Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Sorcha jumped as she heard a crash in the garage. The timing was either a blessing or a curse. She couldn’t decide which yet. She had wanted that kiss, there was no denying it, but it was a bad idea.
Probably.
No, definitely.
“Tell me that’s Delilah having a fit of some kind.”
He ran a hand through his hair, his bicep flexing with the motion. “Wish I could. Unfortunately, she’s more graceful than that.”
“Surely it’s not a burglar?” How stupid would they have to be to break into the house of a demonic creature?
Not that they would know that until it was too late.
Still…
Luke headed for the door. She quickened her steps to catch up to him as he made his way into the garage. He used his powers to turn on the lights.
Sorcha glanced around but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “You think it’s a big rat?” Which was a lot scarier to her than a burglar.
Or even a demon.
A human she could shoot—as her former partner could attest. Luke could take on a demon. But animals were another matter. She couldn’t even harm a spider, and she hated those. Last thing she wanted to do was accidentally shoot a raccoon.
Luke let out a bitter laugh. “Definitely not a rodent. It was too loud for something that small.”
He was right, she just didn’t want to admit it.
As Luke walked deeper into the garage, closer to his car, Sorcha saw a shadow move in the corner to her left.
Once upon a time, it was something she wouldn’t have paid attention to. That was before she’d met Luke and started working for IA.
Now…
Even the most innocuous things could be lethal.
“Luke?”
He turned back to face her with an arched brow.
She jerked her chin in the direction of her mysterious shadow. “Am I imagining that?”
Like a phantom, he moved closer to it. At first, she thought he’d tell her she was hallucinating.
Until he knelt down and held his hand out, then whistled for it as if it were a lost pet.
“What are you doing?” she asked, clutching the doorframe.
Don’t move. He sent his thoughts to her.
Great. Last time she’d heard those words, there had been an ancient god behind her. What now?
She froze instantly as a wave of fear swept through her entire body. She’d learned not to question him whenever he gave such orders. He wasn’t being a macho asshole when he took that tone.
He was protecting her.
Given the things they dealt with, she knew better than to say a word until she found out what had caused him to warn her.
The shadow launched itself at Luke.
Sorcha yelped, then cursed herself for being such a skittish idiot.
Luke gave her an irritated glare as he caught whatever it was and held it to his chest. “Mircea? What are you doing here?”
Sorcha was even more confused. “Mercy?”
He sighed. “Meer-chuh. Same as a Romanian ruler I once knew. But he prefers to go by Trinket.”
Oh…this was the hellcat Helly had locked in the closet. She couldn’t wait to see what it looked like. She imagined something beautiful and sweet.
“Mircea’s such a pretty name. I’ve never heard it before.”
Luke flashed that adorable grin. “You would think that, but I’m betting you know the Romanian ruler’s grandkid.”
“I don’t take bets with you, buddy.” Because there was no winning with a creature who’d lived thousands of years.
Not to mention the fact that he was born of all evil.
But curiosity got the better of her. “Who’s his grandson?”
“Vlad Tepes.”
She could listen to his perfect Romanian all day long. “And that is?”
“Vlad the Impaler…son of Vlad Dracul…the dragon.”
Why was she even surprised? Of course he’d know all the famous evil, and probably all the evil ever born. “You mean Dracula?”
He nodded.
“Another occupant of your former home?”
Luke grinned. “Well, when you create a forest of impaled bodies to scare your enemies, it tends to piss off the big guy upstairs and impress my father. I’d be lying if I didn’t say Vlad is one of my father’s favorite…”
When he didn’t finish, she prompted him. “Favorite what?”
“I know how much you hate horror movies so I’m trying to think of something that won’t give you nightmares.”
“Victims?” she asked, stretching the word out.
“Sure. I’ll go with that.”
As he approached her, she noticed the shadow was moving inside his hands.
“So, what exactly does a hellcat look like?”
Instead of speaking, he simply held his hands out and showed her…
Well, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of the poor thing. It sort of looked like a cat. From Hell. Which made sense. But this was nothing like she’d expected.
She wasn’t sure how to describe it. Frankenkitty? Kitty bits?
If a wet rat mated with a wire fox terrier and somehow spliced DNA with a kitten, this would be their baby. She had to resist the urge to shiver.
One entire side and most of the other had wiry black fur, but one half of its face was orange.
Only it wasn’t evenly split. The orange spilled over its pink nose and came back around to frame half of its mouth.
A splotch of white covered the kitty’s throat and the back left paw was sleeved with orange and tipped with white.
The same white tip also covered its two black front paws.
Its whiskers were exceptionally long and curled every which way. The scraggly tail was thin and singed. And its ears…
They reminded her of a Pomeranian. Poor thing looked like it’d been in a fire.
It’s from Hell, moron. Of course it’s been in a fire.
Yeah, okay. It definitely looked like that.
Two big green eyes stared up at her in that unique way that belonged to pets and small children. A look that was given to make even a snowman’s heart melt.
“So, this is a hellcat?”
“Yes.”
“Aw!” She started to reach for it, but Luke quickly pulled the cat back and held it to his chest. “I wasn’t going to hurt it.”
“Him and that wasn’t for his protection. Trinket is a bit…”
“Vicious,” Envee finished for him as she moved to stand on the bottom step. “It’s why Helly locked that little bastard in the closet with us demons. I hate that animal. It’s creepy and mean.”
Luke scoffed, then spoke to Trinket. “You’re not creepy or mean, are you?”
Envee continued to curl her lip as if that was the most detestable creature ever born. “I hate that hellcat. Luke adores it because Trinket knows if it hurts Luke, it’ll be tossed out on his ugly, furry ass.”
“He’s not really ugly.” Sorcha looked back at the mismatched fur and reconsidered the thought.
Then again, it was so ugly it was actually adorable.
Luke clucked his tongue. “Be nice to the lady, Trinket.” He held the cat toward her.
Sorcha carefully reached out to pet it on the head.
The cat made a sound like a tiger before it hissed.
Jumping back, Sorcha gasped. “What the hell was that?”
Envee scoffed. “Not the worst thing it does. It also breathes fire and intentionally farts a noxious gas whenever it thinks it can get away with it.”
Of course, it did. What else would a cat from Hell do?
“This is really a hellcat?”
“Official term.” Luke clucked his tongue. “Where have you been hiding?”
It spread its claws and licked between them as if it were giving Sorcha a middle finger.
“Just how sentient is your little… Trinket?”
Luke shrugged nonchalantly. “He can talk. When he wants to, but he is as moody as your average teenager.”
Why wouldn’t he be? “Awesome. So he was part of your entourage in Hell?”
Luke nodded. “He was, and I thought he stayed in Hell. Sorath didn’t give me time to pack my things or look for any of my…we’ll go with entourage…when I was cast out.”
“And we weren’t about to bring him.” Envee hissed at the kitten that hissed back. “We were doing our best to leave him behind.”
“So how did he come in with the demons?” Sorcha asked.
Envee glanced toward Luke before she answered Sorcha’s question. “He followed us after we went through the portal to get here. And as soon as she saw him, Helly locked him in the closet with us, hoping Luke wouldn’t find him. Should have known it wouldn’t work.”
Trinket sniffed. “The imp should be punished for her abuse, dominus.” Trinket’s voice was deep, low, and accented in a way she’d never heard before. There was something innately soothing about that tone.
And Sorcha couldn’t resist asking something. “So, in Hell, cats and dogs get along?”
Envee snorted. “In many more ways than you can imagine.” There was a strange note in her voice.
Luke gave his demon a peeved stare before he glanced to Sorcha. “Being shapeshifters, they get along, or not, as much as anyone in Hell.”
“Figured as much.” What else would they be? “So what does Trinket look like as a human?” Given his rugged cat appearance, she imagined something quite grisly.
Definitely Frankensteinish.
Envee snorted. “You wouldn’t believe us if we told you.”
Luke set Trinket on the ground. “There’s also something you need to know about hellcats.”
Of course there was. “I shudder to ask.”
Luke let out a short laugh. “You know that hellhounds are protectors and enforcers.”
Having met Luke’s extremely intimidating mother and Luke himself, Sorcha was familiar with that fact. They were terrifying beasts, backed with a lot of muscle. “Yeah…and?”
No sooner had she spoken than a bad thought went through her as she considered what cats might be used for in Hell.
Sorcha visibly winced. “He’s not…” She couldn’t even bring herself to say it.
That shit-eating grin that was way too sexy spread across Luke’s face. “Now you know why they’re called pussycats.”
Heat crept over her cheeks. “Seriously?” She wasn’t sure why she asked that because he was always serious when he said such shocking things.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Luke stepped back. “Trinket, let the lady see you so you can’t prank her later.”
With a long, drawn-out sigh, the cat stretched up into…
Sorcha couldn’t even think for a moment as she stared into the bright green eyes of a gorgeous man who could almost rival Luke in looks.
Holy shit.