“You could say that. Obviously they assume they’re indestructible,” Michael said as they strolled down the sterile white hallway and into an office. “That could be a critical mistake.”
Mandy slid onto a well-worn leather sofa. “I can’t believe it gave us so much information.”
Michael pulled up a chair in front of the metal desk, turning the chair to face Mandy. “It doesn’t see us as a threat. So it felt safe in boasting about its talents. Obviously the Sons of Darkness haven’t taught their new recruits the better part of discretion.”
“So what do we do with all that information now?”
“Since we know it feeds on humans, the first thing I want to know is if there are victims, and if so, how spread out are they? I’m going to have the Realm run a search of hospital emergency rooms and morgues, also police records, see if there have been any suspicious attacks, injuries, or deaths in recent weeks. That should tell us how widespread these demons are.”
“I hope they’re contained.”
“I would bet they’re not. The Sons of Darkness want to wage their war worldwide. I imagine we’re going to see these types of injuries crop up internationally.”
Mandy grimaced. “That’s a nightmare in the making.”
“Yes and no. The fact that these creatures have to feed is a good thing. It means we can spot where they’ve been.”
“After the fact.”
“True enough,” Michael said. “Not ideal, but it gives us a way of identifying their locations.”
“And if they are everywhere?” she asked.
His gaze was direct, and she already knew she wasn’t going to like his answer. “Then we take them out one at a time, one location at a time. We’ll alert all the other Realm cells to know what to look for. We’ll figure out how to spot them.”
New demons to hunt. Great. But at least having them on human turf made them easier to battle. Sort of.
“How do we kill them? Have we actually been able to kill one yet?”
Michael smiled. “Not that I’m aware of. Ryder and Angelique battled one similar to this one, but it disappeared. We don’t know if it was destroyed or not.”
“So how are we going to figure out what kills them?”
Michael arched a brow. “We have a nice test subject in the lab.”
She smiled back. “We get to do battle with it?”
He leaned back in the chair, stretching out his long legs. “We’re not going to keep it around as a pet, Mandy”
She laughed. “I might have underestimated you in the beginning, Michael.”
He laced his fingers behind his head, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “Does that mean you’re starting to like me?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. I don’t like anybody.”
He cocked a brow. “I’ll get to you yet, Mandy. Just wait.”
“Famous last words. Many have tried. Most fail.”
“I’m not most.”
She snorted. “Speaking of boasting …”
“Just stating facts.”
“Maybe we should pit you against the demon. You could have an ego match, see who comes out the winner.”
“Still a smart-ass, I see.” He stood, went around to the desk, and picked up the phone, a smile still lifting the corners of his lips.
Not only did he have a wit equal to hers, he also had a really nice mouth. Full lower lip, the kind a woman could grab on to with her teeth.
Not that she would know anything about that kind of thing. Or even care. Especially about Michael. Where had that come from anyway? She didn’t think about him that way at all.
Though she just had, hadn’t she?
Gah. Where had her head gone? She shoved her hands in her lap and laced her fingers together, trying to look anywhere but at Michael, think about anything but his mouth. Her gaze ended up drifting back toward him. He was on the phone with someone about their demon, telling whoever it was everything they’d discovered.
He had full, midnight black brows that matched his hair. He needed a haircut, though she kind of liked it long and shaggy like he wore it. Lots of hair there for a woman to sift her fingers through during-
And there her mind wandered into very unfamiliar territory, setting off mental visuals that warmed her up considerably. Someone needed to turn the heat down. She shifted, turned on her side so she leaned against her hip, and laid her head against her hand, studying Michael as he turned his back to her.
He had a great ass. Narrow waist, muscular thighs, but not overly big like a lot of the guys she was used to. He was all lean muscle, really well built but not like a bodybuilder. She’d bet if she touched his body, he’d be solid.
Her gaze drifted up, and she realized he’d turned back around, was off the phone and staring at her, his expression that of bemused interest. Like he’d been checking her out the same way she’d been checking him out.
Oh, God. This was so embarrassing. Men as fellow demon hunters, fine. As her pseudo brothers, check. She had those relationships down pat. Men as … men, as sexual creatures, as potential partners … she had no clue how to handle that aspect of the male species.
“Mandy.”
His voice had gone all low and sexy. She jumped off the sofa and ran her sweaty palms down the front of her pants. “I think I’ll go check on our demon.”
She nearly ran down the hall, hoping the breeze it created would quell the heat flaming her body. As she reached the interrogation chamber, she looked at her coat, then grimaced. She probably wouldn’t even need it. The arctic temperatures inside the chamber were just what she needed to cool down her libido.
Bad time for her sex drive to decide to kick into high gear.
And with the wrong damn person. The absolutely wrong damn person.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Isabelle had found peace. A tenuous peace, anyway. Last night she’d slept in Dalton’s arms, and the dreams had stayed away. If she’d known all it was going to take to keep the demons of her nightmares away was sleeping with Dalton, she’d have done that a long time ago.
This morning was the first time she hadn’t woken in a haze, or with the remnants of her nightmares still with her. She’d woken with a gorgeous, sexy man slumbering next to her. Her body cradled against his, her butt nestled up against him, had been the most pleasant wake-up call, especially since Dalton woke up hard.
Morning sex was an amazing thing. Warm, half asleep, he’d roused her to full wakefulness by sliding inside her, stroking her breasts with one hand and her sex with the other until she cried out and arched against him in an amazing orgasm. They’d showered together afterward, had breakfast, then Dalton said he wanted to work with her out back on weapons and strength training.
All in all, it had been a damn fine day so far, even if Dalton was a bit quiet.
Men. Who could figure them out. She was happy and she wasn’t about to start questioning every little thing. They worked companionably together, Dalton teaching her some basic moves. She was lithe and learned quickly. It wasn’t like he intended to drop-kick her across the yard, so she came at him head-on, kicking like he taught her, though she couldn’t imagine coming that close to a demon, or what possible use any martial arts training would be on a demon. But Dalton explained it had more to do with honing her physical and mental reaction skills. He didn’t expect her to fight a demon one-on-one.
After they’d worked themselves into a decent sweat doing the physical stuff, they took a break, had a drink, and Dalton brought out the weapons. Lasers, sonic guns, rifles, swords-amazing things, from the ancient to the high-tech. She was riveted while he explained how everything worked.
The day wasn’t even as hot. After the storm the night before last, the heat had lifted. Of course it was still hot as blazes, but not as humid, and there was even a breeze. Every little bit helped. She felt so much lighter now. Was it the weather or something else? She decided it was the weather. After the hellacious heat they’d battled the past few days, this weather seemed like fall and it made her happy.