“Do you want me to leave?” he asked, his voice tight with desire and other emotions Ronan couldn’t quite label.

Or maybe he didn’t want to quite yet.

The steam from the hot water floated around her body, giving the illusion that she was hovering on a cloud.

Ivy shook her head and then looked at him. There was no anger, no fury in those eyes. He saw loss and pain and a vulnerability he’d never thought to see in her.

He stared at her, feeling like a cad for drinking in his fill of her incredible body, but she made no move to cover herself or to pull the curtain shut.

About the Author

A vixen at heart, VIVI ANNA likes to burn up the pages with her original, unique brand of fantasy fiction. Whether it’s in the Amazon jungle, an apocalyptic future or the otherworld city of Necropolis, Vivi always writes fast-paced action-adventure with strong independent women that can kick some butt, and dark delicious heroes to kill for.

Once shot at while repossessing a car, Vivi decided that maybe her life needed a change. The first time she picked up a pen and put words to paper, she knew she had found her heart’s desire. Within two paragraphs, she realized she could write about getting into all sorts of trouble without suffering any of the consequences.

When Vivi isn’t writing, you can find her causing a ruckus at downtown bistros, flea markets or in her own backyard.

Releasing the Hunter
Vivi Anna

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To all those who battle the dark forces and keep us safe.

Chapter 1

The thump thump thump of hip-hop music vibrated over Ivy Strom’s flesh, making the little hairs on her arms stand to attention. The rhythmic noise was so loud she could barely hear her own rapid heartbeat.

She took another sip of her tonic and lime, the liquid quenching her dry throat. From her perch on the stool at the main bar, she scanned the dance floor once more for her quarry, her eyes pausing every so often on lone males.

She’d been told that Sallos, the Great Duke of Hell, would be here, lurking around like the degenerate demon he was. He’d taken two girls from here in the past four months. This was supposedly one of his favorite hunting grounds.

Now it was hers.

Ivy shifted in her seat; the silver daggers she had strapped to her sides underneath her T-shirt were starting to chafe. It was difficult to dress inconspicuously for a club and still carry as much hardware as she wanted.

She had no less than four knives on her, all silver; two ampuls of holy water, hidden carefully in her cleavage; and she’d hung a bag of salt from her belt. And of course she wore a blessed silver cross around her neck. She was prepared for anything to happen. With demons, it usually did.

She’d been hunting this one for a little over five months now. For the past year he’d been terrorizing the streets of San Francisco. Seven women had been murdered so far. They’d all been identified by their dental records and fingerprints. Because this demon didn’t leave much to recognize.

But his reign was over as far as Ivy was concerned. She’d gotten a reliable tip that he’d be here at this club tonight and Ivy was ready for him. She’d take him out, but not before she got a chance to interrogate him. It was her job to hunt him down, but there was also a personal reason behind her need to find him. This demon supposedly had information that could locate Quinn Strom, Ivy’s brother.

He’d been missing for three years now. He was the last of her family and she swore she’d never give up searching until she found him, dead or alive. At least then she’d know, and she could move on with her life. Or exact her revenge, which would be more like it. The Stroms were all about revenge and justice.

She’d been born into the hunting community. Her dad had been a hunter when he’d met her mother. He’d actually met her while chasing down a rogue priest who’d been possessed by a strong wrath demon. Ivy’s mother had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but her father had saved her life before the demon could do any permanent damage.

They never married, but they lived together, and she had learned the ways of the hunter. She had Quinn shortly after, then Ivy two years later. She’d died when Ivy was only nine. On the job, of course. It had always been about the job. Usually just their dad would go out on hunts, for days sometimes. But on a few occasions, both parents went. In this particular case, Quinn had been left to take care of her while their mom and dad hunted. Dad had come back alone.

Hunters rarely lived to a ripe old age.

Ivy ran a hand over the cross at her throat. The necklace had been a gift from Quinn about a month before he disappeared. When he gave it to her, he told her never to remove it. It would protect her day and night from everything, including the nightmares she sometimes had. After he left, she never did take it off. It was her last reminder of him. Everything else he had taken with him, wherever that was.

She missed him. When he disappeared it was as if he taken a part of her with him. They’d been close. Had to be to endure the constant moving around the country and their dad’s long absences while he hunted. Quinn had never let her out of his sight. He’d always been there for her. When she’d have nightmares, which was often, he’d be there to soothe her back to sleep. In many ways, Quinn had raised her. Not her dad.

Then he’d vanished and she’d been left to pick up the pieces of her life and of the hunt.

She finished her drink and slid off her stool. She’d do a walk around the club. There were some dark areas that she couldn’t quite see from the bar. This was where she could rely on the amulet she wore around her neck to help her search. When a demon was near, it lit up with a blue glow somewhat like a firefly. It heated up as well, so she’d feel it against her skin instantly if a demon crossed her path.

Brushing past some enthusiastic dancers, Ivy circled the dance floor. It was crammed with gyrating sweaty young people of every race and sexual orientation. As she moved past, she almost got swept up in the soulful throb of the music. The primal beats thumped in time to her heartbeat and she found she had to force herself not to move her body to the electrifying rhythm. On another night, she might’ve indulged. It had been too long since she’d had any sort of fun.

Because demon hunting had been part of her life since childhood, she’d been homeschooled so the family could travel often. So she’d never had those lifelong school friendships. In fact, she’d never had a real friend until she grew up and went out on her own. Even now, she had to keep her distance from people. She could never get too close in case she had to flee at the last second.

It was a rough life, but one she’d been born into. It suited her in many ways and she couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

She’d done one sweep of the club and was about to go back to her seat at the bar when the amulet flared to life. Instantly, it was hot.

He was near. Close to her.

She stopped and eyed the dancing crowd. She’d know him the second she saw him. After years of hunting demons, she knew the signs to look for. Signs the regular folk mistook for dark and dangerous allure. To Ivy it was just dark and dangerous. Nothing alluring whatsoever.

She saw him. He was dancing with two young blondes. He was tall, with longish blond hair, not handsome or ugly. Average, mostly. Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. But it was the eyes that gave him away. When he turned ever so slightly to the left or the right, Ivy could see the flames in his soul.

The unholy fire that he carried within from the depths of hell.

She stepped onto the dance floor. She had to separate him from the women. If he spotted her now, he’d have no qualms about killing them right there and then.

Picking up the rhythm, Ivy danced her way through the writhing crowd. She tried not to stare directly but she needed to keep her eye on him. If she lost him now, it would take months to pick up his trail again. And more women would die. She’d already blown three previous tips because of her impatience. Something she should have grown out of years ago.

As she moved through the throng of people, someone grabbed her rear end. She stopped to glare at the guilty party. He had the presence of mind to turn and leave immediately. People didn’t usually mess with Ivy, and if they did it was only once. She didn’t suffer fools easily.

She had a reputation for being cold as steel and just as inflexible. This was probably why she didn’t have a man or even bothered to date. What man could possibly live up to any of her expectations or abide by her rules of conduct?

None that she’d met so far.

The song changed tempo. The demon wrapped his arms around the two women and they slow danced together. His back was to her, which afforded her an opportunity to walk right up to him. And she did.

She tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and smiled at her. She tried to keep her face unreadable, a mask of indifference, when really she fumed with rage just being next to him.

“Can I cut in?” she asked with a grin she hoped was sexy and not laced with fury.

He looked her up and down. “Sure, Snow White.”

She got that comment a lot. It was because of her chin-length jet-black hair and pale complexion. To top it off, she’d chosen a perfect shade of red for her lips. Demons were attracted to the fiery color. Probably reminded them of home sweet home.

She smiled at him and let him put his hands on her tiny waist.

The other two women sneered at her. She sneered right back and said, “You can get lost now. The main attraction’s arrived.”

They stomped off the dance floor.

One goal down, one more to go. She needed to get him outside so she could stun him with the holy water and salt. Then she’d take him somewhere she could bind him in a devil’s trap and ask him questions. After he told her what she needed to hear she would slide her long silver blade through his heart. Or throat. Either spot would do to kill him and send him back home.

Ivy moved a little closer to him, trying hard not to cringe, and said, “Let’s get out of here. My car is parked in the alley.”

He grinned at her, and then leaned down to her ear. “Sure, Ivy. I’d love to.”

Grinding her teeth, she took a step back from him.

“I saw you the second you walked into the club.” He still danced in front of her, wriggling his hips seductively. “A guy just can’t miss that devastating face and killer body. Get it, killer?” He licked his lips.

“What now?” she asked. She didn’t want to make a scene. He had the upper hand here. He knew she wouldn’t want him to do anything rash and start killing people.

“We could still go out back and get our groove on. I wouldn’t mind tapping that ass of yours.”

Her fingers were itching to reach under her shirt and pull out her blades. She wondered if she could instead reach for the holy water and splash him with it. It might be enough to subdue him so she could take him out. Except the crowd was pushing in on her and she had barely enough room to shift from foot to foot.

“I’m going to kill you.” She flashed him a big grin and as quick as she could reached into her cleavage and plucked out an ampul.

But he was quicker.

He pushed her into the crowd. She stumbled backwards, knocking over two people. By the time she righted herself, he was on the move.

He crossed the dance floor in seconds and made his way to the back of the club, shoving people to the side as he dashed past. Ivy followed him, trying not to ram into the same people in his wake.

She thought about unsheathing her knives, but knew it would be risky inside the club with so many people around. What if someone accidentally ran into her? There were no take backs in demon hunting. When a blade went in, that was it. There was no second chance. Her knives were lethally sharp, coated with salt and blessed by a priest. They were meant to kill. Demon or human, the result was usually the same.

He ran past the washrooms and through the kitchen. He was heading for the back door, that much she knew. She tried to keep up as best she could, but demons were fast and light on their feet. She’d even seen some run up walls and jump over cars. Agility was their strong suit.

Ivy weaved around the baffled kitchen staff; some were pointing to the back, cursing up a storm at having been interrupted. At least she knew which way the demon went.

The back door had just finished swinging when she pushed through it, one hand already snaking up her torso to snag a blade.

The second she was out the door, she hit a wall. Well, not a real wall, but a man built like a brick house.

She bounced off his chest and landed on her butt on the ground.

He reached down with his hand to help her up. “Are you okay?”

She took it and let him heave her to her feet, but she quickly let it go when she realized how hot her chest was getting. She glanced down and saw the glow of her amulet. It lit up the alleyway in blue.

“Damn it.” She reached into her shirt and grabbed her last ampul. Setting it in the palm of her hand, she smashed it against the man’s chin, then reaching down for her salt bag, she untied it and quickly dashed salt all over his head.

She stood back waiting for the wailing and the skin bubbling to begin. But nothing happened.

He just looked at her, a rather pissed-off look in his eyes, then wiped at the water dripping off his chin. The glass of the ampul made a nick in his skin. Blood beaded to the surface. He dabbed at it with his thumb.

“You’re not melting.”

He ran a big hand through his tousled dark hair, and then said, “Yeah, about that.”

Chapter 2

Ronan Ames knew exactly who he was standing in front of. Ivy Strom was legendary. Especially in the demon world. She looked exactly how everyone described her.

Gorgeous, with silky black hair, luminous blue eyes and a dynamite body, but as cold and razorsharp as icicles.

She’d removed one of her blades and had it pressed against his neck. “Are you a demon?”

He had to think about his answer. Because he knew if he gave her the wrong one, she’d slide that blade right into his throat.

“No,” he said, and then added, “Not really.”

She frowned, pressing the tip into his flesh. “Is it no, or not really?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Well, you better explain it before I run you through.”

“How about lowering the knife, and then I will explain.” He put his hands out to the side to show her that he wasn’t holding a weapon. He had a bunch strapped to his body, though, but he didn’t need to tell her that.

Ice-blue eyes narrowing, she lowered the knife and took a step back. He noticed she made no move to sheath her blade. He wasn’t surprised. She was infamous for being cautious to the point of paranoia. Probably how she’d stayed alive so long.

“Speak.”

He lowered his hands. “Before I tell you, I want you to know that I am not your enemy and, in fact, we are after the same demon.”

She cocked one eyebrow but remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

“I have demon blood in my veins.”

She flinched, and her blade came up.

But he was prepared this time.

He blocked her arm and quicker than she could see he grabbed her other arm, swung her around and pressed her tight to his body, effectively pinning both arms to her sides.

She struggled against him, cursing up a storm. There were even a few choice words he’d rarely heard before, especially from female lips.

“Stop,” he grunted. “I told you, I am not your enemy.”

“Then why are you restraining me?” She tried to dig her boot heel into his shin, but he moved his leg in time.

“Because you’re trying to hurt me.”

That seemed to give her pause and she ceased struggling.

With her still in his arms, he became acutely aware of her tantalizing scent and the way her hard body fit against his. Heat from her form spilled over onto him and sent a ripple of pleasure over him.

Ivy Strom was enticing to say the least, distracting at most. Just from their brief struggle, he could tell how strong she was, how agile and fierce. He didn’t have to see under her clothes to know that she’d be well muscled and toned. The delectable swell of her behind rubbed him in all the right places at definitely the wrong time.

Despite his demon blood, he was also a man, and he couldn’t help his reaction to her.

She must’ve noticed because she shook her head and growled, “Release me now. Before I cut it off.”

Ronan released her, pushing her forward and taking a distancing step away. “I apologize. It’s just you’re, ah, attractive.”

She smirked. “And you’re obviously still in high school.”

He gave her a small smile. “Evidently.”

Her lips twitched at that, but she fought it before they could form a smile. He did notice the playful glint in her piercing eyes, though. Interesting. Something he might have to consider later.

“So you’re a cambion,” she said.

He shrugged. “Yeah. My lot in life.”

“I’ve heard of them existing. But it’s pretty rare. Don’t most die when going through the transformation?”

“Yup. I didn’t. Lucky me.”

She studied him for a moment, and then shook her head in anger. “Yeah, well, thanks to you, I lost my mark.” She sheathed her blade. “I’m going to have a hell of a time finding him again.”

“I think I can help with that.”

She eyed him warily. “How?”

“I know where he lives.”

“Where?”

He shook his head. “It’s not going to be that easy. I want to team up with you.”

“Forget it.” She turned to go, but he grabbed her arm. She glared down at his hand.

“We’re both after the same thing. Makes sense to team up.”

“Maybe to you, but not to me.” She lifted her gaze to his. It was intense and fierce and he sensed that she was grinding her teeth to stop from ripping off his arm and beating him with it. “Remove your hand.”

He did. “Fine. Good luck trying to track him down again.”

Ronan straightened his leather jacket, then turned to go back down the alley. He walked maybe ten feet before he could sense her watching him. His spine actually tingled. It was weird. No woman had given him a reaction like that.

He made it to the mouth of the lane and was about to turn left to go back to his car when her voice reached him.

“Wait.”

Ivy grimaced at the thought of working with this man, but she was desperate enough to consider it. She’d labored for this tip for months to lose it in a matter of seconds. Who knew how long it would be before she received another reliable one? In the meantime, the demon would kill another woman or two. She didn’t know if she could handle that, recognizing she could’ve done something about it.

She didn’t know a lot about cambions. They were rare because it was extremely unusual, if not impossible, to survive a demon attack. It was like being infected with a virus. A fast-acting virus that radically changed your physiology. Thankfully, it could only be passed through blood transfer. According to myth, cambions possessed many of the same powers that demons did. Super-strength, superhealing, super resilience to death. But supposedly it left their humanity intact.

Looking at this man now, she couldn’t be sure. It could totally be a trap. He could be working for the demons. It was too bad she didn’t have much of a choice.

She walked down the alley to him. “If we work together, it’s all my way or the highway.”

“Funny considering you have nothing to bargain with, but sure, fine, we’ll play it your way.”

He had a certain swagger to him, this darkhaired man. It definitely could’ve been the demon blood infecting him, but she had to admit she kind of liked it. Respected was maybe a better word.

“If I had nothing to bargain with, you wouldn’t be so eager to want to team up with me.”

He grinned, and she imagined his dark green eyes glinted mischievously. “You got me there.”

She eyed him up and down, taking in his solidly built frame and lanky legs. Just by the way he stood, with his arms to his sides, she knew he was well equipped. There was no mistaking the bulge under his jacket, probably a 9mm, or the slight hump under his T-shirt, a bowing knife most likely. He probably had blades strapped to both ankles, as well. At least he came prepared. Maybe it wouldn’t be a total waste teaming up with him.

She suspected he was well equipped in the physical department, as well. He made one big target. She could use him as a body shield if worse came to worst.

“What’s your name?”

“Ronan Ames.”

“Okay, Ronan, we’ll try this partnership out. But if I suspect that you are screwing with me or you don’t hold up your end of the bargain, I will bleed out that demon blood of yours.”

“Deal.” He offered his hand.

She took it gingerly, gave a firm shake then released it as quick as she could. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to shake his hand, it was that touching his skin sent a rush of something pleasant over her flesh. The little hairs on her arms and back of neck were standing at attention. And she wasn’t happy about it one bit.

Chapter 3

An hour later, after they had consolidated their individual vehicles—Ronan had stolen his anyway—and amassed their weapons and equipment, Ivy was sitting in the driver’s seat of her rusted-out old heavy pickup with a cambion beside her, parked in front of a small bungalow in a part of town usually reserved for the elderly. It definitely was not her idea of an ideal situation. But it was the best option she had right now if she wanted to put down the demon that had been terrorizing the city. If she wanted answers she had to play the game.

“Are you sure this is the place?”

Ronan nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Where is he, then?”

Even in the dark she could tell that he was staring at her. She could feel the contempt sizzle in the air. “Don’t know. I’m not his secretary. I don’t have his itinerary loaded on my phone.”

“You don’t have to be a smart-ass.”

“Yeah, I think I do when you ask me dumb-ass questions.”

She was about to argue, but knew he had her there. It had been a dumb-ass question. She was just anxious. And anxiety made her on edge, and being on edge made her cranky. It was a vicious cycle.

She was still pissed at him for making her lose the demon in the first place. If he hadn’t been so big, and so solid, that he set off her amulet into overdrive, she could’ve continued the chase down the alley and out onto the street. The demon hadn’t had that much of a head start. Sure, he was quick, but so was she.

Ronan smirked. “You would’ve lost him anyway. He’s way too fast even for you.”

She glared at him, hoping he could see it even in the dim of the trunk. “You’re a mind reader?”

He shrugged. “Don’t have to be with you. Your cold stare of death says it all. You’re used to blaming others for screw ups.”

“You did screw me up,” she snarled. “I would’ve had him if I hadn’t run into you.”

“Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better.”

“What were you doing in that alley anyway?”

He broke their glaring match and looked out the side window. “None of your business.”

“Look, bad blood, I don’t like the way—”

He slapped a hand over her mouth. “Shut up for a second.”

She was about to rip his hand away when she sensed the same thing he had.

The demon was nearby. She could feel it in the air. Like a horrific dream, like all the happiness in the world had been sucked out of the air. It was a cold clammy feeling on her skin. She shivered in response.

She nodded, and Ronan took his hand away. He pointed to his eyes, then to the house.

Ivy peered through the windshield to the small bungalow. No lights had come on, but she thought she saw movement at one of the darkened windows.

She leaned toward Ronan and whispered, “Is he in the house?”

He nodded without taking his gaze off the house.

“You take the back. I’ll go in the front.” She didn’t wait for his reply before she quietly opened the door and slid out of the truck. She carefully closed the door but didn’t click it shut. Demons possessed superior hearing.

She came around the front just as Ronan got out of the vehicle. They met at the front bumper.

“Don’t kill him. I need to talk to him first,” she told him.

He just nodded.

Ivy took out her lock-picking kit and headed toward the front door while Ronan crossed the lawn, passed through the side gate and headed around to the back of the house. She stepped up onto the stoop, opened the screen door and tried the knob. It was surprisingly unlocked.

Either the demon had been careless or this was a trap. Ivy went with trap. In her mind, it was always a trap. Nothing was this easy. There was always a catch or two.

She unsheathed one of her silver blades from her back harness, then as quietly as she could, she turned the knob and opened the door. Thankfully the hinges didn’t squeak, but she knew it didn’t matter. The demon could probably hear her breathing.

It was completely dark inside. She waited a moment just past the threshold for her eyes to adjust. She’d spent plenty of time in darkness so she had better-than-average sight compared to most people. When she could make out the shapes of furniture and other items scattered around the main living room, Ivy stepped forward.

There were no noises in the house. Except for the ticking of a clock nearby and the hum of the furnace, she couldn’t discern anything that indicated anyone was at home. But she sensed it. A creepy sensation of foreboding crawled over her skin and she had to suppress the urge to shiver. Someone was here.

As she moved across the room, she had to remind herself that Ronan could also be in the house. Maybe that was who she was sensing. But she had to admit she didn’t get a creepy vibe from him. It was another kind of vibe that she didn’t want to consider right now.

She moved into the kitchen, and that’s when she caught sight of Ronan. He was coming out from the back hall. He lifted his hand in greeting to her. Or to stop her from slicing off a piece of him. She loosened her grip around the hilt of her blade as he came along her side.

“Anything?” he whispered.

She shook her head. “Something’s here, though.”

“Yeah, I get that, too.” He lifted his chin and sniffed the air. “I can smell decomp.”

She peered at him curiously.

“There’s at least one dead body in this house. One day dead, maybe.”

Ivy swung around and searched the shadows of the kitchen. They were either dealing with Sallos’s latest kill or his latest creation. She hoped it was the former because if it was the latter, they could be in for a world of hurt.

Revenants were really hard to kill.

They were the undead given life by a demon’s black-magic spell. Unlike the zombie lore floating around, these creatures weren’t shambling, unintelligent bodies. They possessed speed, tenacity and an irritating lust to kill.

The only way to end them was to cut off their heads and stuff valerian root into their necks. Ivy had a big knife, so that was taken care of, but she didn’t have any valerian on her.

“I need to go to the truck.”

Even in the dark, she could see Ronan frown. “Are you joking? We’re in the middle of something here.”

“Watch my back.” She moved out of the kitchen before he could protest further. But she could feel him behind her doing as she asked.

She was halfway across the living room when she felt a stir in the stagnant air to her left. She turned that way just as the revenant sprang at her from beside the sofa. What she had erroneously mistaken for three lumpy throw pillows had been a reanimated corpse lying in wait.

It latched onto her left arm with its clawlike fingers and carried her backwards. With its substantial weight behind it—Sallos had killed and resurrected a Goliath—it took them both to the ground. But before it could rip a chunk out of her shoulder with its jagged teeth, Ronan was there kicking it in the head.

The force of Ronan’s kick sent it reeling off her and onto its back. Ivy scrambled to her feet but not before the revenant grabbed onto her right leg, trying to dig its fingers into her flesh.

Thank God for the thickness of her jeans, she thought. Never before had she wanted to plant a kiss on Levi Strauss more than she wanted to now.

As she shook her leg to get it off, Ronan shot it in the back. It instantly released her. The blast of his gun echoed around the room.

“That’s not going to kill it,” she shouted over the ringing in her ears.

“I know, but it got it off you, didn’t it?”

She didn’t grace him with a response, but turned and prepared for the revenant’s next attack. They never stayed down long. It was back up on its feet in a flash and rushing forward.

Ivy unsheathed a second knife and, using defensive holds, she crisscrossed her arms and sliced deep into the revenant’s gut. It grunted, stumbled backward, and then looked down as its insides spilled onto the rug. She had to bite down on her lip to stop from retching.

“That’ll keep it busy for a few minutes,” Ronan offered as he studied the revenant’s guts on the ground.

“I need to get the valerian from the truck.”

“Go. I’ve got this covered.”

Ivy sidestepped around the confused revenant and rushed out the front door. She ran down the lawn and to the truck. Her bag of herbs and roots was behind the cab seat. She unlocked the truck and rummaged around for her bag. She found it, opened it and grabbed a small plastic bag of the herb. Stuffing it into her pocket, she ran back to the house.

When she walked into the house, the revenant was in a few pieces on the living room rug. One severed arm still moved.

She shook her head. “A little overkill, don’t you think?”

Ronan shrugged. “Best to make sure.”

She stomped over to the headless torso of the revenant. She opened the plastic bag, took out a pinch of valerian root and shoved it down into the open neck wound. The squishy sensation on her fingers made her head swim and her stomach flop over unpleasantly. She wiped the residual blood and gore onto her pants.

Within a minute, all the squirming pieces of the revenant lay still.

“We should burn the body,” Ivy said as she prodded the torso with her boot.

Ronan nodded. “I know a good place to do that.”

“Yeah, I bet you do,” she muttered under her breath. But she knew he heard her and she didn’t care.

“I just saved your ass, lady, so I suggest you be nicer.”

She cocked one eyebrow. “Please. I didn’t need your help. I would’ve taken care of it by myself.”

“Before or after it had eaten your leg for a midnight snack?”

She smirked. “Whatever. Let’s just find a garbage bag, get the pieces together and get this done.” She looked around the room. “Obviously, Sallos knew we were coming. He might have other traps for us.”

Ronan disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a hefty orange garbage bag. “Found one under the sink.” He knelt down and started to fill the bag.

“We should hurry. That shot you took probably woke the neighborhood. Cops will probably be here soon.”

She picked up the arm and shoved it into the plastic bag.

“You can’t just say thanks, can you?” He stuffed another piece inside. “It’s obvious gratitude is beyond your intellectual scope.” When the bag was full, Ronan tied it off.

“Can we just move it along?” Ivy didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want to feel gratefulness or anything for this cambion. The less she felt for him, the better.

“Yup, no problem.” He hefted the bag over his shoulder. As he walked it swung and hit Ivy in the side of the head. It had enough impact to send her sprawling over the sofa. she had no doubt in her mind that he’d done it on purpose.

Balling her hands into fists, she followed him out of the house, down the front steps and to the truck. After he swung the bag into the back of the truck, she rounded on him. She poked him in the chest with her knuckle.

“Listen to me. I told you this was my way or the highway. So either do what I say or you can get lost. I don’t need your running commentary about what I am doing or not doing.”

He regarded her with his lips twitching. She didn’t like how he was looking at her. As if she was an amusement to him. “Do you ever relax?”

“No,” she sneered. “Relaxing gets people killed.”

“You know what else gets people killed? High blood pressure.”

Grinding her teeth, she spun on her heel and jumped into the truck. Ronan got in on the other side. She started the truck, put it in gear and drove away from the house.

Under her breath she counted to ten slowly. When she reached ten she looked over at Ronan and asked, “Where are we going?”

“Inner East Bay, down by the harbor.”

“Once we do this, then what? What’s your next big idea?” She opened her window a crack. She felt like she was suffocating. Ronan’s presence was crowding on her. He was a big guy and took up a lot of the space inside the cab. “Sallos knew we were coming. How?”

Ronan rubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin. “I don’t know. Maybe because he knew what you would do next.”

“So this is my fault?”

“He obviously made you the second you walked into that club. You don’t exactly fly under the radar, Ivy.”

“What about you? Maybe he made you,” she suggested. “Or I know, how about, you’re working with him, so he knew we were coming because that was the plan.” She thought about his stolen car. Maybe that had been the reason, so it would be easy for him to hook up with her. Except as a hunter she’d stolen plenty of vehicles. It was part of the game.

Cocking his head, he regarded her. “I know there’s a brain in that pretty head of yours. So maybe you should use it. What you’re proposing is just ridiculous.” She hated the mocking tone in his voice.

Without a thought, she yanked the steering wheel to the right and pulled up onto the curb. “Get out.”

“What?”

“I said get the hell out of my truck.”

“You’re being overdramatic, don’t you think?”

That was it. She had enough of his lip and they’d been together for only two hours. She balled up her fist and punched him in the side of the face. The force was enough to snap his head back. She had the satisfaction of seeing him bump the other side of his head against the door.

He turned his head back to her, then rubbed at his jaw where she’d clocked him. “Feel better? Got it out of your system? Can we move on now?”

She nodded. “Definitely feel better.”

“Good, because we need to keep moving. A cop just pulled up behind us.”

Ivy glanced in her rearview mirror. He was right. A police cruiser had just pulled onto the street where they were parked. It would be very bad if he found their big bag of body parts in the truck bed. She suspected that even she wouldn’t be able to talk her way out of it.

She put the truck back in gear and pulled out onto the street. The cop car followed her. She kept glancing in the mirror, holding her breath, hoping she didn’t see the flashing lights come on.

After they drove another four blocks, the cruiser put on his signal and turned right. Ivy let out the breath she was holding.

Ronan rubbed at his chin again. “You punch pretty hard. Not like a girl at all.”

She swiveled in her seat to tell him a thing or two, but the smile on his face had her biting back the words. She couldn’t help the grin that lifted her lips.

“Aha, I knew you could smile.” His eyes sparkled in amusement. “There’s a running rumor out there that it would never happen. That it couldn’t.”

She shook her head, but she couldn’t help the laugh bubbling out of her. “Well, I’m happy to bust that rumor to hell.”

“Yeah, I wonder what other rumors we can bust along the way.”

Her smile faded then and she turned back to the road. “Keep dreaming.”

Although his words bothered her, it was the lusty gleam in his eyes that worried her more. Because truth be told, the butterflies in her stomach had not stopped fluttering since setting her eyes on him in the back alley. And that was always a sign of bad things to come.

Ronan made her body react in ways she hadn’t felt for a long time. Lusty thoughts finger walked their way through her mind when she looked at him. He had that dark and dangerous swagger about him that sent her libido into a tizzy. This job was going to be one of the toughest of her career so far. And it had nothing to do with the mark.

Chapter 4

Ronan directed Ivy down to the bay. He knew of a perfect spot to dispose of a body. He’d unfortunately had to use it himself a time or two.

She didn’t speak as she parked the truck near the water’s edge. She got out and went around back, pulling down the tailgate so they could get at the bag of body parts. Ronan slid out of the truck and then jumped into the back. He thought he surprised her with his agility because she looked at him with those wide blue eyes and a snarl on her lips.

Fog swirled around the tires of the truck. It gave the whole area a creepy vibe. The fact that they were dumping a body just upped that vibe to the nth degree. Moisture settled onto the back of his neck and the backs of his hands. A shiver rushed down his spine as he breathed in the cool night air.

Together they wrestled the bag out of the truck and onto the ground. From there, Ronan dragged it to the bay’s shoreline. He opened the bag and began to stuff it with rocks he found around the water’s edge. Once Ivy realized what he was trying to accomplish she helped out by finding big boulders to weigh the bag down.

“I see you’ve done this before,” she commented as she dropped a particularly large rock into the bag.

He nodded. “A time or two. Nobody that didn’t need killing, though.”

“Uh-huh.” She barely glanced at him.

He stood back and eyed her curiously. “Is it that you absolutely despise demons in any shape or form, or do you generally loathe everything?”

She didn’t give an answer, just took a step back and wiped her dirty hands on her pants.

Ronan tied off the bag and shoved it into the water. It buoyed at the surface for a second or two, then sank down into the inky depths. If it was ever found, it would be quite a ways down the shoreline.

He wiped his hands on his pants, and then looked at Ivy. She was watching the water ripple where the body had gone down. He couldn’t read the look on her face, but it wasn’t a happy one. Guilt, maybe. Remorse? Interesting considering her hard-assed reputation for slaying demons and the like.

“Now what?” he asked her.

“Regroup, I guess, and try to figure out where Sallos has gone to ground.”

“We could go to my place and—”

“Not likely. We’ll go to one of my safe houses.” She smirked at him. “You’ll be blindfolded, of course.”

“Well, of course I will.” The sarcasm rolled off his tongue.

She ignored it and headed toward the truck. Ronan followed her. “You don’t trust much, do you?”

“I trust only one person. And he’s unfortunately not around.”

Ronan knew she was talking about her brother, Quinn. He’d heard that Quinn had gone to ground a couple of years ago. No one knew where he was or why he was hiding. He wondered if Ivy even knew. And if she didn’t, why not?

Maybe this was why she had misgivings about everyone she met. The one person in her life she probably thought she could rely on had left her. Or at least, Ronan could speculate. There were rumors floating around about the Stroms and their lives and how they’d been born into the hunting community. He didn’t travel in those circles, just on the fringes, so he heard things now and then. Which is how he’d known where to find Ivy in the first place.

Ronan thought it was kind of a lonely way to go about life. Always looking over your shoulder. Always wondering who was going to stab you in the back. Never being able to let down your guard for one second just in case someone or something came calling to kick your ass.

He supposed his life wasn’t all that different. He didn’t always have to look over his shoulder to see if someone was sliding a knife into it, but he did have to be cautious. He survived by procuring things. Usually the hard-to-find type of things. Items that were not for sale on eBay. Things like ancient talismans and old lost documents written in Aramaic. And most of these things he had to steal. He was good at what he did. He moved like the shadows and had never been caught. And he never planned to be.

His career wasn’t perfect. Most of his clients were ruthless and manipulative and shrewd. People he needed to be wary of, or he would be the one always looking over his shoulder.

She started the truck and they pulled away from the deserted spot near the water. As she pulled out onto a gravel road, she glanced at him. “There’s a blindfold in the glove box. Put it on.”

“You’re serious?”

“If you don’t want to wear it, I can pull over and you can get out right here and now.”

He pressed the button on the compartment. It sprang open and he reached in and took out the black cotton blindfold. He ran it through his fingers. “You know the rumors didn’t say anything about you being so kinky.”

“Did they say anything about me killing you for talking too much?”

“Why, yes, yes they did.”

She turned her head to look back at the road, but he caught the little smirk on her lips. Interesting. Maybe she wasn’t so indifferent to him after all.

“I’ll play your game,” he said, wrapping the cloth over his eyes and tying it in back, “but only because I find you quite fascinating.”

“I should have brought a gag for your mouth.”

“Next time, we can experiment.”

He heard her little chuckle and smiled. He then turned his head to the left and listened to the sounds outside the truck—the gravel crunching under the tires, a blast from a ship’s horn, the thump of music from one of the dive bars nearby. He may not be able to see where he was going, but he certainly could hear it. Despite her fears about him, he wasn’t about to tell anyone where her safe house was located. He needed her trust. If he was to achieve his grand plan, he needed her more than she would ever know.

An hour later, the truck slowed, turned left up onto a cement pad then eventually came to a soft rolling stop. Ronan heard the telltale drone of a garage door closing. They were in a suburb somewhere to the north. Since pulling away from the bay he’d known what direction they were going and had adjusted his inner compass with every turn she took. It wasn’t an exact science, but he felt more secure knowing roughly where he was in the city. Just in case he needed to disappear in a hurry.

Once the door was fully down, his blindfold was yanked from his eyes. He blinked at Ivy and smiled. “Are we there yet?”

She shook her head at him, then opened her door and got out. He did the same. He looked around the garage, noticing the starkness of it. There was no lawn mower parked in the corner, or workbench with tools spread across it. No lawn furniture or boxes of past things stacked in a neat pile along one wall. There was nothing there. No memories, nothing to hold a person to a place.

It suited Ivy to a tee.

“I never pictured you as a suburbanite.”

“Which is exactly why this is the perfect cover.” she grabbed her bag from the truck and headed for the door to the main house.

As she approached it, a rush of adrenaline kicked in Ronan’s gut. He nearly doubled over from the shock of it. Something was off. Something was wrong. He could feel it crawling over his flesh like angry army ants.

Before Ivy could grab the doorknob, he grabbed the back of her jacket and yanked her backwards. He wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides.

She struggled against him. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Something’s wrong. I can feel it,” he said between gritted teeth.

She looked around the garage. “Are you sure? I don’t smell anything. No sulfur, no brimstone.”

“Sallos has revenants working for him, remember.”

“Do you smell decomp, then?”

He shook his head. “It’s just a sense of impending doom.”

“Let me go and I’ll check the door for any signs of disturbance. I put wards on it before I left. I salted it, too.”

Instead of letting her go, he picked her up and carried her back to the truck. He opened the driver’s door and shoved her in, following right behind. He grabbed the keys from her hand and stuck them in the ignition.

“What the hell?”

Ronan started the truck and put it in Reverse. He didn’t even wait for the garage door to open. He busted through the metal, tearing the door off the frame, and screeched into the street backwards.

“Are you crazy? You just wrecked my place,” she shouted, balling her hands into fists, looking like she was going to wail on him.

But she didn’t get the chance. By the time he put the truck into Drive, there was the smell of hellfire in the air. It was acrid, like the odor of vinegar.

Ivy must’ve noticed it, too, because she turned to look out the side window just as a huge fireball erupted from inside her garage.

Chapter 5

Ivy couldn’t believe her eyes as Ronan raced down the street away from her soon-to-be destroyed house. Flames were licking the outside of the garage, engulfing it in an orange ball of light.

“Is there anything in the house that’s incriminating?”

She shook the daze from her head, and looked at Ronan. “What?”

“In the house? Are there weapons or illegal substances that will lead to your arrest? There’re going to be firemen and police all over that place in minutes.”

“No. Not in the house. I have a safe buried in the backyard, under the shed.”

“We can come back for that later.”

She just nodded, then turned around in the seat to face the front and the road ahead of them. Sirens could be heard a few blocks from them. Ivy saw flashing red lights coming from her right about two blocks away.

She remained quiet as they sped away from the scene. She chewed on her finger as the anger built inside. The house was a write-off. She’d spent three months cultivating that safe house. Signing a lease, under a false name of course, moving in, making friendly with the neighbors. Putting up a false wall for others to see. She kept it up so that nothing would seem out of the ordinary. That no red flags went up for the people living next to her. The last thing she needed was nosy people asking about her business.

Now it was all gone. Her cover was blown.

“How did you know?” she asked him without taking her eyes off the road.

“I can sense things. My sixth sense is more advanced than yours.”

“Maybe you knew ahead of time.” This time she did look at him.

He shook his head. “Jesus, woman. Get your head out of your butt. I am not the bad guy here. I saved your ass.”

She sighed, knowing she was just grasping at straws and lashing out at him because she wanted to destroy something. And he was the closest something, even if he did make the butterflies in her belly stir and the muscles in her thighs clench annoyingly. “I thought I covered my tracks pretty well. I didn’t think anyone could find that safe house.”

“Sallos isn’t just anyone. He’s a very powerful demon.”

“I know that,” she bit out, angry that he would assume she hadn’t done her homework on the demon she’d been tracking for months. “But I’m good at what I do. I’ve been a hunter for almost my whole life. No demon has ever tracked me to my safe house before. No demon has ever gotten the best of me.”

“Well, there are first times for everything,” Ronan muttered. “You said you never work with a partner, and here I am.”

“Yeah, and I regret it every second that ticks by.”

This made Ronan chuckle. He rolled down his window. “I think our next step is to find a place to hole up, get cleaned up and figure out how to take this bastard down.”

She nodded. Too angry, upset and tired to do anything else. Besides, he was right and it wasn’t worth starting an argument over.

About forty minutes later, Ronan parked the truck in front of room 106 at the Lazy Day Motel just outside of San Francisco on the I-880. The place looked old and run-down and the sunny yellow paint didn’t do anything to hide that fact. It didn’t bother Ivy. She’d stayed in worse places. It was the nature of the business—the life of a hunter constantly on the move.

Ronan had booked them in, gave a false name, paid with cash and unlocked the door for her. Carrying her duffel bag, Ivy shuffled into the room, then tossed her bag onto the big bed. Ronan came in after her, shut the door and bolted it.

He handed her a bottle of water. “I grabbed these from the vending machine in the lobby.”

She took it, uncapped it and took a swallow. “Thanks.” She set the bottle down on the worn and scarred table and looked around the room, trying to avoid looking at the bed too long. She had no intention of using it for anything other than sleeping and Ronan wasn’t going to be joining her.

“Why do they insist on decorating these places in puke yellows and greens?”

“Must think it’s soothing.”

“It just makes me want to blow my brains out with my shotgun.”

Ronan laughed. “They should put that in one of their brochures. ‘Come to the Lazy Day Motel, the perfect place to put up your feet and blow your brains out.’”

A smile tugged at her lips, but she hid it by walking into the adjoining bathroom. It was one of the smallest bathrooms she’d ever been in. There was a small sink, a cracked mirror above it, a small toilet and a narrow box masquerading as a shower. But at least there was running water. She hoped it was hot, but at this point any temperature would do.

She peered out of the bathroom. Ronan was busy sitting on the bed, counting the rounds in his 9mm clip. “I’m going to shower.” He just nodded to her and continued to count his bullets.

She shut the door. Or attempted to. The hinges weren’t straight, so the door didn’t close properly. and because she couldn’t close it properly, she couldn’t lock it. She hoped the cambion valued his life and wouldn’t dare come into the bathroom while she was in the shower.

Ivy quickly shed her clothes and unstrapped all her knife harnesses. The one on her back, the two along her sides and the two around her ankles. She felt ten pounds lighter. She then stepped into the plastic box and yanked the curtain down the rod, but noticed there were two huge holes in the sheet. Sighing heavily, she twisted the water valve and hoped for the best.

Thankfully, wonderful scalding-hot water sprayed from the shower nozzle. She tilted her face up to it and let it cascade over her, washing away the night’s dirt, gore and disappointment. She didn’t have any soap, so she did her best at scrubbing her body and hair with her hands.

As she ran her hands down the length of her hair, she heard a rap at the busted door. Her first instinct was to cover herself, but she was too damn tired and she couldn’t be bothered, so when the door opened she just stood there defiantly. A cool breeze brushed over her backside. She glanced over her shoulder and through one of the holes. Ronan stood in the doorway, his hand still on the doorknob, his eyes glued to the rips in the shower curtain.

“Is there something you want?” she asked, although that may have not been the best question considering the situation. Or considering the dark look in his eyes.

But it was enough to raise his gaze a little and for him to speak. “I’m running across the street to the burger joint. I just wanted to know if you were hungry.”

“Whatever. Just get out of this bathroom.”

He backed out of the room and swung the door shut, but it popped open again.

Ivy ignored it and finished her shower. She twisted the taps closed and grabbed the semi-clean towel hanging on the rack. she sniffed it. It at least smelled like bleach and nothing else offensive.

Stepping out of the plastic box, she patted herself dry then redressed in her old clothing. She kept the harnesses off for now. At least her skin was fairly clean, though she’d have to live with the funky stench coming from her shirt. Revenant was difficult to get out of cotton.

Feeling a little bit more human, she came out of the bathroom and went to her bag. She unzipped it and grabbed her cell phone. She had some calls to make to find out what happened. How did Sallos find her house? Or maybe it wasn’t even Sallos, but she didn’t believe in coincidences, so he had to be the demon who had rigged her house to blow with demon fire.

She punched in the number for an old hunting buddy named Jake. He was usually pretty reliable with information. He had a few scumbag informants that hung around demons and the like. He answered on the third ring.

“Ivy, baby, what’s shaking?”

“Your head will be if you call me baby again.” She sat down on the bed, realizing how tired she was.

He chuckled. “What’s up? You need something?”

“Has there been any word out there on me? Someone really interested in where I’m at?”

“Someone’s always interested in where you are at, Ivy.” He paused. “Did something happen?”

“One of my safe houses was compromised.”

“Shit.” He drew the word out. “That’s harsh.”

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly.”

“If someone’s been asking questions about you, it hasn’t been to me.”

She nodded. Jake was a stand-up guy. She knew he wouldn’t blab any info about her to anyone. He’d hunted with her brother and even with her dad before he’d died five years ago. “Okay, thanks, Jake.”

“Anything else, my one and only love?”

She laughed. “Yeah, if you get wind about a demon named Sallos, let me know right away.”

“You got it.” He disconnected.

Ivy flipped her phone closed then tossed it back into her bag. She had other calls to make but her stomach was grumbling and she was looking forward to Ronan returning with some food.

She lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Her opinion of Ronan was starting to change. But only a little. He’d saved her ass, so she granted him a reprieve from thinking of him as a darkness-sucking demon. And he was getting her some food. That always counted for something.

As if to punctuate her rumbling belly, the room door opened and Ronan walked in with two bags of food. “I hope you’re hungry. I didn’t know what you liked, so I got you pretty much one of everything.” He crossed the room and handed her a white paper bag.

“Thanks.” She opened the bag and inhaled the delectable smells. “Jesus, that smells amazing.” She reached in and pulled out a double burger, loaded. She unwrapped it and took a healthy bite. The spiced greasy flavor exploded in her mouth and she closed her eyes in delight and sighed. She finished it in another three bites. As she chewed the last of it, she reached into the bag for more. She pulled out a large order of fries.

“There’s no ketchup.”

Ronan tossed her a couple of packets. She caught them, ripped them open and squeezed the ketchup all over her fries.

“I’ve never seen a woman eat like you do.”

“Yeah, well, I doubt you’ve met any women like me.”

He smiled around his food. “That’s for sure.”

“I’m not sure if that was a compliment or an insult.” She shoved three fries into her mouth. She had to admit that she enjoyed their banter. It had been a while since she’d met a man that could dish it out and take it in equal measure.

“What would make you share those fries?”

She laughed out loud. A full guffaw. It felt good to let it out, to let go. She offered him the box. “Either remark will get you half the box.”

“Then it was a compliment.”

Ronan reached over and grabbed a handful, and set them onto his spread-out burger wrapper on the table. Happily, he dipped them into a torn-open ketchup pack and ate them with gusto.

She watched for a bit, wondering what his motives really were. Yes, he said he was after the same demon. For the first time, she wanted to know why. And why partner with her? Sure, she was the best, but given her reputation he must’ve known that she was impossible to work with.

Why would a man subject himself to her belligerent ways if he could’ve gotten information from another source?

He was obviously a glutton for punishment.

“So,” he said after chewing, “did you find out anything?”

“I talked to a source and he hasn’t caught wind of anyone asking around about me. But that doesn’t necessarily mean much. He’s not the only hunter out there. Though he is the only one that I can tolerate.”

“Anyone else you can contact?”

“Maybe.” She finished her fries and dumped the box into the white paper bag. “What about you? You must have contacts.”

He looked at her for a second, then wiped his fingers on the paper napkin. “I do, but you’re not going to like them.”

Demons. She should’ve known.

She got up, pitched the bag into the garbage bin, and then stretched out onto the bed. “No, I probably won’t.”

Ronan checked his watch. “It’s two now. I can’t talk to my contact until three. So catch some sleep while you can.”

Ivy smooshed up the pillow behind her head and closed her eyes. “I plan to.”

As she tried to relax her mind, she felt a dip on the mattress next to her. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked to her right. Ronan was fluffing his own pillow behind his head.

“Excuse me?”

He snorted at her. “Please. You can relax. You’re definitely not my type.”

“Oh, you probably like them with black irises and sulfur for blood.”

“Nah.” He rolled over onto his side, giving her his back. “I like women with souls.”

She flinched as if struck. The harshness of his statement threw her for a loop. She supposed she’d been treating him badly but she was sure she didn’t deserve such a scathing remark. Did she?

Ivy didn’t dignify his statement with a response, and she turned onto her side, as well. She punched the pillow under her head and closed her eyes again. She wouldn’t let him get to her. But after ten minutes of lying there listening to his rhythmic breathing, she realized he was already getting to her in more ways than one.

Chapter 6

Ronan slept for about forty minutes. He had the ability to nod off quickly, go under for a deep sleep and wake up fresh and alert. He didn’t sleep much as it was. He attributed that to the demon blood running through him. Full-blooded demons never slept. Gave them more time to cause chaos and havoc on the world.

He moved carefully off the bed so as to not rouse Ivy. When he was up he looked down at her. She slept like she did everything else—with fierce conviction. Her forehead was wrinkled in concentration and it looked like she was grinding her teeth. Both hands were curled into fists. It looked like she’d bolt up at any moment and punch him in the gut.

But despite all that, she was riveting. She had the quality that made men stand to attention. Made men want to stare into those fierce blue eyes for an eternity, to wait, to hope that she would press those amazing full lips to theirs.

Not that Ronan was thinking of kissing her. It was just she possessed a mouth made to be kissed. It was hard to imagine wasting that tasty pout.

Grabbing his gun and both his knives, he crept out of the room and went around to the back of the motel to the barren, abandoned field that was there. It was a perfect setup for what he needed to do next.

He cleared a spot about six feet in diameter in the soil. After finding a decent stick, he drew a pentagram in the circle of dirt. Then he inscribed the symbol for one particular demon he knew. Daeva. She was a lust demon. Lust demons were more apt to make deals than the other denizens of hell.

Once that was done, he needed to activate the “call.” Taking out one of his blades, he cupped it in his palm and drew the blade across his skin. The immediate sharp sting of the steel made him suck in a breath. Holding his hand up over the sigil, blood ran down his hand and dripped onto the dirt. The black spots immediately soaked into the ground.

It wouldn’t be long before the call was answered. Daeva was usually quite prompt.

Ronan pulled out a thin piece of gauze from his pocket. He always came prepared. He wrapped it around his palm, stemming the flow of blood. Just as he finished tying it off, an audible pop sounded before him. The smell of brimstone and some exotic spices filled the air. He looked up to face the demon.

She smiled. “Well, hello, Ronan. What can I do you for?”

Ronan shook his head at her play on words. It was an old joke.

“Get it? What can I do you for?” She laughed; the sound was like tinkling bells.

“Yeah, I get it, Daeva. It just isn’t funny.”

She took a step toward him, mindful of the lines of the pentagram that she was bound inside. “So, honey, what can I really do for you?”

Out of all the demons he’d run across, Daeva was the only one he liked. She was fun and funny and sexy as all get out with her long crimson hair and startling gray eyes. And she really didn’t follow the usual demon code. She didn’t look for ways to get out of the pentagram and rip your innards out. As long as he’d been doing business with her, he’d yet to see her do any real harm to anyone. She just liked to seduce people. And he really didn’t see the harm in that.

“I need information.”

“About?”

“Sallos.”

“I see.” She tapped one long fingernail against her cherry-stained lips. “I heard he was being a really bad boy.”

“Yes, he’s murdering women. Lots of them. He needs to be stopped.”

“Oh, I agree, Ronan, no doubt about that. But what will you give me in return for my information?”

“What do you want?” He knew it was a mistake to ask an open-ended question to a demon, but he trusted Daeva. Sort of.

“I want to meet her.”

“Who?”

“Who do you think? Ivy Strom, of course.”

“Why?”

She pursed her lips, then fluffed her hair. “I have my reasons.”

“And those would be?” The voice that came was as frigid as the Arctic winds. Ronan whirled around to see Ivy walking out of the shadows to stand beside him.

“None of your business, really.” Daeva smiled at the unexpected arrival.

Ivy bristled a little, and Ronan sensed she was about to do something stupid, but at the last second she seemed to settle down and sighed instead. “Well, we’ve met, so now you can tell us about Sallos.”

“We haven’t been properly introduced.” Daeva looked at Ronan. “Will you do the honors?”

He sighed and shook his head. He had a bad feeling that he was going to pay for this in some way. Either from Daeva or from Ivy. There seemed to be some rivalry between them that he couldn’t figure out. “Daeva, Seductress of Shadows, this is Ivy Strom…”

“Hunter of all Demons,” Ivy finished for him.

Daeva chuckled, then offered her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ivy Strom. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Ivy looked at the offered hand, then to Ronan. He shrugged. He had no clue what Daeva was up to. He’d never seen her behave this way.

“From who?”

“The word gets around. Hell’s not that big, you know. When one of us comes back, sent back by you, you can bet he’s right pissed about it.”

Ivy took a step forward so the edge of her boot touched the line of the pentagram. She reached through the binding and grasped Daeva’s hand.

From the look of rapt fascination on the demon’s face, Ronan almost expected her to pull Ivy into the pentagram. He reached over and grabbed Ivy around the waist.

The two women shook hands, and then Ivy pulled back and whipped around to glare at him. “What the hell are you doing?”

He released his hold on her, then sheepishly took a distancing step away. “Nothing.” He looked at Daeva; she was giving him a similar look.

He found the whole thing strange. It was like some weird female bonding thing that he just didn’t get. Next thing he knew, they would be going out shoe shopping or something.

He cleared his throat of the awkwardness he felt. “Okay, now that that’s done, tell us where Sallos is located.”

Daeva cocked her hip and wrapped a finger in her hair, playing with it both innocently and seductively. “Give me a piece of paper and I can give you an address.”

Ronan opened his duffel bag and came away with a notebook. He tore off a piece of paper and handed it to her. The demon took it, then ran her index finger over it. “There.” She handed it back to Ronan.

He looked down at it. There was an address scrolled on the paper in bright red. He didn’t even want to consider what she’d used for ink.

Ivy took it from him. She glanced at it, then at Daeva. “This better be right.”

“Oh, it is, honey. Don’t you worry your pretty little head.”

By the look of fury on Ivy’s face, Ronan decided it would probably be best if he ended the “call” and sent Daeva back to wherever she came from. “Thank you, Daeva, for the information.”

“My pleasure, Ronan, darling. I always love it when you come a-knocking at my door.” Then she put her gaze on Ivy. “It was a pure pleasure meeting you, Ivy Strom. Say hi to your brother for me, will you?” She smiled, blew her a kiss and then snapped her fingers. She was gone in a flash and a puff of spices.

“What was that about?” Ronan asked.

Ivy shrugged. “I have no idea. Quinn’s exorcised a lot of demons, so maybe she’s got a bone to pick with him.” Ivy folded the piece of paper and shoved it into her pants pocket. “Nice choice of contact, by the way.”

He gathered his gear back up and put it in his bag. “She’s always reliable.”

“What does she usually ask for, for payment?”

He picked up the bag and swung it over his shoulder. He grinned. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” With a bit of a swagger in his step, Ronan walked past Ivy to return to the hotel.

He felt her piercing gaze on his back all the way to their hotel room. It made him grin like a fool who’d just won a bet. He was getting to her, just like he’d planned.

Chapter 7

When they got back to the room, Ivy sat down on the edge of the bed and unfolded the paper that the demon had given them. Her hands shook a little, and she put them down at her sides so Ronan wouldn’t see them. She was a bit unnerved by the exchange between her and Daeva. When she’d shaken her hand, she got the overwhelming sense that the demoness didn’t mean her any harm and, in fact, had been pleased to meet her. It had been strange, to say the least.

“Fifty-five Fourth Street.”

“That’s what it says.”

“That’s downtown. Do you have a map?”

“Better.” Ronan reached into his pack and pulled out his iPhone.

She shook her head in disbelief.

“What? Don’t you have one? I can get all kinds of info on here. Maps and internet, voice dialing, even Facebook.” He grinned at that last one.

“Just look up the address, please.”

He tapped the screen what seemed like a hundred times. His face paled after a few minutes. He looked up at Ivy. “We might have a problem.”

“What?”

He handed her the phone. She looked down at the information displayed on the screen. She sighed. “You have got to be kidding. Is she serious with this info?”

Ronan leaned back in the worn chair at the table. “She’s never given me bad information before. I trust it.”

“It’s the Marriott Marquis, Ronan. How are we supposed to get in there and trap a demon without injuring thousands of people?”

“Carefully?”

“Not to mention having the cops involved. If we start a scene, and you know there will be one, they’ll be called in for sure.”

“I don’t know, but this is good intel. We can’t let it go to waste. We might not get another chance at this one.”

She sighed, then ran a hand over her face. He was right. They may never get another chance to find Sallos. She’d worked months to get the one tip on him for the club. The odds were if they didn’t act now, Sallos would kill again, maybe more than once, before She could catch him.

“Do you have a plan?” she asked Ronan between clenched teeth. She hated deferring to someone else for answers. She was used to relying on herself to have a good plan of action.

“The most logical thing to do is to check in and snoop around.”

“There are over a thousand rooms in the hotel. Even if we both dressed up as cleaning staff we’d never be able to search all those rooms.”

“We won’t have to. Sallos is all about the chase. He’ll be out and about on the prowl. There are a few bars in the hotel. He’ll be staking out one, if not more, for his next victim.”

She nodded, then handed the phone back to him. “You’re right.” She ran her hands over her pants, then stood. She glanced at her watch. “It’s four a.m. We can’t check in until what? Three in the afternoon?”

“Four.”

“That gives us some time to prepare.”

Ronan nodded. “Yeah, and find something else to wear. We can’t go into a posh hotel like the Marriott wearing stained denim and leather.”

“My place is likely destroyed, plus I imagine it’ll still be swarming with police.”

“Then I suggest shopping.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out four credit cards. He tossed them onto the bed.

Ivy reached down and plucked one. She read it. “Alex Irvine?”

He nodded. “Yup. I’m also Peter Jacobs, Brian Frost and my personal favorite, Harry Ennis.”

She groaned, but couldn’t stop her lips from twitching upwards. “If you tell me that the middle initial is P, I’m going to smack you really hard.”

“Nah, I didn’t go that far.” He laughed. “But they each have about a five grand limit, so I’m sure we can buy you something hot to wear.”

She glared at him. “I will not be wearing something hot, thank you very much.”

“Why not? You could definitely pull it off.”

She didn’t like that gleam in his eye again. It was the second time she’d seen it in the past few hours. The first time had been in the bathroom when he came across her showering. The cambion had another think coming if he thought there was going to be anything sexual between them.

They were working together. Work and sex didn’t mix.

And why was she even thinking about that anyway? It was more than just a work thing. It was a demon blood thing. Just because the man was devastatingly good-looking with wide, powerful shoulders and a smile that could disarm a nuclear weapon didn’t mean she was in any way thinking about having sex with him.

She cocked her hip and pinned him with a look she hoped came across angry and not sexually frustrated. “Do I seriously have to go over the rules of our limited partnership again?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Just messing with you, boss. I know that there couldn’t possibly be a sexual being under all that steel and ice.”

She gaped at him. But he never gave her a chance to respond before he was bouncing on the bed, stuffing the pillow behind his head and closing his eyes.

“Since we have some time to kill, I’m going to catch a few more hours of sleep.”

She glared down at him, but he was impervious to it. After another minute, he was snoring soundly.

Angry, she stared at him some more, willing him to wake up and fight with her. That way, maybe she wouldn’t be so aware of the muscle tick at his strong jawline and the urge she had to trace a fingertip over it to smooth it away.

She turned around on her heel and paced the room. She’d gone too long without a man in her life. Her libido was flaring up like a bad rash. She thought it ridiculous that just having this man stretched out on the bed in front of her, his long legs spread a little, with his deep breathing and his tantalizing male scent in her nostrils was enough to have her heart racing and her gut swirling.

Clenching her hand into a fist, she rubbed it down her leg. She had to get it together. There was no time for distractions. Especially tall, dark and extremely dangerous ones like Ronan. If she wanted to catch Sallos and send him back to hell she had to concentrate on doing just that. And not on fantasizing about the cambion in the bed in front of her.

She also needed more sleep. She was running on barely three hours and had to get some more if she was to be fully functional later when they would have to battle a Great Duke of Hell.

She turned and looked at the bed again. Ronan had the right idea. It irked her that he could turn it off just like that though. Close his eyes and be out instantaneously. Ivy’s brain just didn’t work like that. She was constantly thinking, constantly worrying. Constantly on the lookout for the next big thing to sneak up behind her and bite her on her ass.

She sat down on the bed, then lay back. She had to shove Ronan over a bit so she could fit comfortably. Her elbow did nothing to move him. Then he just mumbled and turned over onto his side. It made enough room for her to sleep.

She tucked a hand behind her head and closed her eyes. She willed herself to sleep. And not to think about two hundred pounds of pure masculinity lying next to her and how it would feel if he rolled right on over top of her and pinned her to the mattress with the sure power of his massive frame.