One way or the other.
Just as he started to relax, one of the curtains moved downstairs and Angelique’s face appeared, peering through the window. This was the first time he’d seen a glimpse of her since she’d arrived in her car this afternoon and gone straight inside.
He peeked through the foliage, hoping like hell she wouldn’t walk outside.
Nothing. The curtain was back in place, the light was on, and all he could see now was her shadow within the house.
The shades were all drawn and he watched her silhouette moving about in one of the rooms downstairs. He had blueprints of the floor plan of the house, so he knew the layout. Downstairs kitchen and living room. Upstairs one bedroom and bath. Small, cozy, room for one or two people, max. His audio equipment picked up everything going on inside. There wasn’t anyone else in there with her, and she hadn’t used the phone, because he was tracking her cellular calls, too. She didn’t even talk to herself.
He heard the sounds of cooking, the shower running, then all the lights went out about eleven P.M., so she obviously went to bed.
He glanced down at his watch. Almost midnight. Good thing it was warm outside. He crawled out and parked it on a thick slab of rock, figuring his equipment would alert him if anything happened. He had to get at least a little sleep or he’d be useless. Though he could go a day or two max without any rest, he preferred to maintain mental alertness, since he had no idea what to expect. As far as the Realm of Light knew, Angelique may have already made contact with her sister, Isabelle, and the two of them had planned to do something with the black diamond. And since none of them had managed to find Isabelle yet, they were hoping Angelique would lead them to her. Though the hunters were out searching for Isabelle, too.
Maybe they’d find Isabelle first.
It was a waiting game now. Ryder hoped he didn’t have to wait too long.
He jerked awake at a sound, immediately glancing down at his watch. It was three in the morning. Shit. Blinking away the fog of sleep, he listened intently, wondering if Angelique was up. No lights. So what had he heard?
Something crashed inside, like a lamp. He shot up to a standing position, saw a flicker of light, then darkness again. His senses on full alert now, he wondered if maybe she’d just gotten up and knocked the lamp over. Maybe she had a bad dream.
He knew all about nightmares. He’d lived through a few of them. The shit going down around him the past six months seemed like a living nightmare. Sometimes he didn’t want to close his eyes.
He didn’t hear anything now. Not wanting to reveal his hand and go running in there, he paused, but grabbed his weapon and readied himself, just in case.
He wished he’d had time to install surveillance cameras inside, but that was going to have to wait until the next time she left the house. Then he’d have eyes and ears. Still, his skin prickled with unease, and whenever that happened it meant something bad was going on.
He didn’t like this. Something wasn’t right. He moved through the bushes, into the vineyard and toward the house, making no sound. Approaching the back door first, he made a slight turn on the knob. It was locked. That was a good thing. He moved to the window, peering in through the sheer drapes, using his night vision shades to help him discern objects in the pitch blackness.
No activity. Angelique wasn’t downstairs. His ear comm was connected to his audio equipment, and he could hear her breathing now.
But it wasn’t normal, restful breathing like she was sleeping.
It was deep and ragged.
The breaths of terror. She wasn’t speaking, as if her mouth was covered. He didn’t know how the hell he knew this; he just did. She was being restrained, and she was petrified.
Goddamit. He had to get in the house now.
So much for surveillance.
Though he’d like to kick the damn door down and rush upstairs, he couldn’t do that. Not without assessing the situation first. Which meant he had to take the time to pick the lock.
Precious seconds ticked by as he grabbed his pick and worked the simple lock. Thankfully, she didn’t have major armor installed on the door. Bad move on her part, really good for him. In a few seconds, the lock clicked. He winced at the sound and pushed the door open, hoping it wouldn’t creak.
It didn’t. He left the door open, and moved inside, taking each step with care. He already knew where the stairs were and headed at them, wanting to bound up there, but resisting.
Slow. Measured steps. Make sure not to alert whoever was upstairs.
Patience, something that was in short supply right now. Weapon trained, he reached the top of the stairs and heard the whispers.
“Tell me where the black diamond is or I will cut out your heart and eat it. And you’ll still be alive to watch me.”
Cold dread poured through Ryder as he surveyed the scene. A dark shadow loomed over Angelique. She was lying in bed, her body pressed to the mattress, the man’s hands wrapped around her throat.
But who held her? Was it a demon? It definitely wasn’t a hybrid. They smelled so bad he’d have known one was in the house as soon as he walked in. And those foul-smelling hulking bastards didn’t speak.
Angelique must be frozen in fear, because she hadn’t uttered a single word, her eyes wide as she stared at her attacker, whose face was only inches from hers.
The bastard was going to die. First thing Ryder had to do was get the guy’s-or thing’s-attention. He pulled a knife out of the sheath at his belt, took careful aim, and let it sail through the air. It caught the guy in the upper back, right between the shoulder blades.
Instead of jumping up or falling in pain, the creature-because that had to be what it was-calmly stood and turned to Ryder.
Well, hell. Its eyes glowed a pale blue. Pure demon, maybe? Their eyes were pale blue, but Ryder didn’t remember seeing their eyes glow in the dark like that. Almost fluorescent.
The creature advanced on him.
“Angelique, get ready to run,” Ryder said, unable to determine if she was in shock, or hurt, or whether she could even hear him. All his concentration was on the thing headed his way.
“She’s not going to do anything you say. She’s mine now,” the dark thing said, inching closer to Ryder.
Without hesitation, Ryder raised his laser and fired a stream of ultraviolet light. Human or demon, it didn’t matter. Either one would die.
The light struck the creature and it paused, looking down at the blue fluid spreading over its chest and midsection. Its arms raised out to its sides as it frowned at Ryder, then let out a pained growl.
“That hurts.”
It kept coming. Okay, not supposed to happen. UV lasers killed demons. And it sure as hell would toast a human. So what was this thing? Ryder braced and fired another round, but obviously his laser wasn’t going to work. He shouldered it and went for the microwave gun, blasting the creature and hoping to melt it from the inside out.
Again, nothing. Other than irritation and a slight pause, that was about it. The damn thing smirked at him. It knew Ryder’s weapons would have no effect.