“No. If they did, they’d come for you.”
“But didn’t they just do that?”
He swept a tendril of hair away from her face. “No. Their contact with you is on a psychic plane, not tangible.”
“So it’s like making a phone call but the number is blocked. They can reach me but they don’t know where I am.”
He smiled. “Something like that, yes.”
She stood, paced the living room. “I was scared out there.”
He watched her. “I don’t blame you. They’re hoping to frighten you, weaken you so they can penetrate your defenses.”
“They don’t think much of humans, do they?”
His lips lifted. “No, they don’t.”
She inhaled, blew it out. “They think we’re cowards, that we scare easily. That pisses me off.”
“Good. Your anger will give you power over them.”
She dragged her hands over her sweat soaked hair. “I didn’t say I wasn’t afraid. I think I’m more pissed at them than afraid of them, though.”
“Good. Keep it that way. I’m going to take a shower.”
Isabelle needed one, too. A fresh start, for both her body and her mind.
While Isabelle was showering, Dalton worked on modifying the disposable cell he’d purchased in town. He intended to make a call to Lou tonight, especially considering what had happened to Isabelle this afternoon.
Damn Sons of Darkness, the relentless bastards. Why couldn’t they go pick on someone else?
You know why. They want her. And probably you, too.
There wasn’t much he could do about that, other than fight them when the time came. And the time would come. He only hoped the Realm of Light would be there to back him up. Or, if he was lucky, he’d find a way to make the Sons of Darkness lose interest in Isabelle, and the only way to do that was to take away the threat of her turning into one of their strongest demons.
Which meant he needed to talk to Lou.
“What are you doing?”
He looked up at Isabelle. Her hair hung in soft wet curls over her shoulders, her skin pink from her shower. She pulled up a chair at the kitchen table and Dalton inhaled her scent, the clean washed smell of her shampoo and soap, and felt the tightening in his gut from being near her.
Deciding that focusing on work was better than drooling over Isabelle, he said, “I need to call Lou.”
“The Realm? Why?”
“A couple reasons. I trust Lou. I want to feel him out, find out what’s going on there.”
“You mean, related to me.”
“Yes.”
“Won’t they be able to track us down once you call him?”
“No. I’ve rigged this cell phone so it’s untraceable.”
She looked at the phone and frowned. “You hope.”
He offered an encouraging smile. “I know.”
“I guess you know what’s best.”
“Trust me.”
“Famous last words.”
He laughed, but he realized he was asking a lot of her. “I’ve brought you this far. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t. And I do trust you. I’d be dead if not for you.”
The way she looked at him, like he was wholly responsible for her life, made him decidedly uncomfortable for a lot of reasons. So he focused on the phone instead, finished rigging it and put the pieces back together, then stared at the buttons.
“Are you going to call him?”
He lifted his gaze to hers. “Yeah.”
She pushed her chair back. “Do you want me to leave?”
He reached out and grasped her hand, holding her there. “No. I don’t have any secrets from you.” Which was a huge lie, but he could only reveal so much. She wasn’t ready. Not yet. She’d already dealt with enough.
He punched in the buttons, dialing Lou’s number, then brought the phone to his ear, listening to it ring once, twice, three times, then four.
“Hello?”
That wasn’t Lou’s voice.
“Hello?”
It wasn’t anyone’s voice he recognized. None of the other hunters.
“Is someone there? Who is this?”
Dalton clicked to end the call and laid the phone on the table.
“What’s wrong?” Isabelle asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Did Lou answer?”
“No. Someone else did.”
“Who?”
He dragged his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t recognize the voice.”
“Is that unusual? I mean, for someone else to answer his phone?”
“Yes. Lou’s a Keeper, in charge of other hunters. He always had to remain in contact with his team. He would never leave his cell unattended or give it to someone else. He’s a decision maker. It would be one thing for him to not answer if he’s indisposed, another entirely for someone I don’t know to answer it.”
“Maybe they’ve brought on new hunters since you’ve been gone.”
He sidled a glance at her. “I haven’t been gone that long. And I know all the hunters on Lou’s team.”
He stared down at the phone again.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m thinking I need to call Derek.” Before he changed his mind, he picked up the phone and dialed Derek’s number. It rang once, twice …
“Yeah.”
Dalton hesitated.
“Hello?”
“Derek. It’s Dalton.”
Now it was Derek who hesitated. “Dalton. Where the hell are you?”
“I’m not ready to tell you that just yet. Where’s Lou?”
Derek didn’t say anything.
“Dalton, you need to come in. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I tried to call Lou’s cell but someone else answered. A voice I didn’t recognize.”
“Shit. Dalton, you really need to come in. Where are you?”
Ignoring Derek’s plea, he asked again, “Where’s Lou, Derek?”
“Lou’s dead.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
What?” Dalton’s chest tightened. He wanted to believe he’d heard wrong, that Derek hadn’t said what he thought he’d said.
“He’s dead.”
“When? How?”
Dalton felt Isabelle next to him, her hand squeezing his.
“That night, after you took Isabelle away. The black diamond held a demon inside it. Lou took the diamond and coaxed the demon out of it. It … absorbed inside him.”
Dalton fought to control his breathing, concentrating instead on Derek’s voice. “The demon went inside him?”
“Yeah. It was a powerful demon. Equal to the Sons of Darkness. The only way to kill the demon was to … destroy its host.”
Dalton pushed back from the chair and paced the room, his heart pounding. This couldn’t be real. “How did it happen?”
“We had to do it,” Derek said, his voice low.
Shock lanced him. “What?”
“We had to do it,” Derek said again. “All of us. With lasers.”
“Why?”
“Because Lou asked us to.”
“Christ.” That had to have cost them all, emotionally. “He’s gone? He’s really gone?”
“Yeah, man. He is.”
He couldn’t process this. Lou, gone.
“Dalton, come in.”
He shook his head. “I can’t talk right now.” He clicked off and laid the phone down, and immediately felt a warm body pressed against his back.
“Lou’s dead?” Isabelle asked, her voice soft.
“Yes. The night we left Sicily. There was a demon inside the black diamond and Lou took it on. To destroy the demon inside him the hunters had to kill Lou.”
She laid her head against his back. “Dear God. I’m so sorry.”
Sadness emptied him from the inside out. Lou had been so understanding, so wise; he had been Dalton’s mentor. Incredibly kind and smart, he knew demon hunting, had understood the Sons of Darkness with a keen insight. Dalton had always been able to go to Lou with anything.