Brennan stirred as Nyx straddled him. The sheet was only partially covering him; his upper body was bare. His hands were under the pillow beneath his head.
“Wake up, Mr. Brennan.” Nyx sounded cheerful. “We have to chat.”
“Who—”
“Shhh.” Nyx put a finger over his mouth. “My dears, perhaps you could close the door before you go looking for whatever documents you needed? Daniel and I need some privacy, don’t we, dear?”
Cillian didn’t speak as Eavan pulled the door shut, closing in the two predators. He wasn’t sure which of them was worse. Good and evil weren’t always clearly delineated. Nyx intended to kill Daniel Brennan; Brennan drugged and sold people. Is it monstrous to kill a monster? Is Nyx evil? He wished, briefly, that his childhood catechism held up under such questions. It didn’t. Moral relativity made clear that black-and-white questions weren’t realistic in the world Cillian saw.
The world these people…creatures…all see, too.
“Come on, Cillian,” Eavan said gently. “It’s easier if you don’t think about it.”
“For whom?”
“For all of us.” She gave him a rueful smile. “That’s my family. My blood. And she’s about to kill him.”
“Is that all?” He hated that he wanted to know, but he did. He’d involved himself in the business affairs of Nyx and her family—not just because of the C.D.A., but also because he felt the stirring of interest in Eavan. That interest didn’t die when she’d told him that she wasn’t altogether human. He’d been pretty certain of that long before she’d kissed him. “What will she—”
“Don’t ask me that right now.” Eavan opened a door and peered inside. Fitness equipment filled the room. She walked to another door and opened it. “Here we are.”
“And her legs?” He had to ask now while he still could. “I mean, your legs aren’t…I’ve felt…” He looked at her bare ankles and toned calves. “You’re not like that.”
She didn’t flinch. “I’m still mostly human. I told you that there were things I had to do in order to be like the rest of my family.”
“Sex and…”
“Murder.” Eavan looked at the closed door. “Preferably at the same time.”
“And last night when we…were you going to kill me?” His heartbeat felt too fast, but he wasn’t sure it was entirely from fear.
“I don’t know.” Her tongue darted out to trace her lips. She looked straight at him and said, “I thought about it for a moment.”
“And Brennan?”
She stared at him still, a challenge plain in her expression. “Yes, I wanted to kill him.”
Cillian felt a strange—unhealthy—stab of jealousy. “And…”
“Maybe.” She shook her head. “I’ve never done either one. I can’t do both, so I do neither. I want to stay human.”
Cillian wasn’t sure what to say, other than, “Let’s start searching…If you see anything that could be business, set it aside.”
She nodded, and they searched in silence.
11
Nyx screamed, but not in pleasure.
Eavan was out of the office before Cillian realized she’d moved. He followed her, not as fast as she moved but only a few steps behind her.
When he crossed the threshold of Brennan’s room and saw Nyx, he was horrified. Brennan had her bound with thick chains. White powder was all over her face, giving her lips a chalky appearance. She was unconscious. There were gashes in both of her arms and one high up on her thigh. Blood poured from those cuts into paint basins under each arm.
“Eve!” Brennan was blood-covered, naked, and far too happy. “I had no idea you would bring me such a present. Glaistig blood is ridiculously expensive in the open market, and for whatever reason, they’re averse to my presence so I can’t lure them in for love nor money.”
“Get Nyx,” was all Eavan said, and then she was on Brennan like a crazed person.
Brennan pushed her back like she weighed nothing and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned forward and bit him, grabbing his earlobe in her mouth.
He laughed joyously. “I knew you’d be perfect.”
Cillian unwound the chains from Nyx and looked up at Eavan. “She’s breathing.”
“Go,” Eavan said. She was held in an unwilling embrace by Brennan. “Bind her wounds in the car. Get her out of here before she’s too weakened.”
Cillian couldn’t stand the idea of leaving Eavan behind. “But—”
“Please?” she asked Cillian before turning her attention to Brennan and adding, “Let them leave, and I’ll stop fighting.”
Brennan kissed her. “Better yet, how about I let them go, and you keep fighting? I don’t like my zombie girls; I just like the money I make selling them.”
“Done.” She looked over at Cillian again. “Get her home. Now. Tell Chloe to call Muriel.”
Cillian lifted Nyx into his arms, but he hesitated. How do I leave her here? Eavan caught his gaze and asked, “Please? She’s…she needs help. If she dies…please?”
Brennan picked up a knife and held it against Eavan’s throat.
She didn’t move.
“Listen to Eve, or I’ll bleed her out.” Brennan drew a heart on Eavan’s throat with the tip of the knife. “If you go, Eve gets a fair chance at fighting.”
Eavan stood meekly as blood trickled slowly down her skin and vanished into her shirt. “Please, Cillian? I need Nyx safe.”
Eavan watched Cillian carry her grandmother out. Daniel held her still. She could feel how happy he was to be entangled with her. He nuzzled her bleeding throat and murmured, “Did you really think I didn’t know what you were, Eve?”
“How?”
“I drink glaistig blood. I mix it in my drugs. I knew who and what you were the moment you crossed my path. A virgin glaistig. Do you know what you’re worth on the market, lovely Eve?” He licked her throat. “I don’t want to share you though. Not now, and definitely not once your hooves are here.”
She didn’t speak. The words she had screaming in her head weren’t words to share with mortals.
“Tell me yes.” He traced the contours of her body. “Better yet, tell me no.”
“Why?”
He kissed her, and she couldn’t deny how easily her body responded. It wasn’t the mind-blowing reaction she had to Cillian, but it was a reaction. But he hurt Nyx. If he hadn’t done that, if he’d have been honest with her, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to resist.
“We could skip this whole messy business. Save me having to kill your lovely family…” He loosened his grip. “We could keep playing our games, but you’ll be stronger.” He got more excited as he spoke, rubbing against her. “It’ll be fun.”
He unbuttoned her blouse. “You can’t run.” He traced down her sternum with bloody fingers. “That’s what I said to your grandmother. A little glaistig blood, powder, and magic, and she was helpless. Just like you…I have your kind’s blood in me. Just like glaistigs, when I speak, you have to obey…”
He kissed her and laid her back on his bed. “Lose the skirt…and the gun, Eve.”
Over the years, Eavan had felt herself forced under Nyx’s will; she’d watched Nyx and the rest of the clan bend mortals to their wishes. No one but Nyx was strong enough to force her to obey. Daniel shouldn’t be, either.
He was though.
“Thought you didn’t like them mindless?” Eavan ran her thumb along her bellyband holster. Would death by bullet, not by my actual hand, still mean changing? She wasn’t sure.
“I don’t. Once you lose the gun, I’ll gladly give you control.” His eyes darkened at the thought. “You want me; don’t you, Eve? You wanted me the night we met. Tell me the truth.”
“I did,” she admitted.
“The skirt.” He sat up, so she could remove it. “But keep the panties.”