The drunken throng parts before me, leaving me a clear view of Leandro lounging in an oversized chair with two scantily clad women perched one on each leg.
He tilts his head back, appraises me from over the bridge of his nose. Unceremoniously unloading the women so carelessly they fall to their knees.
“Cade’s not here,” he says, switching his gaze from me, to Coyote, to Daire just beside me. Settling on my creepy cousin Gabe sitting on the couch just opposite, sandwiched between two attentive blondes, each massaging a shoulder, and another standing behind him, softly kneading his neck. His fiancée Marliz nowhere in sight.
With a pointed look from Leandro, Gabe unloads the women in a similar fashion. Sending them away without a second glance, he leaps from his seat as though he’s about to evict me, when Leandro orders him to stand down.
“Where is he?” I ask. “Where’s Cade?”
Leandro settles deeper into the cushions, folds his hands behind his head, and looks between the two of us as though deeply intrigued by the scene unfolding before him.
“Where is he?” Daire scowls. “Taking the night off along with all the other demons?” She widens her stance, fists her hands by her sides. Wanting him to know that while she may be deceptively slim of build, while she may be a girl, she is not one to be messed with.
Coyote continues to whimper and thrash, but my grip is strong, it’s a minor irritation at best. “I don’t have all night,” I say. “Tell me where Cade is, and Coyote might live.”
At that, Gabe cracks a slow, feral smile that never comes anywhere close to reaching his eyes. “You’re funny.” His gaze rakes a steady path from my head to my feet. Nodding toward Leandro, he adds, “I had no idea he was so funny.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” I clench my fist tighter, squeezing Coyote so hard, his tongue flops uselessly out the side of his snout as his eyes begin to bulge from their sockets.
“I’m beginning to believe it,” Leandro says, studying me with renewed interest. “You sure you want to kill him?” He motions toward Coyote as though he has no real stake in the outcome either way.
He’s bluffing. I’ve no doubt. He must be aware of the connection between Coyote and Cade.
I glance at the beast. Reminded of his savage attacks. How he dumped me in the most hellish dimension imaginable, and how he seemed to relish the task.
While the urge to see the light in his eyes permanently dimmed is certainly strong, in the end, common sense wins.
My goal is to keep Cade alive. Or at least it’s my goal for tonight. Which means I can’t risk killing Coyote until I’m sure it won’t bear me any ill effect.
“Not today.” I drop the beast to my feet, grinning with pleasure as I watch him slink and cower away.
“A wise decision.” Leandro steeples his hands at his chest as he continues to appraise me. “So, it seems another one has risen from the dead.”
He shifts his focus to Daire, staring at her with an intensity that makes me regret letting go of Coyote. If nothing else, I could’ve used him as leverage. But now, if he tries anything, I’ll have to rely on my wits, my strength, and the beast now awakened within me.
“First your girlfriend, the Seeker, and now you. And yet, it seems you’ve come back new and improved. How’d you manage it, anyway? I truly am curious.” He folds his hands around his knee, as though settling in for a really good yarn.
“Guess your prodigal son failed. Again,” Daire says, glaring at him with a hate-filled gaze.
“And it seems I’ve underestimated his twin.” Leandro uncrosses his legs, slides to the edge of his seat. “Believe me, it’s a mistake I won’t make again.” He shifts his gaze to his flashy gold watch, rubbing his palms together as he says, “Year’s almost over.” He looks right at me. “Still, it’s never too late to make a new start. How ’bout I give you your old job back? I’ll even throw in a pay raise. What do you say?”
If I didn’t know what I know, if I was still blissfully uninformed of how I came into this world, the offer would be undeniably tempting. I’m desperately in need of a large cash infusion. Rent on my shithole apartment is about to come due, and I have no idea how I’ll cover it. Still, there’s no going back. No way to un-know what I know.
“What’s that they say about friends and enemies and keeping them close?” I hold his gaze for a moment, then peer past his shoulder, trying to see into the rooms just beyond, wondering if Cade might be hiding in one.
“You calling us enemies?” Leandro looks thoughtful, if not vaguely offended.
“We’re certainly not friends.” I lift my shoulders, take a quick glance at Daire who’s still glaring between Leandro and Gabe.
“How about family?” Gabe says, his burst of laughter cut short with a sharp look from Leandro.
“I’m a Whitefeather, not a Richter,” I say.
“You’re half Richter.” Leandro’s eyes grow dark as a deep crease forms over his brow. “I brought
you into this world. Never forget that.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that. The truth of my existence is not something I’m apt to forget.” My tone holds the unmistakable promise of the threat I plan to make good on. “Besides, the half you’re talking about—it’s not the half that counts.” I narrow my lids until my gaze becomes as hooded as his.