else you need?”
“Anything you can find that has the scent of a single Feral Closet Demon. I need something I can use to track them.”
“Done.” She vanished.
Thankfully, she understood what he meant about their scent.
The area here and particularly the closet held the combined scents of all the demons who’d been camped in it.
While he could catch a whiff of something, he couldn’t distinguish between the combination as belonging to one or another demon.
He needed their distinct scents to track them.
Like Sorcha who smelled of desire and honey. Of the coconut almond cream lotion she used.
Closing his eyes, he savored the memory and then damned himself for the bulge it caused.
Get your mind off the detective.
Didn’t help. His body might have ears, but it seldom listened. Especially to him.
Damn it, I have to focus. What had come at her tonight made no sense. Why would Sorcha have a bounty of any kind?
She’s surrounded by ancient powers…they’ve already taken her sister and will be coming for her next. His mother’s words went through his head.
I should have listened.
Yes, he should have. But he’d been a little distracted lately.
Ancient powers weren’t anything to toy with. They had their own agendas. And they often clashed with each other and destroyed any poor soul who got in their way. His father made a game of irritating such beings.
But when it came to ancient powers and dealing with their tantrums, he knew one who was more versed in them than anyone.
Acheron Parthenopaeus. Cursed and hunted by the gods, he’d been hidden in the human world until Apollo had killed him. Or at least, Apollo had tried. Because Acheron was a god himself, he’d come back with a vengeance.
Now, Acheron was the leader of the Dark-Hunters.
Even though it was late, Luke knew Acheron stayed up most nights, and he lived in New Orleans, which was a time zone behind Savannah. Picking up his phone, he gave Acheron a call.
The ancient Atlantean god answered on the second ring. “I know this isn’t social, Luke. What in Hell happened to have you ringing me up at this hour?”
He smiled at Acheron’s words and his thick Atlantean accent. “I have need of your special skill set. And Simi’s. Can I get an assist?”
Acheron let out a deep laugh. “Maybe, but Simi isn’t as easy to access right now.”
Those words caught him off guard. Simi was Acheron’s adorable demon daughter who lived with him…or most often lived on Acheron’s body as a tattoo. His breath caught at the thought of anything happening to such a sweet, innocent creature.
“What happened to her?”
“She got married.”
That news hit Luke like a fist. Acheron was extremely protective of his daughter. He’d been known to beat anyone who even looked at her. “And you let him live?”
“Not willingly. Believe me, I still want to drag him around the earth like Achilles with Hector, and beat the shit out of him.”
Luke laughed. That sounded about right. “Why don’t you?”
“It’s Thorn.”
He sucked his breath in sharply. “You mean Forneus?”
“One and the same.”
Luke actually had to sit down at the news. He and Thorn went way back, especially since Thorn was a demigod demon. In the ancient world, Thorn had been one of the most successful and brutal warlords to ever lead an army. Because of that, Lucifer had wanted to recruit him with an unbeatable passion.
But since Thorn was the son of Noir…a god so evil even Lucifer avoided him, it’d been no use.
“Simi married Thorn.” Luke had to repeat that just so he could digest the news.
“Yup.”
“Sorry.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” Acheron sighed. “She’s happy, so there’s not much to say. But I’m willing to help you if you promise me something.”
“What?” Luke asked.
“If Thorn ever makes my girl cry, you’ll help me hide the body.”