in reality, disappearing into the shadows. Then there was just her and Jack. He obviously couldn’t resist one last gloat at Piers.
“Maybe I’ll send you a little piece of her every so often, just so you know—”
His words were cut-off abruptly. Beside her, he stared up in horror. A figure swooped down from the air and kicked Jack in the face so the two of them tumbled back away from the portal. Jack’s grip loosened, and she scrambled away on all fours just as an arm wrapped around her middle and scooped her up. Then she was in the air and flying.
She held herself very still. It would be really stupid to fall now when someone had gone to the bother of saving her from a fate worse than death—and probably eventually from death as well. She couldn’t see the face of the man who gripped her hard against his chest, holding her with an easy strength, but she knew who it must be.
She was alive, and she really hadn’t believed that was going to happen. And she was flying. Actually fucking flying. She could hear the swoosh of huge wings beating the air. She threw back her head and laughed. Behind her, the demon chuckled.
They were high up above the city now, hovering and looking down; the figures were small, sticklike, the lights winding along the river, the roads, and the streets. Then they were falling. Fast, and she closed her eyes and clamped the scream in her mouth.
He landed lightly, close to where they had taken off, and released his hold. For a second she swayed, but righted herself and turned to face her savior.
“Damn, and I thought it was Superman, come to the rescue.”
Asmodai grinned. “Unfortunately not. Are you disappointed?
“Hell, no. In situations like these, I’ll take any help I can get.” She considered him for a second. “Just remember—no one asked you this time, so if you’re expecting me to find anything else for you, you can go whistle.” She shrugged. “But—thank you. I really believed I was a goner.”
“Just protecting my property.”
She curled her upper lip in what she hoped was a scary snarl, but the truth was, once again she had lost the Key, and she was still alive, which meant she was still indebted to the demon. But things could be worse.
“She’s not your property.”
The growled words came from behind. Roz whirled around to find Piers only a foot away.
“Really?” Asmodai murmured. “And whose is she then?”
“Er—actually, I’m no one’s property.” On the other hand, she wouldn’t mind loaning herself out to Piers for a limited amount of time. Just until she got rid of the inconvenient itch. And got her Key back. And maybe worked out just why she found him so fascinating. She looked up to find him staring at her, his gaze intent.
“I’m sorry about last night,” he said.
She glanced from him to Asmodai. The demon had a knowing smirk on his face.
“In case you’re interested—nothing happened last night.”
He quirked a brow but very sensibly said nothing. She decided to get off the subject and searched the area. “What happened to Jack?”
“Carl has him.”
She found him at that moment, in the center of a small knot of huge men. She recognized Carl, the werewolf, still looking boringly human. Would he shift if she asked nicely? Maybe now wasn’t the right time.
“What are you going to do with him?” she asked.
“He’s no use to us. What do you think we should do with him?”
She thought about Jessica, who had suffered at his hands. Of the first girl he had kidnapped, who hadn’t survived and had no doubt died in terror, alone in the darkness. Of all the others he had taken and would take again if he were freed. She’d come to see the line between good and evil as blurred, but some people were firmly on one side or the other, and Jack was evil. Then she thought about Sister Maria and black hatred rose up inside her. “Kill him.”
Piers studied her for a moment. “For you, my sweet, anything.”
She watched as he strode across. He spoke quietly to Carl, who released Jack and stepped aside, leaving the vampire standing alone.
Piers drew the sawed-off shotgun from the holster. He didn’t speak to the other man, didn’t gloat, just raised the gun, and blasted Jack through his heart. The vampire collapsed to the ground. Piers holstered the weapon and leaned down over the body. He gripped Jack’s head between his hands, rested one booted foot on his ruined chest, and twisted.
Jack’s head came free of his neck with what seemed a very loud crack followed by a disgusting slurping sound. With the head still gripped in his fists, Piers carried it to the portal and tossed it down. Two of the other men dragged the body and it followed the head.
Piers strolled back to them. “Close it,” he said to Asmodai.
Asmodai waved a hand in the general direction of the portal, and the doorway vanished.
“I’ve been hankering to do that for a long, long time,” Piers said, wiping his hands down his leather pants.
“Is that how you kill a vampire?” Roz asked.
“Heart and head,” he said. “You think you might ever use the information?”
“You never know.”
“We’ve got to get out of here before the police arrive,” Christian said. He turned to Asmodai. “Are you coming?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Besides, I’d like to keep an eye on my investment.”
Did he mean her? Of course he did. But right now, she just couldn’t get worked up.
She was alive. Jack was dead.
And Piers was sorry about last night. Well, she’d have to wait and see just how sorry he was and just how he meant to make it up to her.
Very sorry, she hoped.
Chapter Seventeen
Piers was silent on his way back to the vehicles, but he walked close beside her, and she could sense his occasional sideways glance. She was unsure of his mood, though some strong emotion was rolling off him in waves.
Two vehicles were parked around the corner, a black van and a SUV. As they drew closer, she could make out Maria and Ryan sitting in the front seat of the van, and relief rushed through her.
Ryan saw them and jumped out, running toward her. He wrapped his arms around her in a big hug, and for a few seconds she relaxed against him, glad they were all alive and in one piece.
“Hey, you’re alive.”
“I am, and virtually untouched.” Though she could still feel the sting of the knife wound at her throat. “Are you two okay?”
“Yeah, we’ll be fine.” He stepped back but still held her loosely. “Thanks to you.”
She shrugged. “It was nothing.”
“Don’t lie. You could have just left us, but you didn’t.”
She shrugged again. She wasn’t good at accepting thanks; they made her twitchy. Sensing Piers tensing beside her, she glanced sideways at him. He was staring at the point where Ryan still held her, and his upper lip was curling into a snarl. She shifted and stepped back, freeing herself. “Come on, we have to go.”
“Actually, I have to get back to work,” Ryan said.
“Will there be people looking for you?” Christian asked.
“Not yet—yesterday was my day off, and I didn’t have any plans, except sleeping.”
“And maybe some housework?” Roz suggested.
Christian ignored the comment. “Then you come back to the Order with us. You need debriefing.”
