Blood of the Demon (2 page)

“Glad to see you two douchebags can relax when this whole world is on the verge of being destroyed,” he said.

“No problem,” Dagan said, before turning his attention back to the screen.

Smartass.

Taeg shrugged and kicked his feet off the coffee table, swiveling his head in Keegan’s direction. He was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words
Why Do Today What You Can Put Off Until Tomorrow?

Keegan stifled a snort. “Nice shirt.”

Taeg rose and started toward him. “My favorite thing about Earth so far is the shirts. Followed closely by the supercool lingo. Did you know ‘Fuck off’ is practically a greeting in this city?” He stopped a few feet away and examined the figure of the unconscious woman lying in Keegan’s arms. “Wow. She’s a real looker. What did you do to her, anyway?”

Keegan would’ve thought that was obvious. A dark purple bruise in the shape of his fist marred her otherwise flawless cheek. “Knocked her out. How else was I going to get her back here?”

“I could have gotten her to come with us willingly, if you’d let me go with you,” Taeg said. “But no, you wanted to go off and be Master of the Universe all by yourself.”

“She was my responsibility.”

“Yeah, and we all know how much you love responsibility,” Taeg said.

Keegan ignored the unreasonable stab of irritation his brother’s words provoked. He was only annoyed because Taeg was an ass. No other reason. Of all his half-brothers, Taeg especially knew how to push his buttons. The only way to win this battle was to ignore him.

“She’s a job, and nothing more,” he told Taeg. “And don’t forget what we might have to do to her.”

“I haven’t forgotten.” Taeg smiled, though there was no humor in it this time. He obviously dreaded this as much as Keegan did. Taeg wasn’t a monster. Not like their father.

Keegan’s irritation melted away. His brothers didn’t want to be here any more than he did. It wasn’t their fault, what they were born into.

“Where’s Ronin?” he asked.

“I’m here.” Ronin appeared in the doorway leading in from the kitchen. He was the second youngest of his half-brothers, older than Dagan but younger than Taeg. “So you got her, huh?”

“Yup.”

“Did she seem to know anything about Mammon or her ancestry?”

“I haven’t questioned her yet. But there wasn’t a trace of demon activity surrounding her. I figured I’d get her out of there first and ask questions later.”

“Good idea.” Ronin waited a beat before saying, “So... are you going to hold her all day, or what?”

Shit.

Embarrassment flooded through Keegan. He hadn’t even considered letting go of the woman. Holding her in his arms eroded his ability to think straight, like the blood kept trying to rush out of his brain and into other parts of his anatomy.

I really need to get laid soon.

That was it. Nothing more.

Keegan turned and strode into the room they’d specifically prepared for her. For Brynn. As he carefully laid her on the bed, he couldn’t help but think how well that name suited her. It was just as interesting and unusual as she was.

With her figure encased in tight wool slacks and a fitted black sweater, the outline of her slim form was clearly visible. Small, firm breasts. Flat stomach. When she’d looked up at him back at her art gallery, her eyes had been a soft, calming green.

She was beyond enticing.

The sound of a throat clearing roused Keegan from his slow survey. He swiveled to see Ronin and Taeg crowding the doorway.

Ronin nodded toward Brynn. “Looks like you hit her pretty hard.”

“Didn’t mean to.” What a dick thing to do, hitting her like that. But he’d had no choice. Not really. There was no knowing how close Mammon was to finding her, or if he hadn’t gotten to her already. Either way, he’d needed to get her out of there fast. “I’ll heal her.”

“That’s not necessary,” Ronin interjected. “Not when I can do it with a simple touch.”

Ronin started toward Brynn, but Keegan surprised himself by letting out a low growl. “I said I’ll do it.”

Shock registered on Ronin’s face, and he held up his hands, backing off. Not that Keegan blamed him. Where did he get off being angry at the thought of his brother touching Brynn?

He must be losing his mind.

“Let him do it.” Taeg’s smooth voice dispelled the tension in the room. “You know how Keegan likes to suffer for his sins.”

“Fuck you,” Keegan said, taking a seat on the bed next to Brynn. He withdrew his iron pocketknife, flicked it open, and cut a shallow groove in his palm. After pressing his hand to her cheek, he drew it away. His blood seeped into her pores, healing her blood vessels. The swelling went down, and within a few seconds she was good as new.

He wiped the remnants of his blood off her cheek, trying not to think about how soft and cool her skin felt beneath his hand. She was just a woman, and a human one at that.

Well, mostly, anyway.

“So what now?” Ronin asked him.

“Now, we wait for her to wake up and question her. Then we’ll decide what to do with her.”

Taeg gave a soul-weary sigh. “Sounds great. I’m gonna go drink some more.” He did an about-face and disappeared.

Unable to help himself, Keegan turned back to the woman. So soft and feminine.

The sound of Ronin moving behind him barely registered. “So you did more than just walk tonight, huh?”

“What’s that?”

Without another word, Ronin poked his fingers through the jagged slits in Keegan’s jacket and shirt, making contact with the bare flesh of his back.

“Oh. Almost forgot about that.”

“I had a feeling,” Ronin replied dryly. “Might want to change before she wakes up.”

“Yeah, good idea.” If she didn’t settle for outright panic and screaming when she awoke, she was bound to have questions for him. He didn’t need to add any more to that list. Standing, he followed Ronin out of the room and clicked it shut, and then slid the lock on the outside of the door into place.

§

Brynn opened her eyes to taupe satin wallpaper, dark wood furniture, and the faint smell of fresh, clean linen. She turned her head to the side, confirming that she was lying on a bed. A soft, comfortable bed with silky, chocolate-colored sheets and a faux fur bedspread folded across the bottom. Where the hell was she?

Wait. What happened?

It all came back in one blinding rush. The gallery, the too-hot-to-be-real man. His fist shooting toward her face.

Oh crap.

Brynn jerked up off the bed. She lifted two fingers to touch the spot where he’d hit her but, amazingly, didn’t find even a hint of pain. He’d hidden behind his gorgeous exterior and managed to totally catch her off guard. Had knocked her out. And apparently brought her here. To his... to his... palace?

“That
asshole.
”

The amazing skyline view from the tall windows on one side of the room, as well as the lush décor of the massive space, told her the word
palace
wasn’t too far off. She was obviously in an exclusive luxury apartment, one on the Upper East Side if she didn’t mistake the view.

What kind of criminal brought his victim to a place like this? He was probably a rapist. Or a serial murderer. Well, it didn’t matter. Whatever his reasons, he might have caught her off guard once, but it wouldn’t happen again. And she wasn’t scared of him. Not with what she could do.

“Once I get my hands on you, you’ll regret it,” she muttered. No doubt he’d regret it.

The hollow sound of her heels clacking on the wood floor vibrated in her ear as she stalked over to the door on the far side of the room. She tried the knob. Locked. Great. Just great. She pounded on it. “Is anyone there? Hey, where are you? Let me out.”

When there was no immediate response, she pounded louder. “Come on. Hello? Let me out!”

Brynn was about to lift her fist for a fresh bout of knocking when the doorknob turned with a
click
. She scampered back as the door swung open.

The hunk from the gallery stood on the other side,
sans
leather jacket. He wore an impassive expression on his face.

Her fingers clenched into fists at the sight of the man who’d imprisoned her. He was about to pay. “
You.
”

He opened his mouth. “Let me explain—”

Without further thought, she rushed him, pummeling her fists into his chest. He didn’t flinch, didn’t even budge. He was like a freaking steel beam. But that was okay. She’d get him, anyway.

She lifted her hand to his throat and dug into his bare skin. Giving herself over to her senses, she willed the flow of energy through her body, just as she’d done so many times before. Her arm grew hot with the familiar sensation of energy drawing through her fingers, working its way inside her with an electric sizzle.

But instead of collapsing as she expected, the man merely lifted one perfect brow. “Ow.”

That was it. That was all he said.

“Ow?” Brynn repeated, going numb with shock. She’d felt it! She’d felt the familiar draw of energy. But instead of falling to the ground in an unconscious puddle, he just said, “Ow”?

Ow?

“Impossible,” she gasped.

He tilted his head to one side. “What exactly are you trying to do?”

This couldn’t be happening. It had never failed her before.

She brought both hands to the bare skin of his muscular arm, right below the sleeve of his shirt, doing her best to ignore the spicy, masculine scent emanating from his body and the heat of his rigid flesh beneath her palms. Seriously, the man must be running a fever. He was scorching hot.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she once again concentrated on summoning her energy. Again, she felt it flow, but he stood still in front of her. He didn’t even flinch.

She staggered back. “Oh, crap.”

It didn’t work on him.

For the first time in a very long time, there was a strange stirring in the pit of Brynn’s stomach.

Fear.

She was stuck in a room with a psychopath who’d knocked her out and kidnapped her, and she had no way to defend herself. No way to fight back.

Oh, God, she was totally screwed.

§

Brynn stumbled away from Keegan, appearing scared for the first time since he’d entered the room. An uncomfortable twinge tightened his gut. He didn’t want her to be scared of him. Which was ridiculous. After all, why should he care?

He held his hands in the air, moved forward far enough to kick the door shut, then leaned against it, trying to look as non-menacing as possible. “Listen, I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to talk to you, okay? My name is Keegan.”

She backed up until she was on the far side of the room, by the large set of windows. She seemed to notice she was wringing her hands and dropped them to her sides. “What do you want with me? If—if it’s money, I don’t have that much, but I’ll give you whatever I have—”

“I don’t want your money, Brynn,” he interrupted, keeping his tone soft and calm. “Right now, I only want to talk to you.”

“You’re not going to—?”

“I’m not going to hurt you.” Keegan tried not to wince at that lie. He might very well have to hurt her. But if he did, it wouldn’t be because he wanted to.

She nodded, but she seemed to doubt the sincerity of his tone because her gaze darted about the room as if checking for possible weapons. It settled for a moment on the bulky lamp by the bed. The lamp probably
was
heavy enough to bash in a human’s head. But she’d be unpleasantly surprised if she tried using it on him.

“If you’re not going to hurt me, why did you kidnap me?”