Chapter 14 #2
“No, you did that yourself. You also killed other people—looks like seven.” Even if I hadn’t sensed it downstairs, the negative energy from the murders is there in his aura.
“I can see enough information about those deaths to call in some anonymous tips to the police, and you’d spend the remainder of your life in prison.
” Not completely true—I’d need to summon the other demon he tied himself to in order to get the kind of details I need.
But I bet if someone used a blacklight in the basement, he’d have a lot of sticky questions to answer.
“You’re lucky that instead, I’m leaving you to your existence. ”
He starts weeping again, and I leave him to it.
Kieran’s quiet for the first half hour of the drive. I’m not sure if he’s overwhelmed by what happened or if he’s rethinking sex with me or if he’s mentally writing a grocery list. His expression gives nothing away.
Finally, he clears his throat. “So… what happened back there?”
I sneak a sideways glance at him. “What do you mean?”
“You seemed unprepared. I haven’t known you long, but unprepared isn’t something I associate with you.”
I sigh. Should have known he’d pick up on that. “I wasn’t unprepared… exactly. I took a chance I shouldn’t have, and then had to fix it.”
He looks at me expectantly.
“I should have stopped Greg when he summoned the demon. The circle wasn’t set up to deal with one and keep Greg safe.”
“So why didn’t you?”
Man, this is embarrassing. “Most of the time when a demon is trapped in a circle and sees a hunter, they go back to the otherworld. It’s like a burglar running from the cops. They know they’re not likely to win if they stay to face them.”
“Okay, wait, so a demon can leave a circle to go back to the otherworld? They’re not truly trapped there?”
“It depends on the circle. This one was drawn to contain Greg and the demon energies he borrowed. We’re trained to always include the symbols to prevent a demon from escaping into Earth should one appear in the circle, but usually in situations like this one, we stop the idiot human from summoning the demon. ”
“But you didn’t,” he says slowly, as though trying to understand. “Because you thought when the demon showed, it’d see a big, strong, scary hunter and run away?” There’s a barely contained ripple of laughter in his voice.
I keep my eyes firmly on the road. “Maybe.”
The laugh bursts out, and I can’t keep my lips from curling in a smile. Dealing with people like Greg always leaves me feeling dirty, but Kieran’s laughter is better than a million showers could ever be.
“Were you trying to impress me?” he teases.
I say nothing. What’s to say? I fucked it all up completely.
“Aww.” His hand finds mine. “That’s sweet. And even though it didn’t go to plan, I was very impressed.”
“Yeah.” I snort. “We’re just lucky Uncle Norval wasn’t around to see it. I’d never hear the end of it.” His hand is warm and firm around mine, and even though I’ve never been the kind of guy to hold hands, I don’t hate it.
“Connor, with total honesty, that was the scariest moment of my life. When I realized that thing was growing its arm back? I was convinced we were all going to die. And yet, even in the middle of all that terror, you made me so horny, I could have come from a single touch.”
Whoa.
“Really?” I look at him.
He pulls a face. “Okay, maybe not a single touch. But definitely I shouldn’t have been so turned on right then.”
Guess I didn’t fuck it up completely after all. And he did promise me a blowjob later.
His fingers tease the edge of my cuff. “So these aren’t just a fashion statement, huh?”
It takes a second for my brain to switch gears. “Uh, no. They’re basically armor.”
He plays with the buckle for a second. “I think I’d feel better about your safety if your armor was more than just a couple of leather cuffs.”
I grin. “I have full-body armor—more than one kind. Leather, steel, and a combination of both. When I know ahead of time that I’m likely to be going up against something nasty, I wear it.”
“Good. Though I guess the cuffs did the job today.”
He keeps hold of my hand the whole way home.
Thursday morning, we drive together to the estate.
My plan for the day is to talk to Gabe and see if he has any insight about this damn historic gateway I just can’t find anywhere, check in on Skye’s new shields, and work with Josh a bit on his abilities.
When I first arrived at the estate, only six days ago, and saw what he’s capable of, my plan was to recruit him to the Collective.
Skye, too—conduits with that kind of strength are rare.
But now I think they’d be better off staying here.
I’m not sure why—let’s call it gut instinct—but it’s something else I need to discuss with Gabe, because our reports need to match.
And then I’ll have to find a way to gag Uncle Norval about it.
The ghosts are waiting for us in the staff parking lot.
“What the hell?” Kieran says, his gaze fixing on them.
“You can see them?” That must mean they’re serious.
“Is Joe there? I don’t see him.” There’s a note of worry in his voice that has me scanning the ghosts again.
“No, he’s not. Why—”
Kieran relaxes back into his seat as I park. “If there was a big problem, he’d be there. This is probably more matchmaking.”
Great.
“How do you want to handle this?” He’s the one who’ll have to deal with the fallout, after all.
“By telling them it’s none of their business. You go on in and find Gabe. I’ll deal with this.” He’s got his “in charge” face on, and it’s so hot. Maybe I should just turn the car around and head back to his place. We can get naked and make more happy vibes for the house.
But Kier’s already out of the car and facing down the ghosts. Sighing, I turn off the engine and sneak past them all.
Gabe’s in the Garden Suite, making minute adjustments to the guard on the gateway, and when I knock, he waves me in. I flop down on the sectional and sigh.
“Oh, poor you,” he says sardonically. “Forced to spend the night with a sexy redhead who wants you.”
I grin at the ceiling. “Don’t be jealous just because I’m irresistible.”
“To flies and cockroaches, maybe.”
I snort. “Good one. Did you get the chance to look at—”
“Yeah, and fucked if I know what’s going on.” He finishes what he’s doing and comes to join me, knocking my legs out of the way so he can sit. “There isn’t another gateway for fifty miles in any direction. I’ll stake my life on that.”
“Please don’t,” I murmur. “So it either closed since the soul-eater came through or we’re looking for something farther away.”
Gabe shakes his head. “No. There’s a guarded gateway in a small town fifty-three miles southeast of here that’s been there for nearly a hundred years.
I called the gatekeeper this morning. She wasn’t around back in the seventies, but she checked the previous gatekeeper’s records, and there’s no instance of a soul-eater coming through the night Emma died. ”
“That makes it easier. Somewhere within a fifty-three-mile radius is a closed gateway.” If Gabe says it’s not open, I believe him. This is his area of expertise.
“I’m not convinced,” he says slowly. “Even if it closed right after the soul-eater came through, I should feel some residue from it. It must have been tiny… and right at the edge of my range.”
“You’re worried about this.” Shit. I was so sure Gabe would be able to pinpoint the location of the rogue gateway and neatly tie up all my loose ends.
“Not worried, exactly. But something about this seems weird, and I want that gateway located before this assignment is closed.”
“Fine.” That works in my favor. The council won’t just let me stay here, driving around in concentric circles until I find it, but they will allow me to return to this area between other assignments to carry on the search. “I’ll note that in my interim report.”
“That’s done, then. How’d it go yesterday?”
I feign ignorance. “The old dude is a total waste of space. One of those people who’ll willingly unleash death and destruction on humanity in exchange for an extra twenty years to live and the ability to cheat at life.”
“I hate people like that. You cut him off?”
“Yup.”
“Was Kieran suitably impressed?”
I wince, and like a shark scenting blood in the water, my best friend strikes.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit. Tell me, or I’ll go ask Kieran.”
Groaning, I put my forearm over my eyes. “You know how the first thing they teach us is to keep control of the situation and not take any unnecessary risks?”
Gabe starts to laugh. “What did you do?” I tell him the whole story, and by the time I’m done, he’s almost crying. “You… and… oh my god…”
“Thanks for your support,” I say dryly, and he slaps my arm, gasping.
“Shut up. Did you scare the living crap out of Kieran, or was he impressed after all?”
I smirk. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”
“So, impressed, then.” Gabe rolls his eyes. “Have you given any thought to what we talked about?”
“Let’s go for a walk.” I get up. “C’mon, I need to stretch my legs.”
Gabe follows me from the room, unfazed by the sudden change of subject. “I can’t be away long,” he reminds me. “It’s only day three.”
“Just down to the barn and back,” I promise, then don’t say anything more until we’re outside. “I don’t know how to handle this.”
“Handle what?” Gabe asks faux innocently. I shove him.
“Feelings.”
“Aww, our little boy is growing up.”
“Sometimes I really hate you.”
“The feeling’s entirely mutual. But I still love you. Let’s talk this through, okay? You’re getting attached to Kieran.”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “He’s… amazing. Real, you know? Smart and sexy and not afraid to call me on my shit. And the way he is with the ghosts is… I don’t know. It’s nice.”
“This is all sounding very normal.”
“That’s the problem. I’m not normal.”
Gabe grimaces. He can’t argue—neither of us lead the kind of lives people consider normal. “True. But he knows that already. You wouldn’t be trying to pretend.”
That’s a good point.