“Blood,” the woman muttered and grabbed my attention.
Dagan smacked her with the paddle again, then dropped it on the sofa beside her and grabbed her hair, jerking her up. She turned to face him, and he crushed his mouth against hers. I dropped my eyes wishing this night would end.
“Blood,” the creature said again.
Dagan returned to the prop closet and produced a small dagger. At the sight of the weapon, I bucked. Knight held me against him until I felt like I was stuck in dried cement.
Dagan walked back to the creature and held the weapon just above her collar bone. With a slow sweep, he cut a straight line through her skin. The woman cried out in ecstasy as her blood poured from the wound, trailing down over her breasts to her stomach.
Knight shifted me to the side and approached them, his eyes riveted on the blood trailing down her body. Before I could even guess his intentions, he ran his hand through the red liquid.
My stomach churned. What the hell was he doing? I shivered in spite of myself and wondered if she had somehow bewitched him? But, no, I would've felt her magic had she tried. Maybe Knight liked the sight of blood? It wasn't like I knew that much about him. Maybe he was as psychotic as they were.
The creature grabbed Knight's hand and held it to her breast, encouraging him to continue rubbing her. But he pulled away from her, the strangest of expressions on his face-like he'd been caught rubbing the blood of a brutal killer all over her breasts.
His eyes settled on mine, and he strode across the room, looking like a plundering Titan. I plastered myself against the wall, fighting the incredible need to vacate the room. Then it occurred to me, what if Knight was working with the creature?
Maybe Dagan was in on it too? If so, I was as good as dead. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. My heart hammered in my chest until the creature’s moans were drowned out by the blood throbbing in my ears.
I'd been such a fool, keeping all of this from Quillan, trusting Knight as blindly as a mole. And his ANC I. D? That had been real-there was no way it’d been a fake. So, Knight had the ANC office tricked just as easily as he’d duped me. I guess we’d all fallen for his charismatic charm.
I shrunk against the wall. Knight's face was one of a statue, his eyes emotionless. Hades be damned, he was the creature's master, he had to be! It had been right under my nose all along and, I'd been too distracted to see it.
With his clean hand, he pulled me against him. I shoved him aside, wanting nothing more than to let him know I'd figured out his little plan. But, if I did that, I might not be leaving this room-alive anyway.
Knight resumed his place against the wall and positioned me in front of him. I'm sure he was getting miles out of forcing me to watch his little pet play with Dagan and after that, he'd probably order her to eat me. For now, I’d just play along. But when the opportunity arose, I 'd be ready for them. I knew I could take the creature; my magic was strong enough. But Dagan and Knight?
I'd definitely be out-numbered and my magic out-powered.
“I need to taste you,” the woman moaned to Dagan.
Before I could comprehend what the hell that meant, he grabbed the knife and handed it to her. She grasped it in her bloody hand and ripped a line across his muscular chest. Blood spurted out angrily, erupting into a volcano of red. She thrust her face into him, sucking and licking at the gash with uninhibited abandon.
That's when I snapped.
Demon blood is extremely potent and powerful. If humans drink it, it makes them stronger, faster and longer lived. If a creature of the Netherworld drank it…
“What the fuck are you doing?” my voice blurted out before I could stop it.
Knight's vice-like grip around my waist didn't prevent me from attempting to attack Dagan, intent on doing any sort of bodily injury I could manage. But, first, I'd have to wrench the creature from his chest.
I didn't get far before Knight grabbed me around the waist and pushed me back against the wall. He wrapped his hands around my throat, holding me immobile. Gritting my teeth, I raked my fingernails into the skin on his hands. He didn’t even flinch.
Instead, a slow smile spread across his lips. “Don't mind her, she gets jealous.”
The creature continued licking Dagan's chest, but Dagan was focused on me. His eyes threatened murder in no uncertain terms.
Okay, I'd basically just blown my cover and probably Dagan's and Knight's-if they were, in fact, not involved with the creature. But, at this point, I couldn't say I cared. All I knew was Dagan was nurturing the creature with his blood which meant the job of taking her down was going to be a hell of a lot harder.
With renewed determination, I clawed at Knight’s forearms. He glared at me with the promise of retribution.
He suddenly let go. I slumped back against the wall, sucking in a gulp of air. Knight didn’t glance back, but continued to stare at me. “I'm sorry, but I think my little hell-cat here has had enough for the evening.”
The creature laughed and continued sucking at Dagan. Meanwhile, Knight latched onto my arm and forced me out the door. He slammed it shut, and dragged me through the club as if I were a two-year old having a tantrum.
“Let go!” I demanded and glared into his steely eyes, awaiting the detonation of his fury.
He gave me a shove out the back door and I tripped over my ridiculous heels, falling to the ground as embarrassment claimed my cheeks. It was bad enough Knight was fuming at me but I had to go and demonstrate the fact that I was less than accustomed to high heeled footwear. “Get in the goddamned car,” he grumbled. I stood up and shook off my embarrassment-it wouldn’t do me any good. “I'm not going anywhere with you.” “Don't make me lose my temper.” “I've had enough of you and your orders,” I snapped, wiping the asphalt crumbs from my palms.
Knight balled his hands into fists as he approached the Wrangler, pulling my keys from the exhaust pipe. I’d put them there since I had no pockets. He unlocked the driver's side door and pulled the seat back, slamming the door as he started the car.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I asked, livid that he'd taken it upon himself to steal my car.
“Either get in now, or I'm leaving you here.”
I stormed to the passenger door and threw myself into the moving car as he peeled into the street. “You have some goddamned nerve,” I started.
Knight shook his head. “I don't have the patience to deal with you now. You just blew any chance we had of nabbing the creature.” He glanced at me, and his eyes were filled with a rage I’d never seen before. It intimidated me a little.
“As if you have any interest in catching the creature,” I snapped. He faced me and I continued railing at him. “I'm onto your little plan, Knight. I know you're the creature's real master.”
He hit the brakes so hard, I banged my forehead on the dashboard. Not enjoying the feeling, I pushed myself back into the seat and put on my seat belt.
“What did you just say?” he said in a low, dismal tone.
Although it probably was going to be the last mystery I solved, I couldn't help but gloat. I'd figured out his little plan as easy as you please. I was no fool. “I know you're the keeper of the creature. I figured it out tonight.”
He laughed, and it was a caustic sound. “You are an idiot.”
“Don't pretend you aren't,” I said, ignoring the “idiot” part. “And that incident with the creature's blood was really great, by the way. So, let's get this over and done with. Stop the car.” He laughed again. “You want to fight me? You know where that got you last time.” “Well, I doubt you're going to just let me take you into custody, are you?” He shook his head. “Nope, I'm not.”
He took a left at the first street we encountered, and I faced a long alley of nothing but trees on one side and the county dump on the other. Perfect for our needs. He parked the car and opened the door, dropping the keys on the seat.
“Come on, then,” he said.
I opened my door and exchanged my ridiculous heels for sneakers with just a thought and some fairy dust. Okay, so a red cat suit and white sneakers didn’t exactly go together but what did I care? I'd probably be too dead
