“Adam is the police,” I said, stalling while I tried to think of what to say.
Brian nodded. “And if I understand things correctly, he’s even now hiding the body of a man he just shot to death. What the hell is going on?”
I sighed. Beside me, Andy was studiously ignoring us, scrubbing away as if he couldn’t hear a word we said.
“There’s a reason I’ve been trying to keep you out of this,” I told him. “It’s…complicated. And we can’t afford to have the police involved.” I was having a hard enough time figuring out how to answer Brian’s questions. I couldn’t imagine how we could explain all this to the police. Not without drawing way too much attention to ourselves and making our lives even harder. Based on all the violence that had happened around me when Lugh had first taken over, I was probably already on some kind of secret police watch list.
“That’s not enough of an explanation,” Brian said sharply. “Stop putting me off and tell me what’s going on! I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping my mouth shut so far, but I’m not going to sit quietly by and watch a man get killed and do nothing!” Yeah, the color was coming back to his face, all right. He was turning an unattractive shade of red. “Not to mention that Dominic is now possessed by an illegal demon! Do you realize how many laws that demon just broke?”
I’d been so relieved that Dominic wasn’t going to die that I hadn’t even thought about that. Aside from the fact that Dom hadn’t signed all the appropriate consent forms, transferring via skin-to-skin contact was strictly forbidden, no matter what the reason. The general public found that comforting, though several advocacy groups for the sick and dying continually fought the law in court. I didn’t think that was a battle they’d win anytime soon. I was far from the only person who wasn’t as a general rule overly fond of demons.
“I’d rather he break laws than let Dominic die,” I said, my voice rising. I’d been doing pretty well at holding myself together up until then, but now something inside me snapped. “And he wouldn’t have been hurt in the first place if you two hadn’t come charging down the stairs like macho morons! What the hell were you thinking?”
Brian stood up, shoving the chair away from him. I wasn’t about to argue with him on my knees while holding a scrub brush, so I scrambled to my feet as well.
“We heard fucking gunshots!” Brian screamed at me, towering over me and leaning into my personal space. I flinched, because Brian almost never uses curse words. “What were we supposed to do?” he continued. “Cower upstairs like little girls?”
“Yes!” I answered, poking him in the chest for no good reason. “You should have stayed upstairs like we told you. You could have both gotten killed.”
“So could the three of you.”
“At least two of us had demons who could heal us, unlike—” I didn’t even realize what I was saying until Brian’s eyes widened with shock. I replayed my own words in my head, then felt the blood drain from my face.
Brian looked at Andy, who’d quit pretending to scrub the floor. “I thought…” Brian shook his head. “Your demon is gone! Or were you actually faking catatonia all that time?”
“No, my demon is gone,” Andy said, ignoring my pleading look.
I swallowed hard, my heart throbbing in my throat, as Brian stared at me in horror. I could see him struggling for words, failing to find them. And I knew that no matter how badly I wanted to protect him from the truth, there was no way I could hide anymore. Three cheers for my fucking subconscious!
“Yes, Brian,” I said. “I’m possessed. But it’s all very weird. My demon is kind of…hidden. He can’t seem to get control of me except when I’m sleeping. He’s one of the good guys, but there are a lot of people who want him dead.” I let out a long, slow breath. “I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t want you caught in the middle of this. My life isn’t my own right now.”
I watched Brian trying to absorb what I’d just told him. And failing. I’d left a hell of a lot out, but based on the almost glassy look in his eyes, I figured that was just as well.
Silly me. When I’d thought about—and then rejected—the idea of telling him the truth before, my rationalization had always been that telling him would drag him into the middle of the demon civil war. It hadn’t occurred to me that he might hear what I had to say and decide he wanted nothing more to do with me. But that’s what the look on his face suggested at the moment.
“It’s a lot to take in, I know,” I said as gently as I knew how. “You could probably use a little time to figure out what you think and feel about it. You should be safe, at least for the time being. Maybe you should go home and sleep on it. We can talk again tomorrow, and I can answer any questions you have.” Of course, I’d be very picky about which questions I’d answer and how. “The only thing I’d ask of you tonight is that you don’t call the police. And don’t tell anyone about any of this.”
“The only thing you ask,” he said, laughing bitterly. “You’re asking me to be an accessory to murder.”
“I’m asking you to trust me. You know how I feel about demons. But this one,” I said, patting my chest, “I need to protect. Please.”
He thought it over for what felt like twelve hours, then nodded. He fixed me with the coldest, most implacable stare I’d ever seen. “I won’t call the police. And I won’t tell anyone you’re possessed. At least not yet. You’re right that I need a little time to think. So I’m going to go home, and I’m going to think. Then tomorrow, we’re going to talk. And Morgan, I’d better like your answers.”
I hated having him look at me like that. I hated the hurt that pounded in my chest, and the tears that stung my eyes.
We all jumped when Adam cleared his throat from the basement doorway. He was standing between Brian and the front door, and though he was trying to look casual, his hand was hovering near his gun.
“Um, do you really think that’s a good idea?” he asked, looking back and forth between me and Brian.
The hair on the back of my neck prickled with unease. I didn’t much like Adam the demon, but I didn’t know anything about Adam the human. Was he as much of a badass as his demon? He didn’t have the hard, scary look on his face that Adam often had…but then his hand was near his gun.
Trying to look casual, I edged forward to put myself in the line of fire. The slight raise of Adam’s eyebrows showed me I hadn’t been as subtle as I’d thought.
“If Brian says he’ll keep this to himself, he will,” I said. “He’s not one to break promises.”
Adam chewed that one over for a bit. “A—My demon wouldn’t let him leave. You know that.”
I nodded slowly, because there was no question what Adam the demon would have done. “But he’s busy right now, and you’re in charge. Brian’s an innocent bystander, and he’s given his word. I have more to lose than anyone. I could be burned alive if I’m wrong. I’m that confident he’s not going to break his word.”
Adam grimaced. “Well. My demon’s going to have some choice words for me about this, I’m sure.” His hand moved away from the gun, and he stepped out of the way so Brian could move past him.
Brian didn’t say a word to anyone. After one last look at the bloodstains on the carpet, he made a bee-line for the door. He slammed it when he left.
We finished cleaning up the carpet with as little conversation as possible. Adam had some enzymatic cleanser he poured onto the remaining stain, and he swore that after it sat and worked for a while, we could soak it up and the carpet would look as good as new. I didn’t want to know how he knew that.
“Well,” Adam said when we were as done as we could be for the time being. “I don’t know about the two of you, but I could use a stiff drink after all that.”
“Thanks,” Andy said, “but if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to go home for a while. I’ve had about all I can take.”