“Yes. I’m fine. I’m just trying to figure this out. So maybe I am of use to the Sons of Darkness after all.”
“Which is what I’ve been trying to tell you. That’s why you couldn’t go on the expedition to find your sister. The Sons of Darkness want you back.”
“Which is why we
What she said made sense. It was logical. And it was damn hard to argue with logic.
“Besides, I can find Izzy.”
“How?”
“I have a connection to my sister, one I’ve never felt as strongly as I did when I was stuck in that room. It was like the instant she put her hands on the black diamond, I knew it.”
He saw the stress in her face, the worry.
“She’s gone dark, Ryder.” She laid her hand on her stomach. “It sickens me to feel the evil swirling around inside her. I have to help her.”
“Damn,” Ryder said, lowering his head.
“It’s not your fault. I knew this would happen. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have run with the black diamond back in Australia. I screwed it up from the very beginning. I thought I was protecting her, and all I did was put her in a position to be taken, and the diamond along with her.”
“It’s no one’s fault,” Ryder said. “Placing blame isn’t going to get her back. And nothing is set in stone. You’ve taught me that. Everything can be changed.”
She smiled at him. “True enough.”
“So first we have to find her and the black diamond, and ensure its destruction.”
“I can find Izzy. I’m. . hooked into her right now, experiencing these weird sensations attributed to her. But I know it’s her, and I know I can find her.”
Ryder knew he was going to get his ass skewered over this, but sometimes the right decision wasn’t always. . the right choice.
“Get dressed. Let’s move.”
She leaped across the bed and threw her arms around his neck, planting a long kiss on his lips. When she pulled back, she said, “Thank you for believing in me.”
She had believed in him when he hadn’t believed in himself. He owed her. “You’ve got ten minutes.”
She leaped off the bed and threw open the door, her feet pounding down the hall. “I’ll be ready.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
They had set up inside the church, the safest place until they figured out where they were going, since Lou ascertained there would be no way the demons would step inside the sanctity of the church itself. For some reason, either the grounds weren’t considered holy or the demons had managed to make that area their own, but the church itself? There were several ancient holy artifacts in there, so the demons weren’t going to go inside. They’d never last long enough to launch a decent attack inside.
After Michael explained the situation, an appalled Father Vintaldi told the hunters the entire grounds were theirs. They could dig everything up except the cemetery if they wanted to, he’d told them.
Dalton felt bad for the old priest. Father Vintaldi said he felt responsible for the demons taking Angelique. Like he should have known they were there, that the demons would take her.
Dalton knew the feeling. He of all people should have seen this coming, should have kept closer watch over Isabelle, especially. That had been his duty. He’d been responsible for her, and he’d failed.
He knew what had gone wrong. He’d let his attraction to Isabelle mesmerize him. He’d forgotten what he was supposed to do. He’d lost sight of the objective and he’d let emotion cloud his judgment. And because of that, the Sons of Darkness had taken her.
He should have stayed behind with Isabelle at the chapel that day. The Realm staff weren’t hunters. There was no way they could have determined what was going on with Isabelle. They didn’t know her history. If he’d been in the chapel with her, he’d have known. Instead, he’d let guilt send him away from her when he should have been at her side guarding her.
He knew all about the lure of temptation, how easy it was to slip into darkness. They seduced her while she was weak and helpless, and she’d fallen.
He could have stopped her. He had the strength and power to do it.
There were things he knew, something he was, that even Lou didn’t know. There were some things he couldn’t talk about with anyone. That’s just the way it was and always had been, and he’d lived with his secrets for a long time. But it didn’t mean he couldn’t have used his knowledge to prevent the train wreck that had occurred.
He hadn’t used his head, because he’d been blinded by his dick. And guilt.
Really stupid move. No wonder he’d stayed celibate for so damn long. It had kept his focus on demon hunting, where it should have been. At least until he’d met Isabelle. Then he’d let his libido run wild.
That wasn’t going to happen again.
He was going to get her back. The Sons of Darkness weren’t going to have her, weren’t going to be allowed
