Heart of the Demon (10 page)

“Yes, please. Be sure to include his contact info. Thanks.” She headed back toward the ambulance, then paused and turned toward
him. “You might pass along to Lucifer that perhaps now is the time for demon representation on the council. The next rift
is only two weeks away. More prets will come through and people are going to flip out. It’s only a matter of time before they
are painfully aware that demons are as real as every other preternatural on the planet.” Without waiting for his response,
she walked away.

Finn sauntered to the edge of the crime scene and ducked under the yellow tape. At his bike he paused and reflected on what
Piper had said. She wasn’t wrong. People were going to find themselves with family members and friends who were human one
minute and preternatural the next. And some of those prets would be demons.

Their secret would be out, in a big way.

By that time he’d be a free man, and none of this would be his problem anymore. He’d finally have the time and energy to devote
to pursuing a real relationship with Keira without having to worry someone would come after her because of his job.

K
eira went into the Devil’s Domain and stopped at the bar to order a drink. “Glenlivet Eighteen, straight up,” she told the
vampire behind the bar. He handed her the whiskey and she made her way toward the back of the club. She tried to ignore the
press of bodies, both preternatural and human, and the extreme noise level. The place was packed to capacity tonight, and
everyone had to yell in order to be heard over the din.

Javier stood next to the door. His brown eyes lit on her as she neared. “I was wondering when you’d get here,
bonita
.” He flipped his wrist to check his watch. “You’re late.”

“Traffic,” she said by way of explanation. Trying to get anywhere quickly in the greater Phoenix metro area was an exercise
in futility. “I’m here now.” She placed her free hand on his arm and let part of her energy wash over him, creating a slight
euphoric satisfaction in Javier. She could feel it bouncing back at her, so she knew it was working.

“Let’s go inside,” he said and opened the door to the private rooms where the vampires fed.

She followed him through the door and into a tiny room off to the left of the narrow corridor. The space was only large enough
to hold a regular-size red sofa and a small table at the end opposite the door. Javier motioned for her to sit, and she did.
As he sat down next to her, she took a sip from her glass, hoping the burn of whiskey down her throat would bolster her courage.

Javier took the glass from her and twisted to place it on the table behind him. Then, picking up her hand, he played with
her fingers while he mused, “I’ve been hungry for you,
bonita
. So hungry.” He raised his gaze to hers. His pupils had completely dilated, leaving them rimmed in the thinnest circle of
brown, and the whites of his eyes had filled with red. “Will you allow me to nourish myself on your sweet vitality again?”

Oh, sweet Morrigan, she wanted to throw up. At least she knew the fake feeding she’d foisted onto him still held. This time,
though, she didn’t need to let him do anything to her. She was in the group. With a smile she pulled her hand away. “Not tonight,
I’m afraid. You said you had a message for me?”

His mouth firmed but he answered readily enough. “Our next meeting is in two days. Stefan wants you to stay afterward.”

Her mouth went dry. Had she somehow given herself away? “Why?”

“He didn’t say.” Javier seemed a bit put out by that fact, making Keira wonder if he didn’t hold as much sway with the group
leader as she’d been led to believe. He might be as much a foot soldier as she was hoping to be.

“Where’s the meeting?”

“Here. At six p.m. In the basement, as before. You’ll get another QR code sent to your phone.” He put one hand on her shoulder
and lightly squeezed. “This you don’t want to be late for.”

“I won’t be.” She stood. “Thank you, Javier. I appreciate you introducing me to the group.”

He got to his feet and stared into her eyes. “You don’t act so appreciative,
bonita
.”

Damn it.
She took his hand in hers and pushed with her empathy, creating a sense of well-being and that same sense of satisfaction
she’d imparted before they’d come into the room. “I would show you in a more substantial way if I could. I just can’t afford
to be weakened right now. I’m sure you understand.”

He withdrew his hands. “I do understand.” He held her gaze a moment longer, somber and disappointed before a small twinkle
appeared in his eyes. “That doesn’t mean I have to like it, does it?”

She gave him an answering smile though what she really felt like doing was giving the little shite a swift kick in the arse.
“No, it doesn’t.” She opened the door. “I’ll see you around.”

“Count on it,” he murmured.

Half an hour later Keira stood barefoot on the small patch of grass in her backyard. As she absorbed energy from the Earth,
she felt her body relaxing, her spirit calming. With a sigh she sank onto the grass and lay on her back, eyes closed against
the early evening sun. When darkness arrived she might come back out here naked, but for now having the Earth against her
heels, palms, and the back of her head would have to do.

In order to prepare for the upcoming rogue meeting, she decided she would take it easy over the next forty-eight hours. She
needed all the energy she could muster, especially since she’d been commanded to stay afterward to meet with Stefan.

Her skin went cold again at that thought. Surely if he suspected she was a fraud he wouldn’t bother to have her sit through
a meeting. So what the hell could he want?

Two days later Keira took a seat in the last row and watched as other preternaturals entered the room. The last time she’d
attended a meeting she’d ended up sitting in one of the middle rows, so she hadn’t been able to see everyone. Now, from back
here, she had a great view. And she was on the outer aisle, so if she needed to she had the ability to stand up and lean against
the wall. She could always explain that she didn’t like sitting for prolonged periods of time, which wasn’t untrue.

She watched a variety of prets come into the room, and a few seconds later Finn strolled in.

Finn. At this meeting
. He was dressed as he usually was, in a soft black T-shirt that showed off his muscular torso, black leather jacket, worn
blue jeans that hugged his hard thighs, and heavy shit-kicker boots encasing his large feet.

Shock ran through her all the way to the tips of her neon green toenails. Yet she wondered why she was surprised to see him
here. He had always seemed like such a
What’s in it for me?
kind of guy, so she assumed he had some other agenda than the one the group followed. What, she couldn’t say.

Disappointment followed on the heels of her shock. She believed Finn could be so much more than what he was if he’d only allow
himself to try. If the rumors were true, and she suspected they were based on his attitude, then he was Lucifer’s son. Much
of Finn’s behavior reminded her of a son bucking up against his father’s authority. If theirs was a difficult father-son relationship,
it would explain so much.

It could also explain what he was doing here. If Lucifer was against integration of demonkind into the other pret groups,
which he’d certainly seemed to be, then this could be another way that Finn had to stick it to the man.

She watched as he made his way across the room. He started down the aisle on the opposite side of the room from her. She knew
exactly when he saw her. He stopped cold and a funny expression crossed his face. She couldn’t decide if it was astonishment,
disappointment, or distress. Maybe it was all three for he certainly seemed gobsmacked to see her. He began to walk the rest
of the way down the aisle, his intention to reach her clear in his manner, but Stefan Liuz stepped up to the podium and called
the meeting to order. Finn paused, then took the nearest seat he could find, which put him several rows in front of Keira.
For him to look at her he’d have to twist round, but she had a grand view of him. Or, at least, of the back of his head and
powerfully built shoulders.

Stefan went through his tiresome, illogical rhetoric again. And at the end of his speech the room exploded into applause.
Keira clapped along with everyone else and watched Finn for his reaction. He seemed just as enamored as the rest of the crowd,
which really disappointed her. She’d thought if nothing else his innate intelligence would save him.

“Now, before I dismiss you all,” Stefan said, beaming a look around the room like a doting father, “I’d like Keira O’Brien
and Finn Evnissyen to stay afterward so we can talk.”

Her stomach dropped. Most of the people in the room turned to stare at her. The curiosity in their eyes made her wonder if
Stefan requesting audience members to stay behind was an unusual occurrence. Or maybe they were curious about her, since she
was new to town. Whatever the reason, she’d find out soon enough what he wanted with her. And Finn.

Stefan met her eyes, his own expression unreadable, and she did her best to suppress her growing panic. With another glance
at the room he said, “Thank you all for coming. Victory will be ours!”

There was more applause, which eventually petered out and stopped. Keira slowly made her way up front, her pace in no way
reflecting the racing beat of her heart, and reached the rogue leader at the same time that Finn did. While Stefan finished
a conversation he was having with another follower, she murmured, “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not the only one who’s surprised.” Finn stood close and gazed down into her eyes. His voice low, he said,
“What the hell are you doing?”

She raised her brows. What did he expect her to say with Stefan—a vampire with very good hearing—standing right there? “I’m here for the same reason everyone else is,” she said. “I’m tired of being treated like…no, worse than
second-class citizens. It’s time we do something about it.”

“I’m so glad to hear you say that,” Stefan chimed in before Finn responded. The leader murmured something to the man he’d
been speaking with, and the man walked away, purpose in his strides. Stefan put an arm around Keira’s shoulders and then did
the same to Finn, though he had to reach up quite a way to do so. “Come with me,” Stefan said.

He led them to one of the rooms that lined the corridor outside the large meeting room. He closed the door behind them and
took a seat in an overstuffed armchair. That left a loveseat for Keira and Finn. She sat down and tried to stay as far away
from Finn as possible, though the settee was so small she could feel the heat from his strong body next to hers.

“Now, let me say first of all how pleased I am to have the two of you on our side.” Stefan leaned forward and clasped his
hands between his knees. “You both bring such solid abilities to the team, we’re fortunate to have you.”

“Thank you,” Keira murmured.

Finn stayed silent and watchful. Keira knew he was wondering the same thing she was: What the hell was Stefan up to?

Stefan gave a slight smile and went on. “I have an assignment for you that will put those skills to good use.”

There it was. She exchanged a glance with Finn. Stefan was going to test them—both their skills and their loyalty, she had
no doubt.

Stefan stood and pulled out a small clasp envelope from the inner pocket of his jacket. “Hold out your hand, Keira,” he said
and walked over to her. Opening the envelope, he poured several rough diamonds onto her palm. He smiled at her gasp. “Each
of these is at least two carats. They’re fake, of course.”

Keira picked one up and looked at it more closely. It was a damned good fake, that was certain. She’d seen a lot of diamonds
in her days, and at a glance this would fool even the most reputable jeweler.

“I want you to go to a local shop and swap out a couple of these for real ones.” Stefan sat back down. “Specifically, Beynard
Jewelers. They just received a shipment of raw diamonds. We need additional funds, and the money from those real diamonds
will fill our coffers nicely.” He stared at her, his gaze tracking over her face. “I’ve been told you’re really good at grifting.
I want to see how good you are.”

“Of course.” Keira was unable to fight back the tinge of sadness at the thought that people still wanted to use her because
of her abilities to be a con artist, though she did think she was successful in hiding it. Stefan needed to think she was
eager to prove herself to him. To the cause.

She couldn’t deny the slight embarrassment that this was happening in front of Finn. While he was aware of her history, he’d
never seen proof of it like he was now. She also couldn’t deny the slight thrill of excitement at the thought of pulling a
heist. The adrenaline rush was still there even after all this time.

“And if you’re successful with this assignment, I can promise you that you’ll be relied upon more and more.”

If she was adept at swapping out the diamonds, she might get into the shadow cabinet of advisers and fixers for Stefan. She
had to do this; time was running out. The next rift was only two weeks away. She had to get into that inner circle, become
part of Stefan’s closest confidants so she could find out where he was building his machine.

“For you, my friend,” Stefan said, looking at Finn, “I have a job that is perfect for your rather unique skill set.” He didn’t
say anything more.

Keira glanced at Finn and could tell he was going to be stubborn enough to try to get Stefan to make the first move instead
of doing what Stefan wanted him to do, which was solicit the information. She slowly moved her foot over and nudged his.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. With a slight huff of air, he looked at Stefan. “What job is that?” he asked.

Stefan’s face wore a hint of satisfaction that Finn had blinked first. With an air of magnanimity, the rogue leader said,
“I want you to kill Tobias Caine.”

The words hung there, bald and desperate. Vile.

Keira’s jaw went slack with shock. She saw the muscles of Finn’s back go taut. “You what?” He scooted forward to the edge
of the sofa.

“You heard me. Now, if you also want to take out his wife, I’m all right with that, too.” Stefan gave a careless shrug. “I
don’t have anything against her personally. But if she dies first, I’ll at least have the satisfaction in knowing that Tobias
suffered before he drew his last breath.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. “I realize you have something
of a relationship with the wife because her mother and your…employer are lovers.”

“That’s right.” Finn didn’t offer up anything more than that. If Stefan knew that Finn was more than Lucifer’s employee, Finn
wasn’t going to confirm it.

“And why do you want me to kill Tobias?” Finn’s voice gave away nothing of what he felt.

“That’s my business.” He steepled his hands beneath his chin, tapping his fingers together. “Let’s just say he’s gotten in
my way before and is likely to get in my way again, and I like to remove all obstacles I can anticipate.”