Dalton knew the feeling. He of all people should have seen this coming, should have kept closer watch over Isabelle, especially. That had been his duty. He’d been responsible for her, and he’d failed.
He knew what had gone wrong. He’d let his attraction to Isabelle mesmerize him. He’d forgotten what he was supposed to do. He’d lost sight of the objective and he’d let emotion cloud his judgment. And because of that, the Sons of Darkness had taken her.
He should have stayed behind with Isabelle at the chapel that day. The Realm staff weren’t hunters. There was no way they could have determined what was going on with Isabelle. They didn’t know her history. If he’d been in the chapel with her, he’d have known. Instead, he’d let guilt send him away from her when he should have been at her side guarding her.
He knew all about the lure of temptation, how easy it was to slip into darkness. They seduced her while she was weak and helpless, and she’d fallen.
He could have stopped her. He had the strength and power to do it.
There were things he knew, something he was, that even Lou didn’t know. There were some things he couldn’t talk about with anyone. That’s just the way it was and always had been, and he’d lived with his secrets for a long time. But it didn’t mean he couldn’t have used his knowledge to prevent the train wreck that had occurred.
He hadn’t used his head, because he’d been blinded by his dick. And guilt.
Really stupid move. No wonder he’d stayed celibate for so damn long. It had kept his focus on demon hunting, where it should have been. At least until he’d met Isabelle. Then he’d let his libido run wild.
That wasn’t going to happen again.
He was going to get her back. The Sons of Darkness weren’t going to have her, weren’t going to be allowed to assimilate her into their den of shadows and evil. Isabelle had too much light inside her.
She belongs with you.
He shook off the thought as soon as it entered his mind.
She didn’t belong with him. No one belonged with him. That was the mistake he’d made, and he wouldn’t make it again. He’d do whatever it took to right that error.
The sooner the better.
They were set up in a small room off the main chapel. Lou had his laptop open and was scanning the area for hot spots, places where demons could pop up from underground.
“Anything yet?” he asked Lou, needing to put his mind front and center on the mission.
Lou didn’t bother looking up from his laptop. “Not yet. Quiet and cold. Nothing’s coming up on the image scans.”
“We should have brought Angelique with us.”
Michael looked up from his perusal of Lou’s laptop. “Are you serious? That would have been a bad idea.”
“Actually, I agree with Dalton,” Mandy said. “Angelique wanted to be used as bait, and if anything would bring the Sons of Darkness out of hiding, it would be her. It’s not like we wouldn’t be on guard this time. We’d have been able to protect her.”
“Exactly,” Dalton said. “Fighting them on our turf is much easier than going down to them. We want them up here.”
“Dalton has a point,” Lou said to Michael.
Michael leaned back in the chair. “I don’t like risking someone else’s life just to make the Realm’s job easier.” He glared at the group of them assembled near the stained glass windows. “Aren’t you all tough enough to handle it?”
Dalton narrowed his gaze. “Are you being purposely insulting, or are you just trying to challenge us so we’ll head underground to get the black diamond and Isabelle?”
“We can do the job wherever it is,” Punk said, his tone low and menacing.
“You don’t really know anything about us, do you, Michael?” Mandy asked, shaking her head.
“No, I don’t,” he replied. “I’m just trying to figure out why you’re all so eager to throw an innocent woman to the wolves in order to make your own jobs easier.”
“It’s called strategy,” Trace said.
Even Derek seemed angry. “What do your people do? Pick one way-the hardest way in-and go with that so you can show off your skills? Don’t you consider options?”
A shadow crossed Michael’s eyes at Derek’s words. Dalton didn’t give a shit what had happened to Michael’s team. That was his guilt to live with. He didn’t care to have his own team insulted.
“That’s enough,” Lou said quietly.
Michael held up his hand. “It’s okay. My team always considered options. But sometimes the going-in-gunsblazing-to-hell-with-the-consequences isn’t the best way. Sometimes, that’s how people get killed. We’re demon hunters. We’re trained to do this. Someone like Angelique isn’t.”
“So you ignore the best approach?” Mandy countered.
“No. I always consider every alternative.”
“Then why didn’t you consider me? I was your best option.”
Dalton whipped his head around at the sound of Angelique’s voice. Ryder stood next to her, a grin on his face and a weapon cradled in his arm.
“You were supposed to stay at the castle. With Angelique,” Michael said, frowning.
“Angelique can be very persuasive. She convinced me that her being here is the best way to draw out the Sons of Darkness, so we can rescue her sister and retake the black diamond.”
Dalton smirked. Ryder must be a freakin’ mind reader.
“We were just discussing that option, as a matter of fact,” Mandy said, sauntering over to Angelique and draping her arm over her shoulder. “Are you sure?”
Angelique nodded. “I was sure the first time. I’m doubly certain now.”
Ryder shouldered his laser and stepped fully into the room. “Angie seems to have some kind of connection to the black diamond, and to her sister.”
“What kind of connection?” Dalton asked.
“I can’t really explain it,” she said. “But when I was trapped in that room, I knew the moment the black diamond came to life. It was when Isabelle put her hands on it. And when it sparked up, so did I.”
“Because you touched it in the caves,” Lou offered.
She shrugged. “At first, that’s what I thought. But Ryder laid his hands on it, too, and he said he doesn’t feel a thing.”
“Ryder doesn’t have demon blood. You do. It’s not surprising that it forged a bond with you.”
Angelique pulled up a chair next to Lou. “But it stopped glowing when I touched it. Bart pushed me away, as if I couldn’t make the black diamond do. . whatever it was he needed it to do.”
Ryder placed his hands on Angelique’s shoulders. She tilted her head back toward him and smiled. Clearly the two of them had developed a relationship.
Dalton was glad. At least it seemed to be working out for some of his friends. He’d seen it happen for Derek and Gina, for Nic and Shay, and now apparently for Ryder and Angelique. But it would never be for him.
Lou pushed his chair back from the table and leaned toward Angelique. “You have a demon Lord’s blood within you, Angelique. But for some reason your sister possesses the darkness they’re looking for.”