hair strewn around him like an exotic mane, but she wasn’t taking any chances.
The bullet hole was a little to the right, just where she’d wanted it. Not quite a killing shot. Ashe could smell raw meat. That would be where the custom silver-coated slug had torn its way out his back, making a big mess along the way. Cruel, but if you tangled with a vampire like Belenos, you had to mean business.
She heard footsteps, and recognized Reynard’s tread. “I’ve got him,” she said. “What about the others?”
“They’ve been dealt with. Do you want me to search for the key?”
“Please.”
Reynard knelt on the other side of the fallen vampire.
“Do you think others vampires will show up, wanting children?” she asked.
“According to Caravelli, Queen Omara will make it clear what a bad idea that would be.”
“Good.”
He began fishing in the vampire’s pants pockets, and pulled out a small gold disk. It bore a six- pointed sun. Their gazes locked, Reynard’s eyes grim, as he gave it to her. “Are you all right?”
“Sure. I just did what any mother in my place would have done.”
Early the next morning, Ashe’s hacker contact finally called back, but only to report that he had no leads on any properties recently purchased by Anthony Yarndice. He’d tried every search known to hackerdom and then some. Bannerman, however, seemed to be constantly buying estates and selling them at a profit. He gave Ashe three addresses the lawyer had purchased in the last six weeks.
Ashe had just gotten out of the shower. Reynard was still in the bathroom, discovering the joys of a massaging showerhead. “Yeah, okay,” she said into the phone, trying to write and adjust the towel wrapped around her hair at the same time. “Thanks, bud.”
She wrote down the last address and hung up. Bingo! Ashe did a victory dance, losing the towel in the process.
Reynard appeared in the bedroom doorway and watched the performance with speculative interest.
“What is it?”
“A hit! A palpable hit!”
Reynard raised an eyebrow.
Ashe waved the notepaper with the addresses. “Bannerman bought three properties. One location corresponds with the demon-tracking spell Holly cooked up last night. We have Tony’s new location.”
Reynard’s eyes turned a cold silver. “Where?”
“North Central Shopping Mall. Where you met me at the library.”
Reynard picked up Ashe’s towel and handed it back to her. “Well, my dear, then let’s go check it out.”
“Har, har,” she said. “I hate librarian jokes. You know that, right?”
He gave her a look that mixed mischief and affection. “Why else would I make one?”
Chapter 22
Tuesday, April 7, 8:30 a.m.
Carver House
Since Holly was the only one among them who’d actually bagged a demon, she agreed to meet them at the mall as soon as Grandma arrived to watch the kids. While Ashe was making those arrangements, Reynard called the hellhound guard post outside the Castle door and reported that the errant demon had possibly been found. Mac and the other guardsmen should be on standby.
Those errands done,Ashe and Reynard took the Ducati, roaring through the streets with the abandon of teenagers on spring break. She could feel his excitement in the play of his body behind her, in the tingle of his power dancing along her skin. It was a Tuesday morning and traffic was light. They sped past empty playgrounds, silent houses, and schools with throngs of children standing outside the doors. Coffee shops had tables out on the sidewalk, patrons reading the paper and sunning themselves. Except for the task at hand, it was a beautiful morning.
Hellspawn had a way of souring the mood.
Ashe tried to remember everything she knew about demons. There were many different kinds—the term “demon” was about as specific as “bug.” Some were born. Hellhounds were a kind of half demon. Born demons tended to be fairly sane and law-abiding. Others were parasites that infected human hosts. Most of those demons were far more powerful and very bad news. Fortunately, they were rare.
Ashe had killed a few lesser demons, but none bigger than a bread box. The big guys had to be banished, and that took magic powers. The Carver witches had performed a banishing spell exactly twice. It had been the same soul-eater demon both times. Ashe’s ancestor Elaine Carver had died the first time they’d booted it out of Fairview. The second time, Holly had killed the demon and ripped open the doorway to the Castle. Ashe hadn’t been present at that battle, but she’d heard it took a whole lot of magic to get the job done. Holly had pulled earth magic from a nexus of ley lines that converged right where the battle was being fought. Where that had been an ocean of power, the area around the mall was a trickle. Plus, Holly’s powers were just coming back online. They couldn’t count on her providing that boatload of power. The best they could hope for was, like, a kiddie pool’s worth. Or a salad bowl. Or a butter dish. Even if a collector demon wasn’t the badass that the soul eater had been, how the hell were they going to get rid of it?
They pulled up to a stoplight. It was only chance that made her glance down almost at the same time that Reynard tapped her shoulder and pointed at the brand-new BMW 5 Series sedan next to them. Ashe recognized the driver. Bannerman. A hot wave of dislike itched its way across her skin. Was he out and about doing business for Tony? Were they picking out curtains for more demon hidey-holes?
At that moment, the lawyer looked up. Even through the tinted glass of the car window, she could see him pale as he figured out who was glaring into his passenger window. His expression said he was terrified of Ashe. Gratifying, but . . . Sure, she’d roughed him up a bit, but not enough to explain the sudden tears in his eyes. That made her plain curious. Had something new happened?
Suddenly the silver BMW swerved out of its lane, moving to the right to slide into the turning lane that led to the highway. An evasive maneuver, if there ever was one. That doubled Ashe’s curiosity. Did Bannerman somehow know that she knew he’d hired the assassin to kill her?
The moment he began to pick up speed, the light changed. Ashe cut across two lanes of traffic before the other drivers could react. Like a shot, she was after the lawyer, Reynard letting out a whoop as the Ducati’s engine opened up with a snarl.
The gorgeous BMW had plenty of horses of its own, and Bannerman had a head start. They were on the four-lane stretch of road that would eventually head to the ferries. Ashe was cautious about weaving around cars, especially with a passenger, but she pulled past the pickup in front of her to get a better visual of Bannerman’s car. The pickup honked, but it was mere background noise. She had the roar of the engine in her head, the vibration between her thighs, and a hot and happy male pressed against her back. She was born for moments like this. Her heart seemed to beat in her throat, straining like a horse fighting its bit.
Bannerman was two cars ahead now, and signaling to pass a third. They swept beneath an overpass, the heavy band of shadow a sudden coolness on her face. The BMW changed lanes, sped up. Ashe guided the Ducati into the space between two lanes and let it rip. She felt Reynard’s hands tighten around her waist.
In twenty seconds, she slid into a space only a car length behind her quarry. She saw Bannerman looking in the rearview, squirming, rubbernecking from side to side for an escape.
Why was he so afraid? It wasn’t like she had punched him out or anything.
He took a risky dodge into the left lane. In another second, he turned, flooring it before three lanes of south-bound traffic could T-bone his beautiful car. Ashe swore, but more for form’s sake. She simply pulled an illegal Uey at the next break in the meridian.
