Blake had a confident air about him as he walked up to our table, but it had nothing on Daemon’s deadly swagger or the cool and arrogant smile he was wearing that instant. It was a purely predatory look.
Suddenly, I wasn’t sure a public place was a good idea.
“Bart,” Daemon drawled, his fingers tapping along the booth behind me. “It’s been so long.”
“I see you still haven’t figured out my name.” Blake slid into the seat across from us. His gaze dropped to the pile of torn napkins, then to me. “Hey, Katy.”
Daemon leaned forward. The smile was still on his face, but his words were like the arctic winds. “You don’t talk to her. At all.”
There was no stopping He-Man when he came out to play, but I pinched him under the table. Daemon ignored me.
“Well, only talking to you is going to make this conversation real rough.”
“Like I care?” Daemon said, placing his other hand on the table.
I exhaled slowly. “Okay. Let’s get to the point. Where are Beth and Chris, Blake?”
Blake’s gaze slid to mine again. “I—”
A current of electricity coursed from Daemon’s hand and shot across the table, shocking Blake. He jerked back with a hiss, his eyes narrowing on Daemon.
Daemon smiled.
“Look, you tool, you can’t intimidate me this time.” Blake’s voice dripped contempt. “So you’re just wasting time and pissing me off.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Jocelyn returned with Daemon’s massive meal and took Blake’s order. Like me, he only requested a soda. When we were alone once more, I focused on Blake.
“Where are they?”
“If I tell you, I’d have to trust that you two, plus anyone else, aren’t going to give me a cement swim.”
I rolled my eyes at the mafia reference. “Trust is a two-way street.”
“And we don’t trust you,” Daemon threw out.
Blake drew in a long breath. “I don’t blame you. I’ve given you no reason to trust me other than the fact I didn’t tell Daedalus about how well the mutation held.”
“And I bet either your uncle—Vaughn—stopped you from turning me over, or you thought he was doing his job,” I countered, trying not to remember the look of horror that had settled on Blake’s face when his uncle betrayed him. He didn’t deserve my sympathy. “But he screwed you over for money.”
Blake’s jaw worked. “He did. And he put Chris in danger. But it’s not like I haven’t had to convince them otherwise after the fact. They think I’m happy to be an implant. That I’ve drunk the Kool-Aid and asked for seconds.”
Daemon snickered. “To save your own ass, I’m sure.”
He ignored that comment. “The fact is, Daedalus doesn’t believe you’re a viable subject.”
“How do you know?” Daemon’s fingers tightened on his fork.
Blake shot him a duh look. “The only real wild card here is Will. Obviously he knew and used that knowledge.”
“Will isn’t our biggest or most annoying problem right now.” Daemon took a bite, chewing slowly. “You either have a lot of courage or are incredibly stupid. I’m going to go with the incredibly stupid part.”
Blake snorted. “Yeah. Okay.”
A dangerous look shadowed Daemon’s face, and for a moment, no one moved as Jocelyn returned with Blake’s drink. The second she was gone, Daemon leaned forward, his eyes starting to shine behind his lashes. “We gave you a chance and you came back here after you killed one of our own. You think I’m the only person you have to look over your shoulder and watch out for? You’re so wrong.”
A thread of fear finally showed in Blake’s churning eyes, but his voice was even. “The same goes for you, buddy.”
Daemon sat back, eyes hooded. “As long as we’re on the same page.”
“Back to Daedalus,” I said. “How do you know they’re watching Dawson?”
“I’ve been watching you guys, and I’ve seen them hanging around.” He leaned against the booth, folding his arms. “I don’t know how much work Will did to get him free, but I doubt he pulled the wool over anyone’s eyes. Dawson is free because they wanted him to be free.”
I glanced at Daemon. Blake’s suspicions mirrored our own, but that was another problem for another day, it seemed.
Blake’s gaze fell to his glass. “Here’s the deal. I know where they’re keeping Beth and Chris. I’ve never been there, but I know someone who has and can give us the security codes to get into the facility.”
“Hold up,” I said, shaking my head. “So you can’t really get us in. Someone else can?”
“Go figure.” Daemon chuckled. “Biff is virtually useless.”
Blake’s lips thinned. “I know what level and cell they’re being kept in, so without me, you’d just be running around the compound begging to be captured.”
“And my fist is begging to be in your face,” Daemon shot back.
I rolled my eyes. “Not only are you asking us to trust you but to trust someone else?”
“That someone else is just like us, Katy.” Blake dropped his elbows on the table, rocking his glass. “He’s a hybrid but has gotten out from under Daedalus. And as expected, he hates them and would love nothing more than to screw with them. He’s not going to lead us astray.”
Yeah, I wasn’t liking any of this. “And how does anyone get ‘out from under’ Daedalus?”
Blake’s smile lacked warmth. “They…disappear.”
Oh, well that sounded reassuring. I tucked my hair back on both sides, feeling cagey. “Okay, say we do this; how do you get in contact with him?”
“You won’t believe anything unless you’re there to witness it for yourselves.” And he was right about that. “I know where to find Luc.”
Daemon’s mouth curled. “His name is Luc?”
Blake nodded. “He’s not going to be reachable by cell or e-mail. He’s kind of paranoid about the government tapping cells and computers. We’ll have to go to him.”
“And where is that?” Daemon asked.
“Every Wednesday night he hangs at a club a few miles outside of Martinsburg,” Blake explained. “He’ll be there this Wednesday.”
Daemon laughed, and I wondered what the hell he found so funny. “The only clubs in that part of West Virginia are strip clubs.”
“You would think that.” Smugness crept over Blake’s expression. “But this is a different kind of club.” He glanced at me. “Females don’t show up in jeans and sweaters.”
I gave him a bland look as I plucked a fry from Daemon’s plate. “What do they show up in? Nothing?”
“The closest thing to nothing.” His smile was real now, causing the green in his eyes to sparkle, reminding me of the Blake I first met. “Bad for you. Yay for me.”
“You really want to die, don’t you?” Daemon said.
“Sometimes, I think so.” There was a pause, and his shoulders rolled. “Anyway, we go to him, he’ll get the codes, and then it’s on. We go in, you get what you want, and I get what I want. You guys will never see me again.”
“That’s pretty much the only thing you’ve said so far that I like.” Daemon’s sharp gaze landed on Blake. “The thing is, I’m having a hard time believing you. You say this hybrid is in Martinsburg, right? There isn’t any beta quartz near that place. How come he hasn’t become some Arum’s afternoon snack yet?”
A mysterious glimmer filled Blake’s eyes. “Luc can take care of himself.”
Something wasn’t right here. “And where’s the Luxen he’s tied to?”
“With him,” Blake said.
Well, that answered that question, but still, none of this sat well with me. Crap, this whole situation was looking dicey, but what choice did we have? We were already in deep. Might as well go in over our heads—sink or swim, as my dad would say.