“You tell me. You’re the one sleeping with a cambion.” He grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her to her feet.
It took everything she had not to turn around and jam her blade into his big gut. But she stayed still. She could feel the barrel of his gun quiver a little. Obviously, Bill wasn’t too sure about his convictions.
“He’s dead, by the way,” he said, as if she’d asked about the weather. “Had his neck slit down on Main Street. He thought he could take some of them out. But he was no match for them.”
She started to shake then. She bit down on her lip, trying hard not to scream, or rage, or turn around and scream in his face that he was a big fat liar. There was no way anyone had gotten the better of Ronan. She knew it in her heart. She wasn’t going to let anyone, especially not this traitorous piece of crap, tell her otherwise.
“What did the demons promise you to do this? To kill your own people?” she asked.
“Everything I want.”
She shook her head, still mindful of the gun pressed against it. “So you sold your soul for what, some money, a fast car, a hot vacation spot and some ass? Seems pretty lame to me.”
“Shut up!” He kicked her in the back of the knee, sending her to the ground. She landed on her hands. “Keep talking and I’ll put a bullet in your empty head.”
Ivy pushed up to her knees but kept her hands down on her thighs. She had a knife tucked into her boot. If she could get to it, she’d embed it into Bill’s femur. “Okay, Bill. No need to get angry. I’ll shut up.”
He grabbed her again, this time by the hair. He pulled her back up to her feet, keeping the gun pressed to her skull. He turned her around and marched her out into the main yard in front of the house where she knew Quinn had stationed himself.
There was a lot of commotion going on as he led her to the front. The others hadn’t seen Bill’s betrayal yet; they were still busy holding off their own sieges, manning their stations. Screams could be heard around them, and Ivy felt a bullet whiz by her left arm as they marched around the corner.
“Quinn!” Bill yelled. “Quinn, I have your sister!”
And just like that, all the commotion stopped. Bill had gotten everyone’s attention with that little piece of information.
He pushed her forward to face the house. “Quinn, I know you’re there. I know you can see her. If I don’t see you in five seconds I’m going to blow her pretty head apart.”
It was exactly four seconds before Quinn’s head popped up from behind the trellis on the roof of the house. Ivy was loath to admit that she breathed a little sigh of relief when she saw him.
“What do you want?” Quinn asked.
“Complete surrender.”
Quinn looked at her. Even from the distance she could see the pure agony on his face. The agony of the decision he had to make. “Ivy?”
She knew what he was asking. If she could take Bill out without getting killed in the process. She gauged the situation. The only weapon she had now was the blade in her boot. She’d used the others along the way. There was no way she could get to her weapon before Bill pulled the trigger. And even if she could somehow elbow him in the gut or take out his kneecap with a good kick, he’d likely mortally wound her even if it wasn’t a head shot.
If Ronan had been here, with his healing hands, she might’ve considered it. But as it was, she didn’t see a way out of this right now.
“No,” she finally said.
“No, what?” He knocked her in the head with his gun. “No, what, bitch?”
Quinn stood all the way. “You have my surrender.”
“I’ll believe you when I see you face-to-face without any weapons.”
“Fine. We’re coming down. No one do anything stupid.”
She knew he not only said that for Bill’s benefit but for the rest of the compound. She’d counted about ten weapons trained on her and Bill the second they’d stepped into the front yard.
About three minutes later, the front door opened and Quinn walked out, his hands out to the side, showing that they were empty. He came down the front-stoop steps.
“I’m unarmed.”
Bill snorted. “I highly doubt that, Strom, but as long as I have baby sister here, I know you won’t do anything dumb.” Then he put his fingers in his mouth and let out a high-pitched whistle.
Eight demons stepped out of the tall grass and shadows surrounding the compound and walked into view. They were all smiles. One of them, a redheaded woman, stepped up next to Ivy. She ran her hand down Ivy’s arm.
“Two Stroms for the price of one.” She laughed. “It’s a great day.”
Ronan stayed hidden behind the silo in the field about one hundred yards from the farmhouse. He wouldn’t do Ivy any good by prematurely jumping out and revealing his position. He had the element of surprise on his side and he was going to use it to his advantage.
Earlier, he’d lost the second demon through the town streets, but it had brought him closer to the demon rendezvous. Because of his superior hearing and vision he’d been able to overhear exactly what was going on from his spot. He knew they were planning an attack on the human compound. He also knew they had an inside man. Someone close to Quinn who’d been feeding them vital information this whole time.
And because of their misplaced confidence in their strength and cunningness, Ronan had been able to follow them to the farmhouse.
They’d known he’d been kicked out of the camp but they’d misjudged his willingness to return and help the humans. To save Ivy. He supposed the demons had no concept of loyalty, friendship or love.
Yeah, he had to admit it to himself. He was in love with her. It probably wouldn’t change her mind about him, though. And he didn’t blame her. Despite everything, despite how he felt about her, he still needed the key. He wished she could understand that. His need to be fully human again. And if this was the only way, he’d do it.
Through the binoculars he’d procured from one of Ivy’s bags that he’d gone back to their busted-up car to retrieve, he watched as the demons herded Ivy, Quinn and all the others into the farmhouse. He imagined they would secure them in the basement. Now he just needed to get close enough to use the other goodies Ivy had in her gear.
Some of the things that she’d invented for demon hunting were inspired to be sure.
Once they were all inside, leaving two sentries out front, the possessed he assumed, Ronan hefted the pack over his shoulder and crawled his way across the field. He was wearing black so he knew he was somewhat camouflaged in the waning light. He just had to keep his patience and go slowly and carefully. Although everything inside him screamed at him to run and attack and kill everyone standing in the way between him and Ivy, he took in a few deep breaths and tried to stay calm and levelheaded.
There was a thick copse of trees on the east side of the house. He would get there, and then plan the best way to get in without killing any of the possessed. And save Ivy. He knew it was going to be damn near impossible on all fronts, but he had to try.
It was a long, arduous crawl, but Ronan finally made it to the edge of the trees. Cast in shadow among the tall oaks, he could get around easier. He crept along the tree line and crouched behind a large oak directly opposite one of the guards.
He knew there were two guards at the front of the house; he suspected there would be at least two more in the back. Unzipping the duffel bag, Ronan took out a modified rifle. He screwed on a front piece that looked like a silencer. It was, in fact, a housing for plastic bullets. He didn’t know where Ivy got them, probably an army surplus store somewhere, but it was ingenious for taking out those you didn’t want to kill—just incapacitate.
Once he took out the side guard, he had to be on the run toward the house to take out the others. He wanted to go in as silently as possible. If the demons knew he was coming, they might panic and kill everyone
