A weapon. I’ll bet he’s got a weapon in there. “Not a thing.”
Kynan studied her as if trying to see through her, and it was unnerving as hell. “Have you ever seen a demon, Jillian?”
“Ms. Cardiff. And no.”
He gave her a tolerant smile, and Jillian got the same instant jolt of oh-shit she used to get when two planes were on a collision course. Somehow, Kynan knew she was lying. “Have you ever been attacked by a demon, Ms. Cardiff?”
Okay, now she was getting pissed. Especially because the other guy, Arik, was wandering around her deck, taking covert peeks through her window.
“If I had been attacked by a demon, then I’d have seen one, isn’t that right?”
“Not necessarily,” Kynan said. “Some are invisible.”
She smiled tightly. “Why don’t you tell me what special investigative unit you’re from.”
“We work for the Demonic Activity Response Team.”
DART. She’d read about them on the Internet. “I’ll assume that you’ve been in touch with local law enforcement?”
“Both the county sheriff’s office and the state police.”
“Then if you want anything more from me, I suggest you bring one of the officers with you, because I’m done with your questions.” She jerked her chin at the SUV in the driveway. “Now get off my property before I exercise my rights as a homeowner dealing with trespassers.”
Kynan cocked an eyebrow at her as she spun around and stormed into the house. She closed the door behind her, locked it, and fell back against the wood, her heart pounding crazily. She allowed herself two calming breaths, and then she grabbed the phone and dialed Stacey.
“Hey, Stace.” She didn’t even give her friend time to say hello. “I need to know what those guys from DART know about me.”
Stacey took a sip of something, probably coffee, on the other end of the line. “What are you talking about?”
“They were just here, asking me questions about demons.”
“Well, they’re investigating the attacks, and you’re the closest neighbor. It makes sense.”
“But do they know about my attack?”
“Well, I certainly didn’t tell them. They came in last night, and we briefed them on the situation, and then they were headed to the scenes. They haven’t been back.”
“Did you tell them about Reseph?”
“No. Why? Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine.” She heard the truck outside start up. “Look, I gotta go. I’ll call later.”
“Jill—”
Jillian hung up as Reseph came out of the bedroom, dressed as usual in jeans and nothing else. His gaze focused like a laser on the window.
“Who are they?” As he watched, his entire demeanor changed, going from carefree and loose to… well, she could only describe it as deadly. And yet, he still appeared to be relaxed. But there was a new intensity in his expression and a subtle tightening of his muscles.
“They’re the demon investigators.”
His voice went low. “Did they follow us here?”
“I don’t think so. They just wanted to know if I’ve seen anything strange.” Confusion flitted across his expression. “Reseph? Are you okay? Do you recognize them?”
As the truck drove away, the lethal vibe radiating from him scaled back, but his jaw was still tight, his hands still clenched. “No. But there was something… shit, I don’t know. It’s like I felt I should know them, but if I did, they’d want to kill me.”
“Kill you?” She put down the phone, hoping he didn’t notice that her hand was shaking. “I think that’s a little extreme. They deal with demons. Not humans.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” He smiled, but it didn’t match the worry she saw in his eyes. “I’m sure you’re right.”
Thirteen
Reaver’s first stop after trying to convince his Heavenly brethren of Gethel’s betrayal was Ares’s manor. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised to find all of the Horsemen—save Reseph—on the beach. Ares and Thanatos were manning a barbecue grill while Cara and Regan played with Rath, Cara and Ares’s adopted Ramreel demon toddler. Limos was holding a baby, who Reaver instantly knew was Logan, Than and Regan’s son. Circling at her feet was a pitch-black hellhound puppy the size of a Labrador retriever that kept looking up at the infant. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the pup had bonded to the baby and would forever be a faithful bodyguard.
Reaver kicked off his shoes and walked on bare feet toward the group.
Limos saw him first, but then, she usually did. Her grin was blinding, and he knew that if she hadn’t been holding Logan, she’d have thrown herself into his arms, again, as she usually did.
The rest of the gang was more measured with their greetings, and Reaver braced himself. Thanatos, his bare upper body encased in layers of tattoos, crossed to Limos and took the baby, and with Regan at his side, they waited for Reaver to walk up to them.
“He’s beautiful,” Reaver said, his voice shakier than he’d expected. He liked babies, but this one was special, and it wasn’t just because his birth had saved the world. This was the first Horseman offspring, and Reaver felt like a proud uncle.
“Yes,” Than said coolly, “he is. You missed his birth.”
And… it started. “I was fighting Gethel.”
“For three months?”
“I’m sorry, Thanatos.” He nodded to Regan. “If I could have come sooner, I would have.”
Ares approached, reddish-brown hair glinting in the sunlight, but Cara remained back with Rath. The little demon darted to the surf to play in the waves, his hooved feet kicking up ivory foam. “What happened? Where’s Gethel?”
“So you haven’t seen her, then?” Damn. Reaver was hoping she’d shown her traitorous face… not because Reaver wanted her messing with his Horsemen, but because anything she said might reveal her hand.
The blond braids at Thanatos’s temples slapped his cheeks as he shook his head. “Last we saw her was with you.”
He looked past Reaver, and a tingle on the back of Reaver’s neck said that Harvester had arrived. Excellent, because Reaver really needed another complication.
She eased up next to him, and he nearly groaned when he saw what she was wearing. Or, more accurately, what she wasn’t wearing.
Her long black hair hung over one shoulder, cascading over breasts barely covered by a skimpy knit swimsuit top. He suspected that her matching yellow bikini bottom was a thong, but she’d at least tied a sheer black cover-up around her waist. Not that the cover-up did anything to hide a body made for sin. Literally. And Reaver, who had always appreciated a female who dressed provocatively, had to tear his gaze away before his body started reacting to Harvester the way it had when they’d kissed in Sheoul-gra.
“How are my lovely Horsemen today?” she chirped, all sunshine and rainbows. Something was up. She was never happy-happy.
“We’re waiting for Reaver to tell us what happened with Gethel,” Than said.
This time when Reaver held back a groan, it was because he was expecting Harvester to spill the beans, and Reaver wasn’t ready to tell them what he’d done with Reseph. If he could destroy Gethel before she found Reseph, Reaver might be able to salvage some of his plan to keep the Horseman safe in the human realm while his mind healed. Of course, if Gethel had told anyone at all that Reseph was free, the plan might be all shot to hell.
“Gethel and I fought, but the chamber filled with demons, and she escaped.”
“And where have you been since?” Than’s question wasn’t a challenge. There was too much hurt in his tone.
“I was trapped in Sheoul,” Reaver said. It wasn’t a lie, but wasn’t the complete truth.