Through a Crimson Veil (23 page)

“But…” She trailed off.

“But what?”

“You came to bed.”

It was hard holding on to his dispassion when she sounded so bewildered, but he managed. “I’m here to continue protecting you. I need to be close to do so.” He turned his head and gave her a hard stare. “I gave my word. But you stay on your side of the bed and keep your hands to yourself, got it?”

“Yeah, I understand.” She sounded hurt.

She withdrew slowly, and he fought the need to reach out and drag her to him. He felt cold without her body next to his. And he felt alone.

Pissed off that she still affected him, Conor turned onto his side, putting his back to her. He wasn’t going to waste his time obsessing about a liar. There were more important things to consider—like, was his father really in Crimson City?

Ben had once been a good judge of character, but demons lied often and well. The one who had professed to be his father might have said that only to get Ben’s cooperation. Those demons must have gone to Phoenix and waited for an opportunity to approach him. To enlist his aid, one had claimed to be Conor’s father, and convinced the retired slayer that he had nothing but his son’s best interests at heart. Ben was big on family, and Conor had never told him why he felt such antipathy for the man who’d given him half his DNA.

But was it just a lie?

Conor would know the instant he was close enough to read the man’s energy signature whether or not they were related. It was unlikely, he knew, but if it really was his father…

If it really was his father, then Conor wouldn’t have to worry about adjusting the spell or making a mistake and letting all the demons in Orcus run free on Earth. And he could put aside his tentative plan to enter the underworld to search for the man.

It would be easy to hunt the bastard down in Crimson City. Easy to kill him.

Ignoring the disquiet that stirred within him, Conor smiled coldly. Finally, he’d be able to take the son of a bitch down.

It was amazing, Conor thought as he rounded the hood of his truck, how fast things could change. Less than twentyfour hours ago, he’d been eager to get to Mika, and now he almost dreaded reaching her. He opened the passenger door, and reluctantly took her elbow to help her down. The last thing he wanted to do was touch her, but the pickup rode high, had oversized tires, and lacked a running board. As soon as she was safely on the ground, though, he pulled free. Mika didn’t say a word, but her sigh spoke volumes. He ignored it and scanned their surroundings.

It had been a long time since he’d been in this section of LA. The area was rundown, but there were signs of renovation everywhere. Some of the buildings were finished, reclaiming the elegance of their early days, and many others had scaffolding and additional indications of work in progress around them. A year from now, this wouldn’t be the same place.

Although it wasn’t dark yet, the streetlights were shining, illuminating the sidewalks. Twilight wouldn’t last much longer. He guessed they had about an hour till it was night.

“Come on,” he ordered without glancing her direction. It still hurt too much to look at Mika, to know she didn’t give a damn about him either.

He saw Hayes as soon as they rounded the corner. The man leaned against his beat-up Mustang, arms crossed over his chest. Although he didn’t look over, Conor knew he was aware of their arrival.

“What the hell did you bring her for?” Hayes demanded when they reached him.

“Nice to see you again too,” Mika said smoothly.

“She has demons after her. I couldn’t leave her home alone and unprotected,” Conor replied.

Hayes ignored Mika and argued, “You did exactly that a couple of days ago.”

“Things changed.”

The freelancer muttered another curse. “Some help you’re going to be if you’re busy babysitting
her
.”

Conor heard Mika growl low in her throat, and hooked a hand in the waistband of her jeans in time to keep her from surging forward. She turned her glare on him. “Behave,” he warned her coldly. Damn demons and their emotional responses. He turned his icy stare on Hayes next. “Don’t use that tone. If you’re pissed at me, take it out on me.”

“I apologize,” Hayes said, addressing Mika. When she nodded, Conor released his grip.

“Are we going to stand here until everyone the neighborhood is aware of us or are you going to fill me in on why you called for backup?”

The other man hesitated, then with a shrug, said, “I’ve found a couple of demons.”

“Where?” If these were the pair after Mika, he could take care of them and get rid of her. There was nothing he wanted more than to have her gone. And maybe the one who’d claimed to be his father was with them. Maybe he would find out the truth or if it had been a lie to fool old Ben.

“See the opening between the two houses to my left? If
you look through, you’ll see another building behind them. I think it might have been a small hotel, but it’s in rough shape. They’re holed up in the lobby—or at least in a large open area located in the front. I want to go in there after them, but I’m afraid they’re going to rabbit out the back.”

Conor reached out and probed the energy. There were two signatures, like Hayes claimed. One was definitely a demon—not one of the Dark Ones after Mika, but still very dangerous. The other…Well, Conor wasn’t sure. The energy kept morphing the same way it did with Nat, yet he knew this wasn’t his informant.

“It would be better if I went in there after them.” How could he allow a human to face a demon darker than his own breed?

This time, it was Hayes who moved. He straightened away from his car and said, “No. I found them, you’re backup, nothing more. Got it?”

Since Conor wouldn’t want someone else horning in either, he nodded and reluctantly agreed. “Okay, they’re yours. Do you have a plan, other than walking inside?”

“Yeah, make them talk, then kill them.”

“Oh, that’s a great plan,” Mika piped up. “Do you know anything about what type of demons you’ll be facing?”

“Type? Who the hell cares?” Hayes looked incredulous.

Instead of grabbing Mika by the jeans, Conor hooked an arm around her waist and anchored her at his side. The feel of her warm body distracted him for a moment, and he pushed the awareness away. He understood why she was angry. Humans believed a demon was a demon, and that there was no difference. But Mika would be little threat to anyone unless they cornered her and she was fighting for her life. She’d told him the night they’d met that her branch was mischievous, not dangerous, and from what he’d seen, he concurred with that assessment. At least in that one thing, she hadn’t been lying.

“These demons might not know anything about what happened to the team,” he cautioned. Conor ignored
Mika’s curious stare. “Demons rarely work together, and if this duo wasn’t involved, they’ll have no idea what you’re asking about.”

“True, but then these
could
be the demons behind the whole thing. Either way, I’m going to find out. Are you going to help me, McCabe, or do I need to call someone else?”

“I’ll help.” What else could he do? “What do you want me to do?”

“Cover the back,” Hayes said at once. “If they run, try and hold them for me.”

“Sure,” Mika said. “We’ll just—”

“Mika,” Conor growled. That would be all he needed: her mouthing off to Hayes and giving something away. The man wasn’t stupid, and Mika was impulsive. Who knew what she’d say?

“There’s some good cover in the rear,” Hayes told him. “I’ll circle around to the front and you can get into position. I’ll wait ten minutes to enter. Okay?”

Conor nodded. “I’ll be ready.”

As Hayes walked away, Conor released Mika and checked his watch. He scanned for signatures again, but the pair inside the building hadn’t changed position. “What kind of demon is that in there?” he asked Mika abruptly. “It’s an energy I haven’t read before.”

“The stronger of the two is a Grolird. The other is a spinner. Probably one that gave an oath in exchange for protection, since spinners are pretty weak demons.”

“Spinner?” It was a reference he hadn’t heard before, but he immediately associated it with the creature whose energy kept morphing—spinning—between species.

“It’s a slang term. I don’t remember what the real name of their branch is because no one uses it.”

Spinner. That meant Nat was…Son of a bitch. All these years and he’d been getting intel from a demon. No wonder Nat knew what Conor was, knew that Mika was half demon as well.

“Is a spinner stronger or weaker than Mahsei?” Conor asked.

“Stronger.” Mika smiled and he had to look away. “They’re about mid-range, but still considered weak, especially as far as a Grolird is concerned.”

Why the hell did her smile continue to make his heart lurch? He knew she was a liar, knew she’d used him, manipulated him. With perfect clarity, he could recall the times she’d derailed him from questioning her about anything she didn’t want to talk about. And despite it all, he wanted her with an intensity that made him ache.

She’d backed off, mostly stopped pushing and provoking him. Probably because it wasn’t to her advantage any longer, the cynic in him said. Conor shrugged it off. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he didn’t have to deal with her teasing and game-playing.

When he realized Mika was staring at his profile, watching him, assessing, he glanced at his wrist. “We need to get into position,” he said. “You get behind me and stay close. And if those two demons do run out the back, you stay hidden, do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir!” She jerked to attention and snapped off a crisp salute.

Conor scowled at her before cloaking his presence from humans. After he felt Mika do the same, he headed for the opening that Hayes had pointed out. As the other man had said, there was plenty of cover, and he kept them behind the overgrown bushes. When they were in position, he dropped the mask and marked the time. Two more minutes.

Those two dragged into fifteen, and Mika started fidgeting. Conor gave her a pointed look, and though she stopped moving, he could feel the impatience bubbling inside her.

At twenty minutes past the mark, she whispered, “What’s taking so long?” His glower didn’t faze her. “Well?”

“Maybe they’re talking to Hayes. Now be quiet.”

Just past the thirty-minute mark, Mika stiffened. Conor stared intently at the back of the hotel, but he didn’t see anything. He looked over his shoulder and raised his brows.

“Watcher,” she said, so quietly he read her lips more than heard the word.

Once he knew what she was reacting to, he found their spy easily. He was stationed to their left, and behind them. Conor analyzed the angles and swallowed a curse. They were directly in the bastard’s line of sight. Studying the area, he tried to find a new position, one that gave them cover from two directions, but before he could choose a spot, he detected motion.

The back door flew open and the spinner and the Grolird ran out. One was male, the other female, and there was more than an oath of fealty between them; Conor knew it in the flash of a second.

He moved, and drew the weapon Nat had given him. Hayes would be right behind these two, and no way in hell was he giving himself away as a demon by shooting energy from his hands. “Hold it right there,” he ordered, blocking their escape route.

The male demon, the spinner, put himself in front of the female, shielding her as he prepared to fight. She was the stronger of the pair, so what the hell was this about?

“Get out of our way, Kiverian,” the male warned.

“Conor, let them go,” Mika said from beside him.

“What the hell are you doing? I told you to stay put!”

She ignored him. “They’re mated. They’ll fight to the death to protect each other, and for what? So Hayes can ask some questions? If he didn’t get his answers already—”

The freelancer staggered out the back of the house, pistol drawn. There was blood running down his temple, but he didn’t look too battered. Conor had his gaze off the couple for a fraction of an instant, and they took the opening to run.

Swinging around, Conor aimed, but they were already
out of sight. He ran after them, and as he reached the corner he spotted them. Raising the weapon, he took bead on the duo, but he couldn’t shoot them in the back. Which Mika should have known, but apparently didn’t. She knocked his arm as soon as she reached him. Not only did it throw him off balance, it caused his finger to squeeze the trigger.

Hayes’s car blew up in a spectacular fireball.

“Shit,” Conor muttered.

Mika misunderstood. “They’re vishtau mates, McCabe. I couldn’t let you shoot them. They weren’t trying to hurt anyone, they just wanted get away.”

Hayes drew even with them. “What the fuck happened to my Mustang?”

Mika had the odd urge to laugh. She was sandwiched between Conor and Marc in the pickup, and the men were discussing what had happened. Someone had called the police, and Hayes had called in B-Ops. And when they’d been asked questions, both men had lied.

McCabe had lied! She never would have believed it if she hadn’t heard it with her own ears.

She shouldn’t find it so amusing. Conor was more furious with her now than he’d been before. She’d hurt him again, and it had been unintentional. Mika did know that he’d never shoot anyone in the back, but she hadn’t realized the other couple was fleeing. All she’d seen was Conor and the gun; she’d reacted without assessing the situation. It was her impulsive nature at work.

“Why did you guys say you were after a vampire?” Mika asked when there was a lull in the conversation. “And why did you claim the vampire blew up Marc’s car?”

There was dead silence, then Hayes said by way of explanation, “No reason why McCabe’s insurance should have to cover the damage.”

The men went back to their conversation. Mika sighed. Conor was barely talking to her, and Marc was courteous
but uninformative. Apparently, Hayes had held quite a conversation with the demons, but most of what he was telling Conor was no big secret. Mika suspected that the couple had been buying time until they could escape.

Theirs had been an interesting match. The power gap between Mika and Conor was larger, but their mating would be easily accepted in Orcus because the male was the stronger demon. A Grolird female with a spinner as a vishtau mate would face disapproval. Mika would bet that was why they were in the Overworld—and why all they’d wanted was to get away. She doubted the couple would ever cause trouble in Crimson City as long as no one attacked them.

“Hey, McCabe,” Marc said, breaking into her thoughts, “why don’t we stop and get something to eat? Your treat.”

Conor didn’t argue. Instead he politely asked, “Mika, are you hungry?”

“Sure,” she agreed.

“There’s a diner not too far from here,” Marc said. “Campy, but they grill a mean burger.”

“I know it.”

Both men were quiet now, intent on reaching food, and Mika nearly laughed. Amazing how much a half demon and a human could have in common when it came to eating.

Her smile disappeared abruptly as Conor turned the truck into the parking lot of the Moondance Diner. Her heart pounded faster. If McCabe discovered that she’d come here on her way to the park the other night, he’d become even more furious. It wasn’t that big a deal, not considering everything, but it would be one more nail in the coffin of their relationship.

Okay, what were the chances that anyone who’d seen her here would be at the diner now? Almost nonexistent. Her biggest problem was the waitress who had served her, but it was likely the woman regularly worked the dinner shift. Since it was the middle of the night, the woman should be home and no threat.

Mika was breathing easier by the time Conor parked the truck. She slid out the driver-side door, her hand lingering in his until he pulled free. Despite that, he kept her close to his side. She realized he was worried, and she wanted to hug him. His care for her had to be more than merely holding to his word; as protective as Conor was, he had to still have tender feelings for her. He
had
to.