Heart of the Demon (11 page)

“Fair enough.” Finn folded his arms across his chest. “And you prefer that I also kill Nix?”

Keira couldn’t believe how calm he was. How calm they both were. They were sitting here talking about murdering two people
with less heat than they would if they’d been talking about a ball game.

“Like I said, I realize you and she have a relationship.”

“Of sorts.” Finn shrugged. “It’s not like we’re close. We really don’t get along.” He paused and lifted his hands. “I actually
think she doesn’t like me too much. Needless to say, we haven’t had a lot to do with each other.”

Stefan gave a nod and looked as if he’d heard something that confirmed what he already knew. “From what I understand, every
time the two of you do come into contact, you give her a hard time.”

“That might be true,” Finn drawled.

“Yes, I had heard of an altercation between the two of you at Devil’s Domain some months back. You and Caine got into it,
too, as I recall.” Stefan’s slow smile glittered in his dark eyes. “Look, do whatever you want with Nix. Kill her or leave
her be. But I want Tobias dead. Somehow I don’t think that will be too much of a hardship for you.”

“Nope.”

Keira looked from one man to the other, feeling like she ought to interject something, evince some protest at their machinations.
Yet, she couldn’t find the words.

Stefan leaned forward. “Bring me proof.”

Keira stared at Finn, aghast that he seemed more than willing to take out a council member. After all his protestations that
he wasn’t a cold-blooded killer…pain skittered through her chest. She really didn’t know this man at all.

Finn’s mind raced as he tried to come up with alternative solutions to the job Liuz had assigned to him. He couldn’t, he
wouldn’t
, kill Tobias Caine. Not to cement his role in the group, not to save his own life, which might be in jeopardy if he failed
to carry out this job. This damned test. “What kind of proof do you want?” he asked.

“Bring me his head.”

There was no way in hell
that
was going to happen. He shook his own head and folded his arms across his chest. “We’re not living in the Middle Ages. I’m
not carting anybody’s head around town.” He ran his tongue across his teeth, and inspiration struck. He’d always heard desperation
was the predecessor to inspiration. Or some such thing. “I’ll bring you his fangs.” When Liuz looked about to argue, Finn
said, “Take it or leave it. Or get someone else to do it.” In which case he’d have to do what he could to stop the assassin.

It all depended on how badly this loony tune wanted Caine’s head.

Liuz stared at him for a few moments, his gaze hard, face dark with displeasure. Finally he said, “Fine.” He started to say
more but stopped when his cell phone rang. He stood and walked away to stand in the corner of the room, his back to them,
voice low.

Finn leaned over the arm of the sofa, trying to put a little distance between him and Keira so she wouldn’t sense what he
was doing. Then he called on his chameleon abilities and took on the hearing of a werewolf. Liuz seemed to be kowtowing quite
a bit to the person on the other end of the line, even if Finn couldn’t quite pick up exactly what he was saying.

Huh.
Maybe Liuz wasn’t the one in charge after all. Finn pushed his ability, trying to hear the voice of the other person, but
he couldn’t make out anything more than the cadence of speech. He couldn’t even tell if it was male or female. When he heard
Keira sniff a few times, he stopped what he was doing and allowed the chameleon to settle back inside.

She looked puzzled. While the fey didn’t have olfactory senses as good as shapeshifters, vampires, and demons, they still
could pick out scent better than humans.

Damn it, he hadn’t been able to tell who Liuz was talking to.

The vamp finished his call and turned toward them. “Thank you both. I expect to hear results by midnight. Tonight.”

Keira blinked, but Finn wasn’t surprised. Liuz would want to ensure they didn’t have time to cheat, so giving them a tight
schedule would limit their opportunities to do anything underhanded. Well, other than the underhanded stuff they were
supposed
to do.

“Tonight?” Keira started shaking her head. “I can’t possibly pull off a job with this kind of notice. I need to stake out
the place, check on their security measures, figure out the personalities of the staff so I know which approach is best—”

“Tonight.” Liuz sent her a hard stare, which he also turned on Finn.

Finn held up his hands in a surrender mode. He wasn’t the one who had a problem with the short notice they’d been given.

“Of course you wouldn’t care,” Keira muttered. “There’s no finesse in running off and killing someone. However, I’m supposed
to swap out diamonds at a moment’s notice?”

“Are you saying you’re not as good as I’ve been told?” Liuz asked. His voice had gone silky, dangerous like a spider waiting
for unwary prey.

“No, of course not.” Keira huffed a sigh. “I just…having only a couple of hours to do this is setting me up to fail.”

“Or setting you up to succeed magnificently.” Liuz once again wore his jovial expression, though his beady eyes held hardness.
“Call me at this number,” Liuz said and handed them both a business card. The only thing printed on it was a phone number.
“Once you contact me, we’ll arrange a meeting.” He stared at both of them, his dark eyes steely. “Don’t disappoint me.”

“I’m sure we won’t,” Finn said. He followed Keira out of the room.

They were both silent as they left the building, but once they were outside, she rounded on him. “What do you think you’re
doing?”

He frowned and put his hand up to shade his eyes. Since he was facing west, light from the setting sun was full on his face.
He tried to ignore the way it seemed to set her hair on fire, reds and orange lights dancing along each strand. “What do you
mean?”

“Joining this group! Why would you do that?” Her voice rose at the end.

This was not a conversation he wanted to have in the parking lot of a trendy, popular club, well within earshot of anyone
who cared to listen. “Where’s your car?” he asked.

She sent him a scowl. “I want to talk to you about this, boyo, so don’t be thinkin’ you can just send the little woman on
her way.”

“I want to talk to you about it, too, but in private.” He raised his eyebrows. “Now where’s your car?”

“Over there,” she muttered. After they’d gotten in, her behind the wheel, him in the passenger seat, she twisted to face him.
“So?”

“Why are
you
part of this group?” he asked. He couldn’t tell her the true reason he was taking part in the festivities, so if he could
put her on the defensive maybe she’d stop haranguing him.

“Why do most prets join the group?” she responded. “There’s something missing from their lives that this group can fill.”

“That’s why you joined?” He stretched his left arm out to rest his hand against the back of the driver’s seat. “You have a
void in your life?”

She stared at him. “What does it matter why I joined? Why do you care?”

He shook his head. “Look, I ran out of give-a-fucks about a lot of stuff a long time ago.” He met her eyes. “But I do care
about you.” He softened his voice. “
What
are you doing here? I thought you wanted to be better than all of this.” He made a circular gesture with his right hand.

Her blue eyes widened slightly. “I did. I do. But…” She trailed off and dropped her gaze to her hands. He watched slender
fingers twist together. Finally she whispered, “It’s so hard. And I’m tired.”

Finn reached over and cupped her chin. “Get out now, Keira. While you still can.”

For a moment he thought she might take his advice, but then she stiffened and pulled back. He let his hand drop onto his thigh.
When her eyes lifted to meet his, they were hard with determination. “What about you? All I’ve been asked to do is a bit of
stealing. You’ve been ordered to murder someone. And not just any someone. A member of the council.”

“Like I said, I ran out of give-a-fucks.” He lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. “I think Liuz is onto something with
this plan to keep the rift open longer to allow more prets to come through. Hopefully some of those prets will be demons,
because we’re outnumbered as it is.”

“I wouldn’t count on it if I were you.”

“What do you mean?”

She grimaced. “He’s said that it’s his allies, and friends of friends, who have been greasing the palms of Detention Center
employees in order to be ‘rifted’ without documentation. Do you really think his cronies, who are probably mostly from his
home planet, are going to let a bunch of your people through? I reckon we’ll end up with a lot more vampires.”

“You’re probably right.” He wasn’t overly concerned about the numbers, because Liuz’s plans weren’t going to come to fruition.
Finn would see to it. In order for him to succeed, he had to kill Tobias Caine. And everyone, Keira included, needed to believe
he was going to carry out his orders.

“Speaking of vampires,” she said now, “don’t kill Tobias and Nix. Please. You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I rather think I do.” He cupped her chin again and leaned down for a quick kiss. “You have your assignment, and I have
mine.”

“You’re not a cold-blooded killer no matter what you say. I know you’re better than this.”

He wasn’t a cold-blooded killer, but Liuz didn’t know that, nor did most people, even those who knew Finn. Except for this
slender fey woman. Damn it. If she figured out what was going on with him, she’d blow his cover for sure, possibly without
even meaning to. “I’m the kind of killer I need to be, Keira. Whatever it takes to get the job done.”

Her eyes searched his. “Tobias is nearly family.”

 “Just because he’s married to the daughter of the woman my…employer sleeps with doesn’t make him family.”

She jerked her chin out of his grasp. “Would you stop with all that? I know Lucifer is your father. There’s no point in continuing
to deny it.”

“And how do you know that?”

“I just do. Your relationship is too dysfunctional for him to be anything other than your father.” Even with a scowl she was
the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. “Don’t do this.”

He’d let her have her win on guessing his relationship with Lucifer. “If killing my almost brother-in-law is the price to
pay for being accepted into this group, then I’m willing to pay it. Besides, killing a vamp won’t be all that different than
killing a demon.” Before she could continue the argument, he leaned down and dropped another kiss on her mouth. “See you later.”

He got out of the car and, as he walked toward his motorcycle, resisted the urge to turn around for one last look. Keira seemed
more concerned about him than she did about herself. It was telling. Exactly what she was trying to tell him, though, he hadn’t
quite wrapped his head around yet.

K
eira watched Finn ride off on his motorcycle and muttered a few pithy words. She wasn’t naive; she knew Finn had killed before.
It was part of his job as one of Lucifer’s enforcers. But she didn’t want the murder of people who were essentially his family
to be on his conscience. And it would weigh on him, no matter how badass he thought he was.

She wished she had a better handle on why he’d joined the group in the first place. He was not a team player by any stretch
of the imagination. It didn’t seem feasible to her that he’d joined because he wanted to help usher in a new age. He’d just
as soon go his own way as to help create more preternaturals. At least, that’s what she’d always thought.

Maybe she’d been wrong. And if she was wrong about him with respect to this, how wrong had she gotten everything else? The
sense of fondness and friendship they’d formed, was that all an act? He used his charm and vitality to bait the trap, and
then when it was sprung, would he lose interest?

She didn’t know. And right now she had other things to focus on. Namely, refreshing her skills so she could successfully complete
her assignment.

Two hours later, after having practiced her sleight of hand in front of a mirror, she left the house and headed toward Beynard
Jewelers. Along the way she noticed a black sedan a few cars behind her. It turned each time she did, and when she pulled
into a gas station she watched as it veered down a nearby side street. She put a few dollars of gas into the tank and then
pulled back out into traffic. As she drove past the side street she noticed the black car parked at the curb a few houses
down. And from her rearview mirror she saw it ease back onto the main street.

She was being followed. Her first instinct was to lose them, and she sped up with that intention. But then the black car passed
beneath a traffic light and she recognized the driver as someone she’d seen attending the meeting. So, Stefan had sent someone
to keep an eye on her. He wanted to make sure she was really going to do the job. She didn’t want to make him suspicious,
and if she ditched her tail she probably would. She slowed down to the speed limit and made her way to the jewelers as sedately
as possible.

Keira arrived at Beynard’s twenty minutes before closing. As soon as she walked in she could tell the employees already had
one eye on the clock. No doubt anxious to get their weekends started, which worked out perfectly for her. They’d be in a hurry
and not paying as close attention as they should. Nevertheless, she projected her empathic energy, filling the store with
a sense of happiness and peace, in order to keep everyone slightly less focused than they might otherwise have been.

When a well-dressed older man approached her, she smiled. “I’m designing a ring and would like to see your raw diamonds, please.”

“Of course, madam,” he said. “Please, have a seat.” He pulled out a padded chair at the main counter, and then walked behind
the counter. “What size would you like to see?”

“I think two carats to start.”

“Yes, madam.” With his back to her and making sure he blocked her view of his hand, he punched in a few numbers to open a
small wall safe.

While he was turned away, she unobtrusively pulled out two of the fake diamonds, being sure to keep her hands hidden from
the overhead camera. She gave the stones a quick glance to view their relative size and shape. The salesman turned toward
her and she smiled again and palmed the diamonds. He placed a tray covered in black velvet in front of her. On it were a dozen
uncut stones worth, to her practiced eye, about sixty thousand dollars or so once they were cut and polished. And there were
a few that closely matched the ones she held in her hand.

A man and woman came into the store, drawing the salesman’s attention from her for a few seconds. And that was all she needed.
She swapped out the diamonds, palming the real ones for the time being. When she stood up she’d be able to slide them into
the tight cuff at the wrist of her long-sleeved blouse. She made a mental promise that when this job was over she’d get the
real diamonds back to the owner if she could. She felt badly for what she’d done, but in this case the end justified the means.

When the salesman turned back toward her, Keira asked him a few questions and then said, “You know, I don’t see anything that
suits my needs. Maybe I need larger stones.” She flipped her wrist and checked her watch. “Unfortunately, I don’t have time
right now.”

The man pulled the tray in closer and gave a quick perusal of the stones.

Keira held her breath.

He looked up with a smile. “Please come back any time,” he said.

“Oh, I will. Thank you.”

As soon as she was out the door she halted the flow of empathy, saying a silent apology to the workers inside the store who
would now experience mild depression from no longer being surrounded by her peace-laden glamour.

Two minutes later she backed her car out of the parking lot and headed away from the store. She blew out a breath, part of
her not quite believing she’d pulled it off. Another part felt pride that she still had what it took to get the job done.

After a couple of miles, she slowed and guided the car to the curb where she stopped and slid the gear lever into park. Drawing
in a deep breath, she held it a moment before exhaling, and then dug around in her purse for a tissue. She retrieved the diamonds
from the cuff of her blouse and dropped them into the tissue. She pulled out her phone and called Stefan. When he answered,
she said simply, “It’s done.”

“Good! Good. I’m still at the Domain. Bring the diamonds to me now. Check in with Javier when you get here. He’ll know where
I am.” He hung up before she could respond.

This was just great. If Javier was going to show her the way that meant Stefan was back in the private rooms where the vampires
went to feed. By Dagda’s balls, he’d better not expect to feed off her. Not after all the energy she’d had to expend to keep
everyone in the store feeling happy and calm. Plus, she had to draw the line somewhere. She pulled back into the flow of traffic
and pointed her car toward Devil’s Domain.

Once again she pushed her way through the crowd at the club, and stopped at the door to the private area. And, once again,
Javier was waiting for her. “Come on,
bonita
,” he said. “Stefan can’t wait to see you.”

As long as he didn’t plan on trying to eat her, she couldn’t wait to see him, either. She was glad she’d gotten her rest because
she might have to drum up more glamour on him to make him think he’d fed on her. The sooner she saw him, the sooner she could
get out of here. The sooner she left, the sooner she could take a shower and try to wash away some of the filth she was feeling.
Even if it was all emotional dirt, a shower would help.

She found herself in the same room she’d been in with Javier, only this time Stefan was the one lounging back against the
sofa. She pulled the packet of fake diamonds from her purse and handed them to him, then retrieved the bunched-up tissue from
the pocket of her slacks. He sat forward, his gaze intent on her. “These are the real ones,” she said as she handed the tissue
to him.

He unfolded it and stared at the two raw diamonds in his palm. “Excellent,” he breathed. He looked up at her, his smile crinkling
the corners of his eyes. “Well done, Keira. Very well done.” He leaned back and crossed his legs. “I’m sure we’ll have other
things you can assist us with, especially in the next several days.” A hungry look flitted through his eyes, and she prepared
herself to start deflecting his intent to feed. But just as he scooted to the edge of the sofa, his hand reaching toward her,
two raps sounded on the door.

Stefan’s lips tightened and he called out a terse, “Come.”

The door opened and another vampire poked his head around the edge. “You’re needed. Now.”

A harsh sigh burst from Stefan. “Can’t it wait?” His gaze drifted back to Keira, and she saw the crimson ringing his irises.
His hunger was growing. If he stayed, she’d really have to pull out all the stops to fake him out.

“No.” The vampire stooge winced at the sharp glare Stefan sent him. “You have a call, and he insists on talking to you now.”

Stefan cleared his throat and stood. He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. After pressing a light kiss to her
knuckles, he murmured, “Later, my dear.”

Keira scurried out of the club, but not before washing her hands…twice. She mulled over their conversation as she drove away
from the club. What had he meant when he’d said she’d be able to help them with other things? There wasn’t time to plan any
elaborate scheme and pull it off before the next rift. So what else could he have planned for a grifter like her?

She glanced at the digital clock on the dash. Eight fifteen. She grabbed her phone and called Caladh. He picked up on the
first ring. “I have news.”

“Meet me at the contemporary art museum,” he said.

Half an hour later, after doing her best to make sure she wasn’t still being followed, she stood next to him in front of an
abstract painting by a local artist and brought him up to date on what she knew of the rogue group. “For all his grandiosity,”
she said, “Stefan Liuz has plans that are well thought out. He may be crazy, but he’s also very
smart
.”

“I am not at all comfortable that they’re raising the kind of capital they seem to be.” The selkie councilor glanced at her
and then put his gaze back on the painting. “Do what you can to foil his intentions. You’re my best asset, so be careful.
Don’t do anything to jeopardize your position in the group.”

“Or my life,” she muttered.

“Yes, yes, of course.” Caladh seemed irritated by her clarification. Was he becoming too focused on the goal to remember the
asset he’d put in danger? “We cannot lose the foothold we now have.” He glanced at her again. “You say Finn Evnissyen has
joined the group?”

She gave a nod.

“I trust you’ll not allow your personal feelings toward him to influence your decisions in any way.”

She frowned.

“My dear, you haven’t exactly made your flirtations secret. You and he have been seen together in public, dancing at Devil’s
Domain, having dinner. You’re both, by all accounts, quite flirtatious with each other.”

She couldn’t deny that. Finn was fun to flirt with, and to
be
flirted with. “It won’t be a problem,” she promised.

“See that it’s so.” He paused and then exhaled on a soft sigh. “Keep me informed.” He walked away, hands behind his back.

After a few minutes Keira left the gallery as well. It was time to slough off the unpleasantness of the evening. She had a
long overdue shower to get to.

“Meet me at your mother’s house, all right?” Finn gave a low growl at Nix’s obstinacy. He’d been on the phone with her for
five minutes, trying to get her to agree to see him. Sweet Jesus, but she was even more obstinate now that she was part vampire
than she ever had been as half human. “I promise you I only want to talk,” he said.

Finally she agreed and hung up. Quickly he dialed his father, letting him know he was on his way to Betty’s.

“I’m leaving the office right now,” Lucifer responded. “I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.”

When he got to Betty’s neighborhood, Finn parked his motorcycle a few blocks away and hoofed it to the house like he normally
did. There was something about parking in front of his father’s girlfriend’s house that felt weird. He vaulted the back wall
and knocked on the kitchen door.

Betty let him in. “Nix is in the living room,” she said.

“Thanks.” He went through to the main room.

Nix Caine was sitting on the sofa, leafing through a magazine, but looked up when he entered. She seemed a little thinner
than she’d been the last time he’d seen her, but she looked fit. And content. He felt a brief flare of envy that he quickly
quashed. If she wanted hearth and home and happily ever after, that was fine. For her. For him it was footloose and fancy
free all the way.

“So what’s this all about?” she asked. There were little yellow flecks in her eyes, which told him she was agitated and her
demon half wanted to play.

He glanced back toward the kitchen. Raising his voice a bit, he asked, “Is there any more of that cheesecake?”

Betty poked her head around the corner. “You can wait until Lucifer gets here,” Betty answered. “No one’s having any of his
cheesecake without his permission.”

For God’s sake. The woman was more protective of a food item than she was of her own flesh and blood. No wonder Nix seemed
brittle. If he had to deal with Betty like she did, he’d be on edge, too.

“Finn, you begged me to meet you,” Nix muttered. “Tell me why.”

“I didn’t beg.” He sent her a scowl. “And I’d rather wait until—”

“Tell. Me.”

He heaved a sigh. “You know, I think I liked you better when there was a chance you’d go insane. You weren’t as cranky then.
You were sure a helluva lot more fun.”

“Finn!”

There was no easy way to say this, so he’d just get it out. “I’ve been asked to kill Caine.”

She shot to her feet. Eyes dilated and crimson rimmed what was left of her irises, now gone completely yellow. “The hell you
say!”

“Slow down, little cousin,” he drawled, holding out one hand, palm facing forward. “I didn’t say I was going to.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t call me that.” Fang tips peeped out over her bottom lip as her vampire half made itself fully known.
“Explain.
Now.
”

“You’ve gotten scrappy since you were turned,” he said as he sat down in one of the plush armchairs that faced the sofa. Even
knowing Nix could make a dash for his throat at any moment, he couldn’t bypass the opportunity to play with her a bit.

Betty slipped into the room and settled on one end of the sofa, her gaze on her daughter. She held herself tensely, as if
ready to spring into action at any time. She shot Finn a look that clearly conveyed her feelings at the moment. She thought
he was being an idiot, baiting her daughter the way he was.