“You have those demons under your control?” he asked, his hand resting on the small of Charity’s back.
“Yup. I was just communicating with one or two before squeezing them into nothing.”
It wasn’t nothing. It was a squish of goop and globs that erupted from the tops and bottoms of those invisible grips.
Charity didn’t get a chance to ask Reagan how she communicated with demons without speaking, let alone why Roger or Devon would trust someone who could communicate with demons without speaking, because Steve was making his way over. The sirens blared louder.
“Reagan, good to see you.” Steve’s nude saunter was, amazingly, not ruined by his pronounced limp. “Did you dump that vampire yet? I want to show you what real passion feels like.”
“Let’s talk and walk, Steve,” Reagan said. “You can still walk, right?”
“I’d rather be lying down and letting you do all the work.”
“Of course you would. You’re a shifter.” She smirked at him and jerked her head toward the vans. “I’m still with him, yes. Sex is always amazing, thanks for asking. He’s rich as hell, too. Good observation. Don’t you worry, though—just as soon as things fizzle out, I’ll go for a ride on that big dong of yours.”
Despite the urgency of the situation, Steve’s smile pulled a chuckle from Charity’s lips.
“So you noticed,” Steve said, his eyes twinkling.
“Hard not to. It swings when you walk.” Reagan got into the van.
Steve winked at Charity before he followed her.
“I’m not sure what’s worse,” Charity said, looking in at the sea of skin. “My magic, which I can’t control, or your magic, which forces you to brave seatbelts when you’re naked.”
“You better not buckle those seatbelts,” Rod hollered back as Devon pushed in after Charity and shut the door. “I don’t want your junk all over everything.”
“This is why you’re single,” Andy said, fatigue lining his words.
Charity knew how he felt. With the adrenaline from the battle wearing away, she had nothing left. Her eyes drooped as she sat there, barely able to hold up her head.
“Don’t fall asleep yet, fae.” Reagan’s tone was laced with warning, more serious than Charity had ever heard from the woman. “Your journey has just begun, and from here on out, it’s only going to get harder.”Chapter TenSteve wanted to lean his head back and get a little shut-eye himself. He’d taken some serious hits from those demons, which hadn’t acted like the demons he was used to battling. These were sturdier, somehow. And what was with all the fire? One or two usually had some sort of smoke or fire, sure—it came with the territory—but not a whole fleet of the assholes. It had made for some very annoying and frustratingly painful burns. One of those things had nearly singed his balls off! That was foul play.
“What kind of read are you getting on this situation?” Devon asked. Steve had to admit that the kid was really coming into his own. Protecting that fae was bringing out the true alpha in him, something Roger had apparently seen from the beginning. And strangely, Steve was cool with following the kid’s lead. He hadn’t once wanted to push back. Imagine that.
Reagan shook her head while staring out the window, strangely quiet.
“I don’t know,” she said, and if Steve wasn’t mistaken, he heard a little worry in her tone. “Something about those demons seemed…ancient. Different. Their burned skin, for one thing— I’ve never seen that before, and I’ve seen a good few demons in the last year or so.”
“I concur,” Steve said, his voice gruffer than usual. Pain had a way of doing that to a person.
“It made them…hardier, somehow. Tougher in battle than they should have been.” She shook her head.
“I concur,” Steve repeated, leaning his head back on the headrest and closing his eyes. “It’s like we’re sharing the same brain.”
“Better than the same bed.”
“I do not concur.”
“I’m sure the effect of those demons can be achieved through a circle and blood offering,” Reagan went on, “but I’ve never heard of it or seen it written. They were bound to their maker. I couldn’t easily will them to give up information, which is abnormal. I need to capture one and spend a little more…effort on it.”
Fabric rustled, and Steve’s eyes drifted open to see her sitting forward, a crease between her shapely brows and a worried expression on her beautiful face. The woman was a looker, that was for sure. She was a permanent resident in his spank bank.
He let his eyes droop again. She was also intelligent, highly competent, and delightfully brutal. Steve could afford a reprieve while she did the heavy lifting in this annoying situation.
“Just up here… What’s your name again?” Reagan asked the linebacker kid behind the wheel.
“It’s Rod,” Devon answered, “and this portal is blocked. Even if we can get through the demons—which might be easier than expected with you around—your buddy Emery says there’s an elf on the other side.”